Luke 19:1

Jesus and Zacchaeus

19:1 Jesus ¹  entered Jericho ²  and was passing through it.

Luke 13:24

13:24 “Exert every effort ³  to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.

Luke 18:25

18:25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle ⁴  than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

[19:1]  ¹ tn Grk “And entering, he passed through”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:1]  ² map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[13:24]  ³ tn Or “Make every effort” (L&N 68.74; cf. NIV); “Do your best” (TEV); “Work hard” (NLT); Grk “Struggle.” The idea is to exert one’s maximum effort (cf. BDAG 17 s.v. ἀγωνίζομαι 2.b, “strain every nerve to enter”) because of the supreme importance of attaining entry into the kingdom of God.

[18:25]  ⁵ 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.