4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed 1 me to proclaim good news 2 to the poor. 3
He has sent me 4 to proclaim release 5 to the captives
and the regaining of sight 6 to the blind,
to set free 7 those who are oppressed, 8
1 sn The phrase he has anointed me is an allusion back to Jesus’ baptism in Luke 3:21-22.
2 tn Grk “to evangelize,” “to preach the gospel.”
3 sn The poor is a key term in Luke. It refers to the pious poor and indicates Jesus’ desire to reach out to those the world tends to forget or mistreat. It is like 1:52 in force and also will be echoed in 6:20 (also 1 Pet 2:11-25). Jesus is commissioned to do this.
4 tc The majority of
5 sn The release in view here is comprehensive, both at a physical level and a spiritual one, as the entire ministry of Jesus makes clear (Luke 1:77-79; 7:47; 24:47; Acts 2:38; 5:31; 10:43).
6 sn Again, as with the previous phrase, regaining of sight may well mean more than simply miraculously restoring physical sight, which itself pictures a deeper reality (Luke 1:77-79; 18:35-43).
7 sn The essence of Jesus’ messianic work is expressed in the phrase to set free. This line from Isa 58 says that Jesus will do what the nation had failed to do. It makes the proclamation messianic, not merely prophetic, because Jesus doesn’t just proclaim the message – he brings the deliverance. The word translated set free is the same Greek word (ἄφεσις, afesi") translated release earlier in the verse.
8 sn Again, as with the previous phrases, oppressed may well mean more than simply political or economic oppression, but a deeper reality of oppression by sin (Luke 1:77-79; 18:35-43).
9 tn Grk “And wherever.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
10 tn Grk “all those who do not receive you.”
11 tn Or “city.”
12 sn To shake the dust off represented shaking off the uncleanness from one’s feet; see Luke 10:11; Acts 13:51; 18:6. It was a sign of rejection.
17 tn Grk “a son of peace,” a Hebrew idiom for a person of a certain class or kind, as specified by the following genitive construction (in this case, “of peace”). Such constructions are discussed further in L&N 9.4. Here the expression refers to someone who responds positively to the disciples’ message, like “wisdom’s child” in Luke 7:30.
18 sn The response to these messengers determines how God’s blessing is bestowed – if they are not welcomed with peace, their blessing will return to them. Jesus shows just how important their mission is by this remark.
25 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
26 sn The prayers have to do with the righteous who cry out to him to receive justice. The context assumes the righteous are persecuted.
27 tn The emphatic particles in this sentence indicate that God will indeed give justice to the righteous.
28 sn The issue of delay has produced a whole host of views for this verse. (1) Does this assume provision to endure in the meantime? Or (2) does it mean God restricts the level of persecution until he comes? Either view is possible.
33 tn Grk “to rule over them.”
34 tn This term, when used of people rather than animals, has some connotations of violence and mercilessness (L&N 20.72).
35 sn Slaughter them. To reject the king is to face certain judgment from him.
41 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
42 tn This title, literally “official of the temple” (στρατηγὸς τοῦ ἱεροῦ, strathgo" tou Jierou), referred to the commander of the Jewish soldiers who guarded and maintained order in the Jerusalem temple. Here, since the term is plural, it has been translated “officers of the temple guard” rather than “commanders of the temple guard,” since the idea of a number of commanders might be confusing to the modern English reader.
43 tn Or “a revolutionary.” This term can refer to one who stirs up rebellion: BDAG 594 s.v. λῃστής 2 has “revolutionary, insurrectionist, guerrilla” citing evidence from Josephus (J. W. 2.13.2-3 [2.253-254]). However, this usage generally postdates Jesus’ time. It does refer to a figure of violence. Luke uses the same term for the highwaymen who attack the traveler in the parable of the good Samaritan (10:30).
49 tn Grk “insisted, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated here.
50 sn According to Mark 14:70 it was Peter’s accent that gave him away as a Galilean.
57 sn The title Daughters of Jerusalem portrays these women mourning as representatives of the nation.
58 sn Do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves. Judgment now comes on the nation (see Luke 19:41-44) for this judgment of Jesus. Ironically, they mourn the wrong person – they should be mourning for themselves.