Matthew 8:11-12

8:11 I tell you, many will come from the east and west to share the banquet ¹  with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ²  in the kingdom of heaven, 8:12 but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ³ 

Matthew 19:30

19:30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

Matthew 21:31

21:31 Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.” ⁴  Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, ⁵  tax collectors ⁶  and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God!

Mark 10:31

10:31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Luke 7:47

7:47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which were many, are forgiven, thus she loved much; ⁷  but the one who is forgiven little loves little.”

Luke 13:28-30

13:28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth ⁸  when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, ⁹  and all the prophets in the kingdom of God ¹⁰  but you yourselves thrown out. ¹¹  13:29 Then ¹²  people ¹³  will come from east and west, and from north and south, and take their places at the banquet table ¹⁴  in the kingdom of God. ¹⁵  13:30 But ¹⁶  indeed, ¹⁷  some are last ¹⁸  who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

Luke 15:7

15:7 I tell you, in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner ¹⁹  who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people ²⁰  who have no need to repent. ²¹ 

Luke 17:17-18

17:17 Then ²²  Jesus said, ²³  “Were ²⁴  not ten cleansed? Where are the other ²⁵  nine? 17:18 Was no one found to turn back and give praise to God except this foreigner?” ²⁶ 

John 12:19-22

12:19 Thus the Pharisees ²⁷  said to one another, “You see that you can do nothing. Look, the world has run off after him!”

Seekers

12:20 Now some Greeks ²⁸  were among those who had gone up to worship at the feast. 12:21 So these approached Philip, ²⁹  who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and requested, ³⁰  “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” 12:22 Philip went and told Andrew, and they both ³¹  went and told Jesus.

Romans 5:20

5:20 Now the law came in ³²  so that the transgression ³³  may increase, but where sin increased, grace multiplied all the more,

Romans 9:30

Israel’s Rejection Culpable

9:30 What shall we say then? – that the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness obtained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith,

[8:11]  ¹ tn Grk “and recline at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away. The word “banquet” has been supplied to clarify for the modern reader the festive nature of the imagery. The banquet imagery is a way to describe the fellowship and celebration of being among the people of God at the end.

[8:11]  ² tn Grk “and Isaac and Jacob,” 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.

[8:12]  ³ sn Weeping and gnashing of teeth is a figure for remorse and trauma, which occurs here because of exclusion from God’s promise.

[21:31]  ⁴ tc Verses 29-31 involve a rather complex and difficult textual problem. The variants cluster into three different groups: (1) The first son says “no” and later has a change of heart, and the second son says “yes” but does not go. The second son is called the one who does his father’s will. This reading is found in the Western mss (D it). But the reading is so hard as to be nearly impossible. One can only suspect some tampering with the text, extreme carelessness on the part of the scribe, or possibly a recognition of the importance of not shaming one’s parent in public. (Any of these reasons is not improbable with this texttype, and with codex D in particular.) The other two major variants are more difficult to assess. Essentially, the responses make sense (the son who does his father’s will is the one who changes his mind after saying “no”): (2) The first son says “no” and later has a change of heart, and the second son says “yes” but does not go. But here, the first son is called the one who does his father’s will (unlike the Western reading). This is the reading found in (א) C L W (Z) 0102 0281 ˹ 33 Ï and several versional witnesses. (3) The first son says “yes” but does not go, and the second son says “no” but later has a change of heart. This is the reading found in B Θ Ë¹³ 700 and several versional witnesses. Both of these latter two readings make good sense and have significantly better textual support than the first reading. The real question, then, is this: Is the first son or the second the obedient one? If one were to argue simply from the parabolic logic, the second son would be seen as the obedient one (hence, the third reading). The first son would represent the Pharisees (or Jews) who claim to obey God, but do not (cf. Matt 23:3). This accords well with the parable of the prodigal son (in which the oldest son represents the unbelieving Jews). Further, the chronological sequence of the second son being obedient fits well with the real scene: Gentiles and tax collectors and prostitutes were not, collectively, God’s chosen people, but they did repent and come to God, while the Jewish leaders claimed to be obedient to God but did nothing. At the same time, the external evidence is weaker for this reading (though stronger than the first reading), not as widespread, and certainly suspect because of how neatly it fits. One suspects scribal manipulation at this point. Thus the second reading looks to be superior to the other two on both external and transcriptional grounds. But what about intrinsic evidence? One can surmise that Jesus didn’t always give predictable responses. In this instance, he may well have painted a picture in which the Pharisees saw themselves as the first son, only to stun them with his application (v. 32).

