Luke 5:32

5:32 I have not come ¹  to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” ² 

Luke 3:3

3:3 He ³  went into all the region around the Jordan River, ⁴  preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ 

Luke 24:47

24:47 and repentance ⁶  for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed ⁷  in his name to all nations, ⁸  beginning from Jerusalem. ⁹ 

Luke 3:8

3:8 Therefore produce ¹⁰  fruit ¹¹  that proves your repentance, and don’t begin to say ¹²  to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ ¹³  For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! ¹⁴ 

Luke 15:7

15:7 I tell you, in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner ¹⁵  who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people ¹⁶  who have no need to repent. ¹⁷ 

[5:32]  ¹ sn I have not come is another commission statement by Jesus; see 4:43-44.

[5:32]  ² sn Though parallels exist to this saying (Matt 9:13; Mark 2:17), only Luke has this last phrase but sinners to repentance. Repentance is a frequent topic in Luke’s Gospel: 3:3, 8; 13:1-5; 15:7, 10; 16:30; 17:3-4; 24:47.

[3:3]  ³ tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[3:3]  ⁴ tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

[3:3]  ⁵ sn A baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins was a call for preparation for the arrival of the Lord’s salvation. To participate in this baptism was a recognition of the need for God’s forgiveness with a sense that one needed to live differently as a response to it (Luke 3:10-14).

[24:47]  ⁵ sn This repentance has its roots in declarations of the Old Testament. It is the Hebrew concept of a turning of direction.

[24:47]  ⁶ tn Or “preached,” “announced.”

[24:47]  ⁷ sn To all nations. The same Greek term (τὰ ἔθνη, ta eqnh) may be translated “the Gentiles” or “the nations.” The hope of God in Christ was for all the nations from the beginning.

[24:47]  ⁸ sn Beginning from Jerusalem. See Acts 2, which is where it all starts.

[3:8]  ⁷ tn The verb here is ποιέω (poiew; see v. 4).

[3:8]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn In other words, “do not even begin to think this.”

[3:8]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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.

[15:7]  ⁹ sn There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. The pursuit of the sinner is a priority in spite of the presence of others who are doing well (see also Luke 5:32; 19:10). The theme of repentance, a major Lukan theme, is again emphasized.

[15:7]  ¹⁰ tn Here δικαίοις (dikaioi") is an adjective functioning substantivally and has been translated “righteous people.”

[15:7]  ¹¹ tn Or “who do not need to repent”; Grk “who do not have need of repentance.”