Luke 5:39

5:39 ¹  No ²  one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, ‘The old is good enough.’” ³ 

Luke 9:23

A Call to Discipleship

9:23 Then ⁴  he said to them all, ⁵  “If anyone wants to become my follower, ⁶  he must deny ⁷  himself, take up his cross daily, ⁸  and follow me.

Luke 13:31

Going to Jerusalem

13:31 At that time, ⁹  some Pharisees ¹⁰  came up and said to Jesus, ¹¹  “Get away from here, ¹²  because Herod ¹³  wants to kill you.”

[5:39]  ¹ tc The Western textual tradition (D it) lacks 5:39. The verse is unique to Luke, so the omission by these mss looks like assimilation to the other synoptic accounts.

[5:39]  ² tc ‡ Although most mss begin the verse with καί (kai, “and”), beginning the sentence without a conjunction is both a harder reading and is found in early and important witnesses (Ì^4,75vid א² B 579 700 892 1241). NA²⁷ puts the word in brackets indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[5:39]  ³ tc Most mss, especially the later ones (A C Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat), read χρηστότερος (crhstotero", “better”), a smoother reading. The reading of the text (found in Ì⁴ א B L W 1241 pc) is preferred as the more difficult reading. This reading could suggest that the new thing Jesus brings is not even considered, since the “old wine” is already found quite acceptable.

[9:23]  ⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[9:23]  ⁵ sn Here them all could be limited to the disciples, since Jesus was alone with them in v. 18. It could also be that by this time the crowd had followed and found him, and he addressed them, or this could be construed as a separate occasion from the discussion with the disciples in 9:18-22. The cost of discipleship is something Jesus was willing to tell both insiders and outsiders about. The rejection he felt would also fall on his followers.

[9:23]  ⁶ tn Grk “to come after me.”

[9:23]  ⁷ tn This translation better expresses the force of the Greek third person imperative than the traditional “let him deny,” which could be understood as merely permissive.

[9:23]  ⁸ sn Only Luke mentions taking up one’s cross daily. To bear the cross means to accept the rejection of the world for turning to Jesus and following him. Discipleship involves a death that is like a crucifixion; see Gal 6:14.

[13:31]  ⁷ tn Grk “At that very hour.”

[13:31]  ⁸ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[13:31]  ⁹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:31]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Go away and leave from here,” which is redundant in English and has been shortened to “Get away from here.”

[13:31]  ¹¹ sn Herod refers here to Herod Antipas. See the note on Herod Antipas in 3:1.