[21:31]  ⁵ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[21:31]  ⁶ sn See the note on tax collectors in 5:46.

[7:47]  ⁷ tn Grk “for she loved much.” The connection between this statement and the preceding probably involves an ellipsis, to the effect that the ὅτι clause gives the evidence of forgiveness, not the ground. For similar examples of an “evidentiary” ὅτι, cf. Luke 1:22; 6:21; 13:2. See discussion in D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:703-5. Further evidence that this is the case here is the final statement: “the one who is forgiven little loves little” means that the one who is forgiven little is thus not able to love much. The REB renders this verse: “her great love proves that her many sins have been forgiven; where little has been forgiven, little love is shown.”

[13:28]  ⁸ sn Weeping and gnashing of teeth is a figure for remorse and trauma, which occurs here because of exclusion from God’s promise.

[13:28]  ⁹ tn Grk “and Isaac and Jacob,” 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.

[13:28]  ¹⁰ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[13:28]  ¹¹ tn Or “being thrown out.” The present accusative participle, ἐκβαλλομένους (ekballomenous), related to the object ὑμᾶς (Jumas), seems to suggest that these evildoers will witness their own expulsion from the kingdom.

[13:29]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events in the discourse.

[13:29]  ¹³ tn Grk “they”; the referent (people who will come to participate in the kingdom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:29]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “and recline at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away. The word “banquet” has been supplied to clarify for the modern reader the festive nature of the imagery The banquet imagery is a way to describe the fellowship and celebration of accompanying those who are included as the people of God at the end.

[13:29]  ¹⁵ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[13:30]  ¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[13:30]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “behold.”

[13:30]  ¹⁸ sn Some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last. Jesus’ answer is that some who are expected to be there (many from Israel) will not be there, while others not expected to be present (from other nations) will be present. The question is not, “Will the saved be few?” (see v. 23), but “Will it be you?”

[15:7]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Here δικαίοις (dikaioi") is an adjective functioning substantivally and has been translated “righteous people.”

[15:7]  ²¹ tn Or “who do not need to repent”; Grk “who do not have need of repentance.”

[17:17]  ²² tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[17:17]  ²³ tn Grk “Jesus answering said”; this is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation.

[17:17]  ²⁴ tn The Greek construction used here (οὐχί, ouci) expects a positive reply.

[17:17]  ²⁵ tn The word “other” is implied in the context.

[17:18]  ²⁶ sn Jesus’ point in calling the man a foreigner is that none of the other nine, who were presumably Israelites, responded with gratitude. Only the “outsiders” were listening and responding.

[12:19]  ²⁷ sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[12:20]  ²⁸ sn These Greeks (῞Ελληνές τινες, {ellhne" tine") who had come up to worship at the feast were probably “God-fearers” rather than proselytes in the strict sense. Had they been true proselytes, they would probably not have been referred to as Greeks any longer. Many came to worship at the major Jewish festivals without being proselytes to Judaism, for example, the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:27, who could not have been a proselyte if he were physically a eunuch.

[12:21]  ²⁹ sn These Greeks approached Philip, although it is not clear why they did so. Perhaps they identified with his Greek name (although a number of Jews from border areas had Hellenistic names at this period). By see it is clear they meant “speak with,” since anyone could “see” Jesus moving through the crowd. The author does not mention what they wanted to speak with Jesus about.

[12:21]  ³⁰ tn Grk “and were asking him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.

[12:22]  ³¹ tn Grk “Andrew and Philip”; because a repetition of the proper names would be redundant in contemporary English style, the phrase “they both” has been substituted in the translation.

[5:20]  ³² tn Grk “slipped in.”

[5:20]  ³³ tn Or “trespass.”