Discovery BoxLuke 18:11-43
Context18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: 1 ‘God, I thank 2 you that I am not like other people: 3 extortionists, 4 unrighteous people, 5 adulterers – or even like this tax collector. 6 18:12 I fast twice 7 a week; I give a tenth 8 of everything I get.’ 18:13 The tax collector, however, stood 9 far off and would not even look up 10 to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful 11 to me, sinner that I am!’ 12 18:14 I tell you that this man went down to his home justified 13 rather than the Pharisee. 14 For everyone who exalts 15 himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
18:15 Now people 16 were even bringing their babies 17 to him for him to touch. 18 But when the disciples saw it, they began to scold those who brought them. 19 18:16 But Jesus called for the children, 20 saying, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of God 21 belongs to such as these. 22 18:17 I tell you the truth, 23 whoever does not receive 24 the kingdom of God like a child 25 will never 26 enter it.”
18:18 Now 27 a certain ruler 28 asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 29 18:19 Jesus 30 said to him, “Why do you call me good? 31 No one is good except God alone. 18:20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’” 32 18:21 The man 33 replied, “I have wholeheartedly obeyed 34 all these laws 35 since my youth.” 36 18:22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have 37 and give the money 38 to the poor, 39 and you will have treasure 40 in heaven. Then 41 come, follow me.” 18:23 But when the man 42 heard this he became very sad, 43 for he was extremely wealthy. 18:24 When Jesus noticed this, 44 he said, “How hard 45 it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 46 18:25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle 47 than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 18:26 Those who heard this said, “Then 48 who can be saved?” 49 18:27 He replied, “What is impossible 50 for mere humans 51 is possible for God.” 18:28 And Peter said, “Look, we have left everything we own 52 to follow you!” 53 18:29 Then 54 Jesus 55 said to them, “I tell you the truth, 56 there is no one who has left home or wife or brothers 57 or parents or children for the sake of God’s kingdom 18:30 who will not receive many times more 58 in this age 59 – and in the age to come, eternal life.” 60
18:31 Then 61 Jesus 62 took the twelve aside and said to them, “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, 63 and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 64 18:32 For he will be handed over 65 to the Gentiles; he will be mocked, 66 mistreated, 67 and spat on. 68 18:33 They will flog him severely 69 and kill him. Yet 70 on the third day he will rise again.” 18:34 But 71 the twelve 72 understood none of these things. This 73 saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp 74 what Jesus meant. 75
18:35 As 76 Jesus 77 approached 78 Jericho, 79 a blind man was sitting by the road begging. 18:36 When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was going on. 18:37 They 80 told him, “Jesus the Nazarene is passing by.” 18:38 So 81 he called out, 82 “Jesus, Son of David, 83 have mercy 84 on me!” 18:39 And those who were in front 85 scolded 86 him to get him to be quiet, but he shouted 87 even more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 18:40 So 88 Jesus stopped and ordered the beggar 89 to be brought to him. When the man 90 came near, Jesus 91 asked him, 18:41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He replied, 92 “Lord, let me see again.” 93 18:42 Jesus 94 said to him, “Receive 95 your sight; your faith has healed you.” 96 18:43 And immediately he regained 97 his sight and followed Jesus, 98 praising 99 God. When 100 all the people saw it, they too 101 gave praise to God.
[18:11] 1 tn Or “stood by himself and prayed like this.” The prepositional phrase πρὸς ἑαυτόν (pros eauton, “to/about himself”) could go with either the aorist participle σταθείς (staqeis, “stood”) or with the imperfect verb προσηύχετο (proshuceto, “he prayed”). If taken with the participle, then the meaning would seem at first glance to be: “stood ‘by himself’,” or “stood ‘alone’.” Now it is true that πρός can mean “by” or “with” when used with intransitive verbs such as ἵστημι ({isthmi, “I stand”; cf. BDAG 874 s.v. πρός 2.a), but πρὸς ἑαυτόν together never means “by himself” or “alone” in biblical Greek. On the other hand, if πρὸς ἑαυτόν is taken with the verb, then two different nuances emerge, both of which highlight in different ways the principal point Jesus seems to be making about the arrogance of this religious leader: (1) “prayed to himself,” but not necessarily silently, or (2) “prayed about himself,” with the connotation that he prayed out loud, for all to hear. Since his prayer is really a review of his moral résumé, directed both at advertising his own righteousness and exposing the perversion of the tax collector, whom he actually mentions in his prayer, the latter option seems preferable. If this is the case, then the Pharisee’s mention of God is really nothing more than a formality.
