1:14 Now after John was imprisoned, 4 Jesus went into Galilee and proclaimed the gospel 5 of God. 6
4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed 9 me to proclaim good news 10 to the poor. 11
He has sent me 12 to proclaim release 13 to the captives
and the regaining of sight 14 to the blind,
to set free 15 those who are oppressed, 16
8:1 Some time 17 afterward 18 he went on through towns 19 and villages, preaching and proclaiming the good news 20 of the kingdom of God. 21 The 22 twelve were with him,
20:1 Now one 23 day, as Jesus 24 was teaching the people in the temple courts 25 and proclaiming 26 the gospel, the chief priests and the experts in the law 27 with the elders came up 28
1 sn Interestingly, the synoptic parallels each use a different word for Satan here: Mark 4:15 has “Satan,” while Luke 8:12 has “the devil.” This illustrates the fluidity of the gospel tradition in often using synonyms at the same point of the parallel tradition.
2 sn The word of Jesus has the potential to save if it germinates in a person’s heart, something the devil is very much against.
3 tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “nations” or “Gentiles”).
4 tn Or “arrested,” “taken into custody” (see L&N 37.12).
5 tc Most witnesses, especially later ones (A D W Ï lat), have τῆς βασιλείας (ths basileias) between τὸ εὐαγγέλιον (to euangelion) and τοῦ θεοῦ (tou qeou): “the gospel of the kingdom of God.” On the one hand, it is perhaps possible that τῆς βασιλείας was omitted to conform the expression to that which is found in the epistles (cf. Rom 1:1; 15:16; 2 Cor 11:7; 1 Thess 2:2, 8, 9; 1 Pet 4:17). On the other hand, this expression, “the gospel of God,” occurs nowhere else in the Gospels, while “the gospel of the kingdom” is a Matthean expression (Matt 4:23; 9:35; 24:14), and “kingdom of God” is pervasive in the synoptic Gospels (occurring over 50 times). Scribes would thus be more prone to add τῆς βασιλείας than to omit it. Further, the external support for the shorter reading (א B L Θ Ë1,13 28* 33 565 579 892 2427 sa) is significantly stronger than that for the longer reading. There is little doubt, therefore, that the shorter reading is authentic.
6 tn The genitive in the phrase τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ θεοῦ (to euangelion tou qeou, “the gospel of God”) could be translated as either a subjective genitive (“the gospel which God brings”) or an objective genitive (“the gospel about God”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119-21; M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, §§36-39). If so, an interplay between the two concepts is intended: The gospel which God brings is in fact the gospel about himself.
7 tn Grk “And unrolling the scroll he found.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Instead a new sentence has been started in the translation.
8 tn Grk “opening,” but a scroll of this period would have to be unrolled. The participle ἀναπτύξας (anaptuxa") has been translated as a finite verb due to the requirements of contemporary English style.
9 sn The phrase he has anointed me is an allusion back to Jesus’ baptism in Luke 3:21-22.
10 tn Grk “to evangelize,” “to preach the gospel.”
11 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.
12 tc The majority of
13 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).
14 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).
15 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.
16 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).
17 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.
18 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.
19 tn Or “cities.”
20 sn The combination of preaching and proclaiming the good news is a bit emphatic, stressing Jesus’ teaching ministry on the rule 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.
22 tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
23 tn Grk “Now it happened that one.” 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. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
24 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
25 tn Grk “the temple.”
26 tn Or “preaching.”
27 tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.
28 sn The chief priests and the experts in the law with the elders came up. The description is similar to Luke 19:47. The leaders are really watching Jesus at this point.
29 tn The word in this context seems to mean “coming at the right or opportune time” (see BDAG 1103 s.v. ὡραῖος 1); it may also mean “beautiful, attractive, welcome.”
30 tn Grk “the feet.” The metaphorical nuance of “beautiful feet” is that such represent timely news.
31 sn A quotation from Isa 52:7; Nah 1:15.