6:39 He also told them a parable: “Someone who is blind cannot lead another who is blind, can he? 1 Won’t they both fall 2 into a pit?
23:39 One of the criminals who was hanging there railed at him, saying, “Aren’t 8 you the Christ? 9 Save yourself and us!”
1 tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here it is “can he?”).
2 sn The picture of a blind man leading a blind man is a warning to watch who one follows: Won’t they both fall into a pit? The sermon has been about religious choices and reacting graciously to those who oppose the followers of Jesus. Here Jesus’ point was to be careful who you follow and where they are taking you.
3 sn The pennies refer to the assarion, a small Roman copper coin. One of them was worth one sixteenth of a denarius or less than a half hour’s average wage. Sparrows were the cheapest thing sold in the market. God knows about even the most financially insignificant things; see Isa 49:15.
5 tn Or “hostility.” This term pictures dissension and hostility (BDAG 234 s.v. διαμερισμός).
7 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
8 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the rich man, v. 19) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 sn If someone from the dead goes to them. The irony and joy of the story is that what is denied the rich man’s brothers, a word of warning from beyond the grave, is given to the reader of the Gospel in this exchange.
9 tc Most
10 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”