[18:11] 2 sn The Pharisee’s prayer started out as a thanksgiving psalm to God, but the praise ended up not being about God.
[18:11] 3 tn Here the plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is used as a generic and can refer to both men and women (NASB, NRSV, “people”; NLT, “everyone else”; NAB, “the rest of humanity”).
[18:11] 4 tn Or “swindlers” (BDAG 134 s.v. ἅρπαξ 2); see also Isa 10:2; Josephus, J. W. 6.3.4 [6.203].
[18:11] 5 sn A general category for “sinners” (1 Cor 6:9; Lev 19:3).
[18:11] 6 sn Note what the Pharisee assumes about the righteousness of this tax collector by grouping him with extortionists, unrighteous people, and adulterers.
[18:12] 7 sn The law only required fasting on the Day of Atonement. Such voluntary fasting as this practiced twice a week by the Pharisee normally took place on Monday and Thursday.
[18:13] 9 tn Grk “standing”; the Greek participle has been translated as a finite verb.
[18:13] 10 tn Grk “even lift up his eyes” (an idiom).
[18:13] 11 tn The prayer is a humble call for forgiveness. The term for mercy (ἱλάσκομαι, Jilaskomai) is associated with the concept of a request for atonement (BDAG 473-74 s.v. 1; Ps 51:1, 3; 25:11; 34:6, 18).
[18:13] 12 tn Grk “the sinner.” The tax collector views himself not just as any sinner but as the worst of all sinners. See ExSyn 222-23.
[18:14] 13 sn The prayer that was heard and honored was the one given with humility; in a surprising reversal it was the tax collector who went down to his home justified.
[18:14] 14 tn Grk “the other”; the referent (the Pharisee, v. 10) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:14] 15 sn Everyone who exalts himself. See Luke 14:11. Jesus often called for humility and condemned those who sought honor.
[18:15] 17 tn The term βρέφος (brefos) here can refer to babies or to toddlers (2:12, 16; Acts 7:19; 2 Tim 3:15; 1 Pet 2:2).
[18:15] 18 tn Grk “so that he would touch them.” Here the touch is connected with (or conveys) a blessing (cf. Mark 10:16; also BDAG 126 s.v. ἅπτω 2.c).
[18:15] 19 tn Grk “the disciples began to scold them.” In the translation the referent has been specified as “those who brought them,” since otherwise the statement could be understood to mean that the disciples began scolding the children rather than their parents who brought them.
[18:16] 20 tn Grk “summoned them”; the referent (the children) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:16] 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.
[18:16] 22 sn The kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Children are a picture of those whose simple trust illustrates what faith is all about. The remark illustrates how everyone is important to God, even those whom others regard as insignificant.
[18:17] 23 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
[18:17] 24 sn On receive see John 1:12.
[18:17] 25 sn The point of the comparison receive the kingdom of God like a child has more to do with a child’s trusting spirit and willingness to be dependent and receive from others than any inherent humility the child might possess.
[18:17] 26 tn The negation in Greek used here (οὐ μή, ou mh) is very strong.
[18:18] 27 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
[18:18] 28 sn Only Luke states this man is a ruler (cf. the parallels in Matt 19:16-22 and Mark 10:17-22, where the questioner is described only as “someone”). He is probably a civic leader of some kind, a leader in the society.
[18:18] 29 sn The rich man wanted to know what he must do to inherit eternal life, but Jesus had just finished teaching that eternal life was not earned but simply received (18:17). See the similar question about inheriting eternal life in Luke 10:25.
[18:19] 30 tn Grk “And Jesus.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
[18:19] 31 sn Jesus’ response, Why do you call me good?, was designed to cause the ruler to stop and think for a moment about who Jesus really was. The following statement No one is good except God alone seems to point the man in the direction of Jesus’ essential nature and the demands which logically follow on the man for having said it.
