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 8:51

8:51 Now when he came to the house, Jesus ⁶  did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John, ⁷  and James, and the child’s father and mother.

Luke 15:20

15:20 So ⁸  he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way from home ⁹  his father saw him, and his heart went out to him; ¹⁰  he ran and hugged ¹¹  his son ¹²  and kissed him.

[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.

[8:51]  ⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:51]  ⁷ tn Grk “and John,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[15:20]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the son’s decision to return home. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

[15:20]  ¹² tn Grk “a long way off from [home].” The word “home” is implied (L&N 85.16).

[15:20]  ¹³ tn Or “felt great affection for him,” “felt great pity for him.”

[15:20]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he fell on his neck,” an idiom for showing special affection for someone by throwing one’s arms around them. The picture is of the father hanging on the son’s neck in welcome.

[15:20]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the son) has been specified in the translation for clarity.