Luke 3:8

3:8 Therefore produce ¹  fruit ²  that proves your repentance, and don’t begin to say ³  to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ ⁴  For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! ⁵ 

Luke 12:1

Fear God, Not People

12:1 Meanwhile, ⁶  when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus ⁷  began to speak first to his disciples, “Be on your guard against ⁸  the yeast of the Pharisees, ⁹  which is hypocrisy. ¹⁰ 

Luke 12:33

12:33 Sell your possessions ¹¹  and give to the poor. ¹²  Provide yourselves purses that do not wear out – a treasure in heaven ¹³  that never decreases, ¹⁴  where no thief approaches and no moth ¹⁵  destroys.

[3:8]  ¹ tn The verb here is ποιέω (poiew; see v. 4).

[3:8]  ² tn Grk “fruits.” The plural Greek term καρπούς has been translated with the collective singular “fruit” (so NIV; cf. Matt 3:8 where the singular καρπός is found). Some other translations render the plural καρπούς as “fruits” (e.g., NRSV, NASB, NAB, NKJV).

[3:8]  ³ tn In other words, “do not even begin to think this.”

[3:8]  ⁴ sn We have Abraham as our father. John’s warning to the crowds really assumes two things: (1) A number of John’s listeners apparently believed that simply by their physical descent from Abraham, they were certain heirs of the promises made to the patriarch, and (2) God would never judge his covenant people lest he inadvertently place the fulfillment of his promises in jeopardy. In light of this, John tells these people two things: (1) they need to repent and produce fruit in keeping with repentance, for only that saves from the coming wrath, and (2) God will raise up “children for Abraham from these stones” if he wants to. Their disobedience will not threaten the realization of God’s sovereign purposes.

[3:8]  ⁵ sn The point of the statement God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham is that ancestry or association with a tradition tied to the great founder of the Jewish nation is not an automatic source of salvation.

[12:1]  ⁶ tn The phrase ἐν οἷς (en Jois) can be translated “meanwhile.”

[12:1]  ⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:1]  ⁸ tn According to L&N 27.59, “to pay attention to, to keep on the lookout for, to be alert for, to be on your guard against.” This is another Lukan present imperative calling for constant vigilance.

[12:1]  ⁹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[12:1]  ¹⁰ sn The pursuit of popularity can lead to hypocrisy, if one is not careful.

[12:33]  ¹¹ sn The call to sell your possessions is a call to a lack of attachment to the earth and a generosity as a result.

[12:33]  ¹² tn Grk “give alms,” but this term is not in common use today.

[12:33]  ¹³ tn Grk “in the heavens.”

[12:33]  ¹⁴ tn Or “an unfailing treasure in heaven,” or “an inexhaustible treasure in heaven.”

[12:33]  ¹⁵ tn The term σής (shs) refers to moths in general. It is specifically the larvae of moths that destroy clothing by eating holes in it (L&N 4.49; BDAG 922 s.v.). See Jas 5:2, which mentions “moth-eaten” clothing.