[18:20] 32 sn A quotation from Exod 20:12-16 and Deut 5:16-20. Jesus cited the parts of the ten commandments that relate to how others should be treated.
[18:21] 33 tn Grk “And he”; the referent (the ruler mentioned in v. 18) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
[18:21] 34 tn Grk “kept.” The implication of this verb is that the man has obeyed the commandments without fail throughout his life, so the adverb “wholeheartedly” has been added to the translation to bring out this nuance.
[18:21] 35 tn Grk “these things.” The referent of the pronoun (the laws mentioned by Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:21] 36 sn Since my youth. Judaism regarded the age of thirteen as the age when a man would have become responsible to live by God’s commands.
[18:22] 37 sn See Luke 14:33.
[18:22] 38 tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
[18:22] 39 sn See Luke 1:50-53; 6:20-23; 14:12-14.
[18:22] 40 sn The call for sacrifice comes with a promise of eternal reward: …you will have treasure in heaven. Jesus’ call is a test to see how responsive the man is to God’s direction through him. Will he walk the path God’s agent calls him to walk? For a rich person who got it right, see Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10.
[18:22] 41 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the conversation.
[18:23] 42 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:23] 43 tn Or “very distressed” (L&N 25.277).
[18:24] 44 tc ‡ The phrase περίλυπον γενόμενον (perilupon genomenon, “[When Jesus saw him] becoming sad”) is found in the majority of
[18:24] 45 sn For the rich it is hard for wealth not to be the point of focus, as the contrast in vv. 28-30 will show, and for rich people to trust God. Wealth was not an automatic sign of blessing as far as Jesus was concerned.
[18:24] 46 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.
[18:25] 47 sn The eye of a needle refers to a sewing needle, one of the smallest items one might deal with on a regular basis, in contrast to the biggest animal of the region. (The gate in Jerusalem known as “The Needle’s Eye” was built during the middle ages and was not in existence in Jesus’ day.) Jesus is saying rhetorically that this is impossible, unless God (v. 27) intervenes.
[18:26] 48 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of thought.
[18:26] 49 sn The assumption is that the rich are blessed, so if they risk exclusion, who is left to be saved?
[18:27] 50 sn The term impossible is in the emphatic position in the Greek text. God makes the impossible possible.
[18:27] 51 tn The plural Greek term ἄνθρωποις (anqrwpois) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NASB 1995 update, “people”). Because of the contrast here between mere mortals and God (“impossible for men…possible for God”) the phrase “mere humans” has been used in the translation.
[18:28] 52 tn Or “left our homes,” “left our possessions”; Grk “left our own things.” The word ἴδιος (idios) can refer to one’s home (including the people and possessions in it) or to one’s property or possessions. Both options are mentioned in BDAG 467 s.v. 4.b. See also I. H. Marshall, Luke (NIGTC), 688; D. L. Bock, Luke (BECNT), 2:1488.
[18:28] 53 tn Grk “We have left everything we own and followed you.” Koine Greek often used paratactic structure when hypotactic was implied.
[18:29] 54 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[18:29] 55 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:29] 56 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
[18:29] 57 tn The term “brothers” could be understood as generic here, referring to either male or female siblings. However, it is noteworthy that in the parallel passages in both Matt 19:29 and Mark 10:29, “sisters” are explicitly mentioned in the Greek text.
[18:30] 58 sn Jesus reassures his disciples with a promise that (1) much benefit in this life (many times more) and (2) eternal life in the age to come will be given.
[18:30] 59 tn Grk “this time” (καιρός, kairos), but for stylistic reasons this has been translated “this age” here.
[18:30] 60 sn Note that Luke (see also Matt 19:29; Mark 10:30; Luke 10:25) portrays eternal life as something one receives in the age to come, unlike John, who emphasizes the possibility of receiving eternal life in the present (John 5:24).
[18:31] 61 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[18:31] 62 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:31] 63 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[18:31] 64 tn Or “fulfilled.” Jesus goes to Jerusalem by divine plan as the scripture records (Luke 2:39; 12:50; 22:37; Acts 13:29). See Luke 9:22, 44.
