Luke 9:23

A Call to Discipleship

9:23 Then ¹  he said to them all, ²  “If anyone wants to become my follower, ³  he must deny ⁴  himself, take up his cross daily, ⁵  and follow me.

Luke 11:18

11:18 So ⁶  if ⁷  Satan too is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? I ask you this because ⁸  you claim that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.

Luke 15:17

15:17 But when he came to his senses ⁹  he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have food ¹⁰  enough to spare, but here I am dying from hunger!

[9:23]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[9:23]  ² 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]  ³ tn Grk “to come after me.”

[9:23]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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.

[11:18]  ⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the clause that follows is a logical conclusion based on the preceding examples.

[11:18]  ⁷ tn This first class condition, the first of three “if” clauses in the following verses, presents the example vividly as if it were so. In fact, all three conditions in these verses are first class. The examples are made totally parallel. The expected answer is that Satan’s kingdom will not stand, so the suggestion makes no sense. Satan would not seek to heal.

[11:18]  ⁸ tn Grk “because.” “I ask you this” is supplied for the sake of English.

[15:17]  ¹¹ tn Grk “came to himself” (an idiom).

[15:17]  ¹² tn Grk “bread,” but used figuratively for food of any kind (L&N 5.1).