Discovery BoxLuke 12:49-59
Context12:49 “I have come 1 to bring 2 fire on the earth – and how I wish it were already kindled! 12:50 I have a baptism 3 to undergo, 4 and how distressed I am until it is finished! 12:51 Do you think I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 5 12:52 For from now on 6 there will be five in one household divided, three against two and two against three. 12:53 They will be divided, 7 father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
12:54 Jesus 8 also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, 9 you say at once, ‘A rainstorm 10 is coming,’ and it does. 12:55 And when you see the south wind 11 blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and there is. 12:56 You hypocrites! 12 You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how can you not know how 13 to interpret the present time?
12:57 “And 14 why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? 12:58 As you are going with your accuser before the magistrate, 15 make an effort to settle with him on the way, so that he will not drag you before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, 16 and the officer throw you into prison. 12:59 I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the very last cent!” 17
[12:49] 1 sn This mission statement, “I have come to bring fire on the earth,” looks to the purging and division Jesus causes: See Luke 3:9, 17; 9:54; 17:29 for fire, 5:32; 7:34; 9:58; 12:51 for the topic of mission.
[12:49] 2 tn Grk “cast.” For βάλλω (ballw) in the sense of causing a state or condition, see L&N 13.14.
[12:50] 3 sn The figure of the baptism is variously interpreted, as some see a reference (1) to martyrdom or (2) to inundation with God’s judgment. The OT background, however, suggests the latter sense: Jesus is about to be uniquely inundated with God’s judgment as he is rejected, persecuted, and killed (Ps 18:4, 16; 42:7; 69:1-2; Isa 8:7-8; 30:27-28; Jonah 2:3-6).
[12:50] 4 tn Grk “to be baptized with.”
[12:51] 5 tn Or “hostility.” This term pictures dissension and hostility (BDAG 234 s.v. διαμερισμός).
[12:52] 6 sn From now on is a popular phrase in Luke: 1:48; 5:10; 22:18, 69; see Mic 7:6.
[12:53] 7 tn There is dispute whether this phrase belongs to the end of v. 52 or begins v. 53. Given the shift of object, a connection to v. 53 is slightly preferred.
[12:54] 8 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “also” and δέ (de) has not been translated.
[12:54] 9 sn A cloud rising in the west refers to moisture coming from the Mediterranean Sea.
[12:54] 10 tn The term ὄμβρος (ombro") refers to heavy rain, such as in a thunderstorm (L&N 14.12).
[12:55] 11 sn The south wind comes from the desert, and thus brings scorching heat.
[12:56] 12 sn In Luke, the term hypocrites occurs here, in 6:42, and in 13:15.
[12:56] 13 tc Most
[12:57] 14 tn Jesus calls for some personal reflection. However, this unit probably does connect to the previous one – thus the translation of δέ (de) here as “And” – to make a good spiritual assessment, thus calling for application to the spiritual, rather than personal, realm.
[12:58] 15 sn The term magistrate (ἄρχων, arcwn) refers to an official who, under the authority of the government, serves as judge in legal cases (see L&N 56.29).
[12:58] 16 sn The officer (πράκτωρ, praktwr) was a civil official who functioned like a bailiff and was in charge of debtor’s prison. The use of the term, however, does not automatically demand a Hellenistic setting (BDAG 859 s.v.; K. H. Rengstorf, TDNT 8:539; C. Maurer, TDNT 6:642).
[12:59] 17 tn Here the English word “cent” is used as opposed to the parallel in Matt 5:26 where “penny” appears, since the Greek word there is different and refers to a different but similar coin.
