Luke 4:43

4:43 But Jesus ¹  said to them, “I must ²  proclaim the good news of the kingdom ³  of God to the other towns ⁴  too, for that is what I was sent ⁵  to do.” ⁶ 

Luke 8:1

Jesus’ Ministry and the Help of Women

8:1 Some time ⁷  afterward ⁸  he went on through towns ⁹  and villages, preaching and proclaiming the good news ¹⁰  of the kingdom of God. ¹¹  The ¹²  twelve were with him,

Luke 9:27

9:27 But I tell you most certainly, ¹³  there are some standing here who will not ¹⁴  experience ¹⁵  death before they see the kingdom of God.” ¹⁶ 

Luke 9:60

9:60 But Jesus ¹⁷  said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, ¹⁸  but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” ¹⁹ 

Luke 18:17

18:17 I tell you the truth, ²⁰  whoever does not receive ²¹  the kingdom of God like a child ²²  will never ²³  enter it.”

Luke 18:24

18:24 When Jesus noticed this, ²⁴  he said, “How hard ²⁵  it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁶ 

Luke 23:51

23:51 (He ²⁷  had not consented ²⁸  to their plan and action.) He ²⁹  was from the Judean town ³⁰  of Arimathea, and was looking forward to ³¹  the kingdom of God. ³² 

¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Here δεῖ (dei, “it is necessary”) indicates divine commission (cf. Luke 2:49).

³ sn The good news of the kingdom, the kingdom of the rule of God through the Messiah, is the topic of Jesus’ preaching.

⁴ tn Or “cities.”

⁵ sn Jesus was sent by God for this purpose. This is the language of divine commission.

⁶ tn Grk “because for this purpose I was sent.”

⁷ tn Grk “And it happened that some time.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

⁸ tn Καθεξῆς (Kaqexh") is a general temporal term and need not mean “soon afterward”; see Luke 1:3; Acts 3:24; 11:4; 18:23 and L&N 61.1.

⁹ tn Or “cities.”

¹⁰ sn The combination of preaching and proclaiming the good news is a bit emphatic, stressing Jesus’ teaching ministry on the rule of God.

¹¹ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

¹² tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹³ tn Grk “I tell you truly” (λέγω δὲ ὑμῖν ἀληθῶς, legw de Jumin alhqw").

¹⁴ tn The Greek negative here (οὐ μή, ou mh) is the strongest possible.

¹⁵ tn Grk “will not taste.” Here the Greek verb does not mean “sample a small amount” (as a typical English reader might infer from the word “taste”), but “experience something cognitively or emotionally; come to know something” (cf. BDAG 195 s.v. γεύομαι 2).

¹⁶ sn The meaning of the statement that some will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God is clear at one level, harder at another. Jesus predicts some will experience the kingdom before they die. When does this happen? (1) An initial fulfillment is the next event, the transfiguration. (2) It is also possible in Luke’s understanding that all but Judas experience the initial fulfillment of the coming of God’s presence and rule in the work of Acts 2. In either case, the “kingdom of God” referred to here would be the initial rather than the final phase.

¹⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁰ sn There are several options for the meaning of Jesus’ reply Leave the dead to bury their own dead: (1) Recent research suggests that burial customs in the vicinity of Jerusalem from about 20 b.c. to a.d. 70 involved a reinterment of the bones a year after the initial burial, once the flesh had rotted away. At that point the son would have placed his father’s bones in a special box known as an ossuary to be set into the wall of the tomb. Thus Jesus could well be rebuking the man for wanting to wait around for as much as a year before making a commitment to follow him. In 1st century Jewish culture, to have followed Jesus rather than burying one’s father would have seriously dishonored one’s father (cf. Tobit 4:3-4). (2) The remark is an idiom (possibly a proverbial saying) that means, “The matter in question is not the real issue,” in which case Jesus was making a wordplay on the wording of the man’s (literal) request (see L&N 33.137). (3) This remark could be a figurative reference to various kinds of people, meaning, “Let the spiritually dead bury the dead.” (4) It could also be literal and designed to shock the hearer by the surprise of the contrast. Whichever option is preferred, it is clear that the most important priority is to preach the gospel (proclaim the kingdom of God).

²¹ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

²⁵ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

²⁶ sn On receive see John 1:12.

²⁷ sn The point of the comparison receive the kingdom of God like a child has more to do with a child’s trusting spirit and willingness to be dependent and receive from others than any inherent humility the child might possess.

²⁸ tn The negation in Greek used here (οὐ μή, ou mh) is very strong.

³¹ tc ‡ The phrase περίλυπον γενόμενον (perilupon genomenon, “[When Jesus saw him] becoming sad”) is found in the majority of mss (A [D] W Θ Ψ 078 ˹³ 33^vid Ï latt sy), and it is not unknown in Lukan style to repeat a word or phrase in adjacent passages (TCGNT 143). However, the phrase is lacking in some significant mss (א B L ˹ 579 1241 2542 co). The shorter reading is nevertheless difficult to explain if it is not original: It is possible that these witnesses omitted this phrase out of perceived redundancy from the preceding verse, although intentional omissions, especially by several and varied witnesses, are generally unlikely. NA²⁷ places the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.

³² sn For the rich it is hard for wealth not to be the point of focus, as the contrast in vv. 28-30 will show, and for rich people to trust God. Wealth was not an automatic sign of blessing as far as Jesus was concerned.

³³ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

³⁷ tn Grk “This one.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started in the translation at this point.

³⁸ tc Several mss (א C D L Δ Ψ 070 Ë^1,13 [579] 892 1424 2542 al) read the present participle συγκατατιθέμενος (sunkatatiqemeno") instead of the perfect participle συγκατατεθειμένος (sunkatateqeimeno"). The present participle could be taken to mean that Joseph had decided that the execution was now a mistake. The perfect means that he did not agree with it from the start. The perfect participle, however, has better support externally (Ì⁷⁵ A B W Θ 33 Ï), and is thus the preferred reading.

³⁹ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started in the translation at this point.

⁴⁰ tn Or “Judean city”; Grk “from Arimathea, a city of the Jews.” Here the expression “of the Jews” (᾿Iουδαίων, Ioudaiwn) is used in an adjectival sense to specify a location (cf. BDAG 478 s.v. ᾿Iουδαῖος 2.c) and so has been translated “Judean.”

⁴¹ tn Or “waiting for.”

⁴² sn Though some dispute that Joseph of Arimathea was a disciple of Jesus, this remark that he was looking forward to the kingdom of God, the affirmation of his character at the end of v. 50, and his actions regarding Jesus’ burial all suggest otherwise.