Luke 17:20

The Coming of the Kingdom

17:20 Now at one point ¹  the Pharisees ²  asked Jesus ³  when the kingdom of God ⁴  was coming, so he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs ⁵  to be observed,

Luke 12:40

12:40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” ⁶ 

Luke 14:27

14:27 Whoever does not carry his own cross ⁷  and follow ⁸  me cannot be my disciple.

Luke 8:49

8:49 While he was still speaking, someone from the synagogue ruler’s ⁹  house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the teacher any longer.”

Luke 12:54

Reading the Signs

12:54 Jesus ¹⁰  also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, ¹¹  you say at once, ‘A rainstorm ¹²  is coming,’ and it does.

Luke 17:1

Sin, Forgiveness, Faith, and Service

17:1 Jesus ¹³  said to his disciples, “Stumbling blocks are sure to come, but woe ¹⁴  to the one through whom they come!

Luke 7:8

7:8 For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me. ¹⁵  I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, ¹⁶  and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” ¹⁷ 

Luke 8:12

8:12 Those along the path are the ones who have heard; then the devil ¹⁸  comes and takes away the word ¹⁹  from their hearts, so that they may not believe ²⁰  and be saved.

Luke 12:39

12:39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief ²¹  was coming, he would not have let ²²  his house be broken into.

Luke 3:16

3:16 John answered them all, ²³  “I baptize you with water, ²⁴  but one more powerful than I am is coming – I am not worthy ²⁵  to untie the strap ²⁶  of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ²⁷ 

Luke 14:26

14:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate ²⁸  his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, ²⁹  he cannot be my disciple.

[17:20]  ¹ tn The words “at one point” are supplied to indicate that the following incident is not necessarily in chronological sequence with the preceding event.

[17:20]  ² sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[17:20]  ³ tn Grk “having been asked by the Pharisees.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one in keeping with contemporary English style, and the direct object, Jesus, has been supplied from the context.

[17:20]  ⁴ 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.

[17:20]  ⁵ tn Or “is not coming in a way that it can be closely watched” (L&N 24.48). Although there are differing interpretations of what this means, it probably refers to the cosmic signs often associated with the kingdom’s coming in the Jewish view (1 En. 91, 93; 2 Bar. 53—74). See D. L. Bock, Luke (BECNT), 2:1412-14, also H. Riesenfeld, TDNT 8:150.

[12:40]  ⁶ sn Jesus made clear that his coming could not be timed, and suggested it might take some time – so long, in fact, that some would not be looking for him any longer (at an hour when you do not expect him).

[14:27]  ¹¹ sn It was customary practice in a Roman crucifixion for the prisoner to be made to carry his own cross. Jesus is speaking figuratively here in the context of rejection. If the priority is not one’s allegiance to Jesus, then one will not follow him in the face of possible rejection; see Luke 9:23.

[14:27]  ¹² tn Grk “and come after.” In combination with the verb ἔρχομαι (ercomai) the improper preposition ὀπίσω (opisw) means “follow.”

[8:49]  ¹⁶ tn That is, “the official in charge of the synagogue”; ἀρχισυνάγωγος (arcisunagwgo") refers to the “president of a synagogue” (so BDAG 139 s.v. and L&N 53.93). In this case the referent is Jairus (v. 41).

[12:54]  ²¹ 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]  ²² sn A cloud rising in the west refers to moisture coming from the Mediterranean Sea.

[12:54]  ²³ tn The term ὄμβρος (ombro") refers to heavy rain, such as in a thunderstorm (L&N 14.12).

[17:1]  ²⁶ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[17:1]  ²⁷ sn See Luke 6:24-26.

[7:8]  ³¹ tn Grk “having soldiers under me.”

[7:8]  ³² 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.

[7:8]  ³³ 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.

[8:12]  ³⁶ sn Interestingly, the synoptic parallels each use a different word for the devil here: Matt 13:19 has “the evil one,” while Mark 4:15 has “Satan.” This illustrates the fluidity of the gospel tradition in often using synonyms at the same point of the parallel tradition.

[8:12]  ³⁷ 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.

[8:12]  ³⁸ tn The participle πιστεύσαντες (pisteusante") has been translated as a finite verb here. It may be regarded as an adverbial participle of attendant circumstance. From a logical standpoint the negative must govern both the participle and the finite verb.

[12:39]  ⁴¹ sn On Jesus pictured as a returning thief, see 1 Thess 5:2, 4; 2 Pet 3:10; Rev 3:3; 16:15.

[12:39]  ⁴² tc Most mss (א¹ A B L Q W Θ Ψ 070 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat sy^p,h sa^ms bo) read “he would have watched and not let” here, but this looks like an assimilation to Matt 24:43. The alliance of two important and early mss along with a few others (Ì⁷⁵ א* [D] e i sy^s,c sa^mss), coupled with much stronger internal evidence, suggests that the shorter reading is authentic.

[3:16]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “answered them all, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated.

[3:16]  ⁴⁷ tc A few mss (C D 892 1424 pc it ) add εἰς μετάνοιαν (ei" metanoian, “for repentance”). Although two of the mss in support are early and important, it is an obviously motivated reading to add clarification, probably representing a copyist’s attempt to harmonize Luke’s version with Matt 3:11.

[3:16]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “of whom I am not worthy.”

[3:16]  ⁴⁹ tn The term refers to the leather strap or thong used to bind a sandal. This is often viewed as a collective singular and translated as a plural, “the straps of his sandals,” but it may be more emphatic to retain the singular here.

[3:16]  ⁵⁰ sn With the Holy Spirit and fire. There are differing interpretations for this phrase regarding the number of baptisms and their nature. (1) Some see one baptism here, and this can be divided further into two options. (a) The baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire could refer to the cleansing, purifying work of the Spirit in the individual believer through salvation and sanctification, or (b) it could refer to two different results of Christ’s ministry: Some accept Christ and are baptized with the Holy Spirit, but some reject him and receive judgment. (2) Other interpreters see two baptisms here: The baptism of the Holy Spirit refers to the salvation Jesus brings at his first advent, in which believers receive the Holy Spirit, and the baptism of fire refers to the judgment Jesus will bring upon the world at his second coming. One must take into account both the image of fire and whether individual or corporate baptism is in view. A decision is not easy on either issue. The image of fire is used to refer to both eternal judgment (e.g., Matt 25:41) and the power of the Lord’s presence to purge and cleanse his people (e.g., Isa 4:4-5). The pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost, a fulfillment of this prophecy no matter which interpretation is taken, had both individual and corporate dimensions. It is possible that since Holy Spirit and fire are governed by a single preposition in Greek, the one-baptism view may be more likely, but this is not certain. Simply put, there is no consensus view in scholarship at this time on the best interpretation of this passage.

[14:26]  ⁵¹ tn This figurative use operates on a relative scale. God is to be loved more than family or self.

[14:26]  ⁵² tn Grk “his own soul,” but ψυχή (yuch) is frequently used of one’s physical life. It clearly has that meaning in this context.