Luke 23:40

Context
23:40 But the other rebuked him, saying,¹ “Don’t² you fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?³

Luke 4:41

Context
4:41 Demons also came out⁴ of many, crying out,⁵ “You are the Son of God!”⁶ But he rebuked⁷ them, and would not allow them to speak,⁸ because they knew that he was the Christ.⁹

[23:40] ¹tn Grk “But answering, the other rebuking him, said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[23:40] ²tn The particle used here (οὐδέ, oude), which expects a positive reply, makes this a rebuke – “You should fear God and not speak!”

[23:40] ³tn The words “of condemnation” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[4:41] ⁴sn Demons also came out. Note how Luke distinguishes healing from exorcism here, implying that the two are not identical.

[4:41] ⁵tn Grk “crying out and saying.” The participle λέγοντα (legonta) is redundant in English and has not been translated here.

[4:41] ⁶tc Most mss (A Q Θ Ψ 0102 Ë^1,13 Ï) read “the Christ, the Son of God.” But the earliest and best mss, along with several other witnesses (א B C D L W Ξ 33 579 700 1241 2542 lat sa), lack “the Christ” here. It is likely that later scribes wished to bring the demons’ confession in line with what Luke says they knew later in the verse.

[4:41] ⁷tn Or “commanded,” but “rebuke” implies strong disapproval, which seems to be more in keeping with the context here (L&N 33.419).

[4:41] ⁸sn Jesus would not allow the demons to speak because the time for such disclosure was not yet at hand, and such a revelation would have certainly been misunderstood by the people. In all likelihood, if the people had understood him early on to be the Son of God, or Messiah, they would have reduced his mission to one of political deliverance from Roman oppression (cf. John 6:15). Jesus wanted to avoid, as much as possible, any premature misunderstanding about who he was and what he was doing. However, at the end of his ministry, he did not deny such a title when the high priest asked him (22:66-71).

[4:41] ⁹tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”