Psalms 119:133

119:133 Direct my steps by your word! ¹ 

Do not let any sin dominate me!

Luke 4:18

4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed ²  me to proclaim good news ³  to the poor. ⁴ 

He has sent me ⁵  to proclaim release ⁶  to the captives

and the regaining of sight ⁷  to the blind,

to set free ⁸  those who are oppressed, ⁹ 

John 8:30-36

8:30 While he was saying these things, many people ¹⁰  believed in him.

Abraham’s Children and the Devil’s Children

8:31 Then Jesus said to those Judeans ¹¹  who had believed him, “If you continue to follow my teaching, ¹²  you are really ¹³  my disciples 8:32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ¹⁴  8:33 “We are descendants ¹⁵  of Abraham,” they replied, ¹⁶  “and have never been anyone’s slaves! How can you say, ¹⁷  ‘You will become free’?” 8:34 Jesus answered them, “I tell you the solemn truth, ¹⁸  everyone who practices ¹⁹  sin is a slave ²⁰  of sin. 8:35 The slave does not remain in the family ²¹  forever, but the son remains forever. ²²  8:36 So if the son ²³  sets you free, you will be really free.

James 1:25

1:25 But the one who peers into the perfect law of liberty and fixes his attention there, ²⁴  and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out – he ²⁵  will be blessed in what he does. ²⁶ 

James 2:12

2:12 Speak and act as those who will be judged by a law that gives freedom. ²⁷ 

James 2:2

2:2 For if someone ²⁸  comes into your assembly ²⁹  wearing a gold ring and fine clothing, and a poor person enters in filthy clothes,

James 2:19

2:19 You believe that God is one; well and good. ³⁰  Even the demons believe that – and tremble with fear. ³¹ 

[119:133]  ¹ tn God’s “word” refers here to his law (see v. 11).

[4:18]  ² sn The phrase he has anointed me is an allusion back to Jesus’ baptism in Luke 3:21-22.

[4:18]  ³ tn Grk “to evangelize,” “to preach the gospel.”

[4:18]  ⁴ sn The poor is a key term in Luke. It refers to the pious poor and indicates Jesus’ desire to reach out to those the world tends to forget or mistreat. It is like 1:52 in force and also will be echoed in 6:20 (also 1 Pet 2:11-25). Jesus is commissioned to do this.

[4:18]  ⁵ tc The majority of mss, especially the later Byzantines, include the phrase “to heal the brokenhearted” at this point (A Θ Ψ 0102 ˹ Ï). The phrase is lacking in several weighty mss (א B D L W Ξ Ë¹³ 33 579 700 892* pc lat sy^s co), including representatives from both the Alexandrian and Western texttypes. From the standpoint of external evidence, the omission of the phrase is more likely original. When internal evidence is considered, the shorter reading becomes almost certain. Scribes would be much more prone to add the phrase here to align the text with Isa 61:1, the source of the quotation, than to remove it from the original.

[4:18]  ⁶ sn The release in view here is comprehensive, both at a physical level and a spiritual one, as the entire ministry of Jesus makes clear (Luke 1:77-79; 7:47; 24:47; Acts 2:38; 5:31; 10:43).

[4:18]  ⁷ sn Again, as with the previous phrase, regaining of sight may well mean more than simply miraculously restoring physical sight, which itself pictures a deeper reality (Luke 1:77-79; 18:35-43).

[4:18]  ⁸ sn The essence of Jesus’ messianic work is expressed in the phrase to set free. This line from Isa 58 says that Jesus will do what the nation had failed to do. It makes the proclamation messianic, not merely prophetic, because Jesus doesn’t just proclaim the message – he brings the deliverance. The word translated set free is the same Greek word (ἄφεσις, afesi") translated release earlier in the verse.

[4:18]  ⁹ sn Again, as with the previous phrases, oppressed may well mean more than simply political or economic oppression, but a deeper reality of oppression by sin (Luke 1:77-79; 18:35-43).

[8:30]  ¹⁰ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied for clarity and smoothness in the translation.

[8:31]  ¹¹ tn Grk “to the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory (i.e., “Judeans”), the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9; also BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e.) Here the phrase refers to the Jewish people in Jerusalem who had been listening to Jesus’ teaching in the temple and had believed his claim to be the Messiah, hence, “those Judeans who had believed him.” The term “Judeans” is preferred here to the more general “people” because the debate concerns descent from Abraham (v. 33).

[8:31]  ¹² tn Grk “If you continue in my word.”

[8:31]  ¹³ tn Or “truly.”

[8:32]  ¹⁴ tn Or “the truth will release you.” The translation “set you free” or “release you” (unlike the more traditional “make you free”) conveys more the idea that the hearers were currently in a state of slavery from which they needed to be freed. The following context supports precisely this idea.

[8:33]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “We are the seed” (an idiom).

[8:33]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “They answered to him.”

[8:33]  ¹⁷ tn Or “How is it that you say.”

[8:34]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[8:34]  ¹⁹ tn Or “who commits.” This could simply be translated, “everyone who sins,” but the Greek is more emphatic, using the participle ποιῶν (poiwn) in a construction with πᾶς (pas), a typical Johannine construction. Here repeated, continuous action is in view. The one whose lifestyle is characterized by repeated, continuous sin is a slave to sin. That one is not free; sin has enslaved him. To break free from this bondage requires outside (divine) intervention. Although the statement is true at the general level (the person who continually practices a lifestyle of sin is enslaved to sin) the particular sin of the Jewish authorities, repeatedly emphasized in the Fourth Gospel, is the sin of unbelief. The present tense in this instance looks at the continuing refusal on the part of the Jewish leaders to acknowledge who Jesus is, in spite of mounting evidence.

[8:34]  ²⁰ tn See the note on the word “slaves” in 4:51.

[8:35]  ²¹ tn Or “household.” The Greek work οἰκία (oikia) can denote the family as consisting of relatives by both descent and marriage, as well as slaves and servants, living in the same house (more the concept of an “extended family”).

[8:35]  ²² sn Jesus’ point is that while a slave may be part of a family or household, the slave is not guaranteed a permanent place there, while a son, as a descendant or blood relative, will always be guaranteed a place in the family (remains forever).

[8:36]  ²³ tn Or “Son.” The question is whether “son” is to be understood as a direct reference to Jesus himself, or as an indirect reference (a continuation of the generic illustration begun in the previous verse).

[1:25]  ²⁴ tn Grk “continues.”

[1:25]  ²⁵ tn Grk “this one.”

[1:25]  ²⁶ tn Grk “in his doing.”

[2:12]  ²⁷ tn Grk “a law of freedom.”

[2:2]  ²⁸ tn The word for “man” or “individual” here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” But as BDAG 79 s.v. 2 says, “equivalent to τὶς someone.”

[2:2]  ²⁹ tn Grk “synagogue.” Usually συναγωγή refers to Jewish places of worship (e.g., Matt 4:23, Mark 1:21, Luke 4:15, John 6:59). The word can be used generally to refer to a place of assembly, and here it refers specifically to a Christian assembly (BDAG 963 s.v. 2.b.).

[2:19]  ³⁰ tn Grk “you do well.”

[2:19]  ³¹ tn Grk “believe and tremble.” The words “with fear” are implied.