Luke 8:1

Jesus’ Ministry and the Help of Women

8:1 Some time ¹  afterward ²  he went on through towns ³  and villages, preaching and proclaiming the good news ⁴  of the kingdom of God. ⁵  The ⁶  twelve were with him,

Luke 8:10

8:10 He ⁷  said, “You have been given ⁸  the opportunity to know ⁹  the secrets ¹⁰  of the kingdom of God, ¹¹  but for others they are in parables, so that although they see they may not see, and although they hear they may not understand. ¹² 

Matthew 21:31

21:31 Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.” ¹³  Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, ¹⁴  tax collectors ¹⁵  and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God!

Matthew 21:43

21:43 For this reason I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people ¹⁶  who will produce its fruit.

Acts 28:31

28:31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ ¹⁷  with complete boldness ¹⁸  and without restriction. ¹⁹ 

¹ 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.

² 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.

³ tn Or “cities.”

⁴ sn The combination of preaching and proclaiming the good news is a bit emphatic, stressing Jesus’ teaching ministry on the rule of God.

⁵ 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.

⁶ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁸ tn This is an example of a so-called “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ExSyn 437-38).

⁹ tn Grk “it has been given to you to know.” The dative pronoun occurs first, in emphatic position in the Greek text, although this position is awkward in contemporary English.

¹⁰ tn Grk “the mysteries.”

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 sn A quotation from Isa 6:9. Thus parables both conceal or reveal depending on whether one is open to hearing what they teach.

¹³ tc Verses 29-31 involve a rather complex and difficult textual problem. The variants cluster into three different groups: (1) The first son says “no” and later has a change of heart, and the second son says “yes” but does not go. The second son is called the one who does his father’s will. This reading is found in the Western mss (D it). But the reading is so hard as to be nearly impossible. One can only suspect some tampering with the text, extreme carelessness on the part of the scribe, or possibly a recognition of the importance of not shaming one’s parent in public. (Any of these reasons is not improbable with this texttype, and with codex D in particular.) The other two major variants are more difficult to assess. Essentially, the responses make sense (the son who does his father’s will is the one who changes his mind after saying “no”): (2) The first son says “no” and later has a change of heart, and the second son says “yes” but does not go. But here, the first son is called the one who does his father’s will (unlike the Western reading). This is the reading found in (א) C L W (Z) 0102 0281 ˹ 33 Ï and several versional witnesses. (3) The first son says “yes” but does not go, and the second son says “no” but later has a change of heart. This is the reading found in B Θ Ë¹³ 700 and several versional witnesses. Both of these latter two readings make good sense and have significantly better textual support than the first reading. The real question, then, is this: Is the first son or the second the obedient one? If one were to argue simply from the parabolic logic, the second son would be seen as the obedient one (hence, the third reading). The first son would represent the Pharisees (or Jews) who claim to obey God, but do not (cf. Matt 23:3). This accords well with the parable of the prodigal son (in which the oldest son represents the unbelieving Jews). Further, the chronological sequence of the second son being obedient fits well with the real scene: Gentiles and tax collectors and prostitutes were not, collectively, God’s chosen people, but they did repent and come to God, while the Jewish leaders claimed to be obedient to God but did nothing. At the same time, the external evidence is weaker for this reading (though stronger than the first reading), not as widespread, and certainly suspect because of how neatly it fits. One suspects scribal manipulation at this point. Thus the second reading looks to be superior to the other two on both external and transcriptional grounds. But what about intrinsic evidence? One can surmise that Jesus didn’t always give predictable responses. In this instance, he may well have painted a picture in which the Pharisees saw themselves as the first son, only to stun them with his application (v. 32).

¹⁴ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

¹⁵ sn See the note on tax collectors in 5:46.

¹⁶ tn Or “to a nation” (so KJV, NASB, NLT).

¹⁷ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

¹⁸ tn Or “openness.”

¹⁹ sn Proclaiming…with complete boldness and without restriction. Once again Paul’s imprisonment is on benevolent terms. The word of God is proclaimed triumphantly and boldly in Rome. Acts ends with this note: Despite all the attempts to stop it, the message goes forth.