Luke 7:8

7:8 For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me. ¹  I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, ²  and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” ³ 

Luke 11:26

11:26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so ⁴  the last state of that person ⁵  is worse than the first.” ⁶ 

Luke 15:4

15:4 “Which one ⁷  of you, if he has a hundred ⁸  sheep and loses one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture ⁹  and go look for ¹⁰  the one that is lost until he finds it? ¹¹ 

¹ tn Grk “having soldiers under me.”

² sn I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes. The illustrations highlight the view of authority the soldier sees in the word of one who has authority. Since the centurion was a commander of a hundred soldiers, he understood what it was both to command others and to be obeyed.

³ tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the concluding point of the story.

⁵ tn Grk “man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females.

⁶ sn The point of the story is that to fail to respond is to risk a worse fate than when one started.

⁷ tn Grk “What man.” The Greek word ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in a somewhat generic sense.

⁸ sn This individual with a hundred sheep is a shepherd of modest means, as flocks often had up to two hundred head of sheep.

⁹ tn Or “desert,” but here such a translation might suggest neglect of the 99 sheep left behind.

¹⁰ tn Grk “go after,” but in contemporary English the idiom “to look for” is used to express this.

¹¹ sn Until he finds it. The parable pictures God’s pursuit of the sinner. On the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, see John 10:1-18.