[18:32] 65 sn The passive voice verb be handed over does not indicate by whom, but other passages note the Jewish leadership and betrayal (9:22, 44).
[18:32] 66 sn See Luke 22:63; 23:11, 36.
[18:32] 67 tn Or “and insulted.” L&N 33.390 and 88.130 note ὑβρίζω (Jubrizw) can mean either “insult” or “mistreat with insolence.”
[18:32] 68 sn And spat on. Later Luke does not note this detail in the passion narrative in chaps. 22-23, but see Mark 14:65; 15:19; Matt 26:67; 27:30 where Jesus’ prediction is fulfilled.
[18:33] 69 tn Traditionally, “scourge” (the term means to beat severely with a whip, L&N 19.9). BDAG 620 s.v. μαστιγόω 1. states, “Of the beating (Lat. verberatio) given those condemned to death…J 19:1; cf. Mt 20:19; Mk 10:34; Lk 18:33.” Here the term has been translated “flog…severely” to distinguish it from the term φραγελλόω (fragellow) used in Matt 27:26; Mark 15:15.
[18:33] 70 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
[18:34] 71 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast.
[18:34] 72 tn Grk “they”; the referent (the twelve, v. 31) has been specified in the context for clarity.
[18:34] 73 tn Grk “And this.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
[18:34] 74 sn This failure of the Twelve to grasp what Jesus meant probably does not mean that they did not understand linguistically what Jesus said, but that they could not comprehend how this could happen to him, if he was really God’s agent. The saying being hidden probably refers to God’s sovereign timing.
[18:34] 75 tn Grk “the things having been said.” The active agent, Jesus, has been specified for clarity, and “said” has been translated as “meant” to indicate that comprehension of the significance is really in view here.
[18:35] 76 tn Grk “Now it happened that as.” 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.
[18:35] 77 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[18:35] 78 tn The phrase is “he drew near to” (19:29; 24:28). It is also possible the term merely means “is in the vicinity of.” Also possible is a reversal in the timing of the healing and Zacchaeus events for literary reasons as the blind man “sees” where the rich man with everything did not.
[18:35] 79 map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
[18:37] 80 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated. “They” could refer to bystanders or people in the crowd.
[18:38] 81 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the blind man learning that Jesus was nearby.
[18:38] 82 tn Grk “called out, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
[18:38] 83 sn Jesus was more than a Nazarene to this blind person, who saw quite well that Jesus was Son of David. He understood what Luke 7:22-23 affirms. There was a tradition in Judaism that the Son of David (Solomon) had great powers of healing (Josephus, Ant. 8.2.5 [8.42-49]).
[18:38] 84 sn Have mercy on me is a request for healing (cf. 17:13). It is not owed the man. He simply asks for God’s kind grace.
[18:39] 85 sn That is, those who were at the front of the procession.
[18:39] 86 tn Or “rebuked.” The crowd’s view was that surely Jesus would not be bothered with someone as unimportant as a blind beggar.
[18:39] 87 sn Public opinion would not sway the blind man from getting Jesus’ attention. The term shouted is strong as it can be used of animal cries.
[18:40] 88 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the beggar’s cries.
[18:40] 89 tn Grk “ordered him”; the referent (the blind beggar, v. 35) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:40] 90 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the beggar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:40] 91 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:41] 93 tn Grk “Lord, that I may see [again].” The phrase can be rendered as an imperative of request, “Please, give me sight.” Since the man is not noted as having been blind from birth (as the man in John 9 was) it is likely the request is to receive back the sight he once had.
[18:42] 94 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
[18:42] 95 tn Or “Regain” (see the note on the phrase “let me see again” in the previous verse).
[18:42] 96 tn Grk “has saved you,” but in a nonsoteriological sense; the man has been delivered from his disability.
[18:43] 97 tn Or “received” (see the note on the phrase “let me see again” in v. 41).
[18:43] 98 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:43] 99 sn The presence of God’s work leads again to joy, with both the beggar and the people praising God (1:64; 2:20; 5:25-26; 7:16; 13:13; 17:15; 19:37).
[18:43] 100 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
[18:43] 101 tn The word “too” has been supplied for stylistic reasons.
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