translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: LUK

label: NET study note

text: See the note on Pharisees in 5:17 .


text: Watching…closely is a graphic term meaning to lurk and watch; see Luke 11:53-54 .


text: The condition called dropsy involves swollen limbs resulting from the accumulation of fluid in the body’s tissues, especially the legs.


text: “ Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not? ” Will the Pharisees and experts in religious law defend tradition and speak out against doing good on the Sabbath? Has anything at all been learned since Luke 13:10-17 ? Has repentance come ( 13:6-9 )?


text: They could not reply. Twice in the scene, the experts remain silent (see v. 4 ). That, along with the presence of power working through Jesus, serves to indicate endorsement of his work and message.


text: The point of the statement the one who humbles himself will be exalted is humility and the reversal imagery used to underline it is common: Luke 1:52-53; 6:21; 10:15; 18:14 .


text: That is, the leader of the Pharisees (v. 1 ).


text: Normally the term means crippled as a result of being maimed or mutilated (L&N 23.177).


text: This list of needy is like Luke 7:22 . See Deut 14:28-29; 16:11-14; 26:11-13 .


text: You will be blessed. God notes and approves of such generosity.


text: The passive verb will be repaid looks at God’s commendation.


text: 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 .


text: Presumably those invited would have sent a reply with the invitation stating their desire to attend, much like a modern R.S.V.P. Then they waited for the servant to announce the beginning of the celebration (D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 2:1272).


text: To make excuses and cancel at this point was an insult in the culture of the time. Regardless of customs concerning responses to invitations, refusal at this point was rude.


text: I have bought a field. An examination of newly bought land was a common practice. It was this person’s priority.


text: The expression Please excuse me is probably a polite way of refusing, given the dynamics of the situation, although it is important to note that an initial acceptance had probably been indicated and it was now a bit late for a refusal. The semantic equivalent of the phrase may well be “please accept my apologies.”


text: Five yoke of oxen. This was a wealthy man, because the normal farmer had one or two yoke of oxen.


text: I just got married, and I cannot come. There is no request to be excused here; just a refusal. Why this disqualifies attendance is not clear. The OT freed a newly married man from certain responsibilities such as serving in the army ( Deut 20:7; 24:5 ), but that would hardly apply to a banquet. The invitation is not respected in any of the three cases.


text: It was necessary to go out quickly because the banquet was already prepared. All the food would spoil if not eaten immediately.


text: The poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame. Note how the list matches v. 13 , illustrating that point. Note also how the party goes on; it is not postponed until a later date. Instead new guests are invited.


text: And still there is room. This comment suggests the celebration was quite a big one, picturing the openness of God’s grace.


text: Go out to the highways and country roads. This suggests the inclusion of people outside the town, even beyond the needy (poor, crippled, blind, and lame) in the town, and so is an allusion to the inclusion of the Gentiles.


text: So that my house will be filled . God will bless many people.


text: None of those individuals who were invited. This is both the point and the warning. To be a part of the original invitation does not mean one automatically has access to blessing. One must respond when the summons comes in order to participate. The summons came in the person of Jesus and his proclamation of the kingdom. The statement here refers to the fact that many in Israel will not be blessed with participation, for they have ignored the summons when it came.


text: It is important to note that the following remarks are not just to disciples, but to the large crowds who were following Jesus.


text: It was customary practice in a Roman crucifixion for the prisoner to be made to carry his own cross . Jesus is speaking figuratively here in the context of rejection. If the priority is not one’s allegiance to Jesus, then one will not follow him in the face of possible rejection; see Luke 9:23 .


text: The phrase this man is often used in Luke in a derogatory sense; see “this one” and expressions like it in Luke 5:21; 7:39; 13:32; 23:4, 14, 22, 35 .


text: The failure to finish the building project leads to embarrassment (in a culture where avoiding public shame was extremely important). The half completed tower testified to poor preparation and planning.


text: This image is slightly different from the former one about the tower (vv. 28-30 ). The first part of the illustration ( sit down first and determine ) deals with preparation. The second part of the illustration ( ask for terms of peace ) has to do with recognizing who is stronger. This could well suggest thinking about what refusing the “stronger one” (God) might mean, and thus constitutes a warning. Achieving peace with God, the more powerful king, is the point of the illustration.


text: The difficulty of this saying is understanding how salt could lose its flavor since its chemical properties cannot change. It is thus often assumed that Jesus was referring to chemically impure salt, perhaps a natural salt which, when exposed to the elements, had all the genuine salt leached out, leaving only the sediment or impurities behind. Others have suggested the background of the saying is the use of salt blocks by Arab bakers to line the floor of their ovens: Under the intense heat these blocks would eventually crystallize and undergo a change in chemical composition, finally being thrown out as unserviceable. A saying in the Talmud ( b. Bekhorot 8b) attributed to R. Joshua ben Chananja (ca. a.d. 90), when asked the question “When salt loses its flavor, how can it be made salty again?” is said to have replied, “By salting it with the afterbirth of a mule.” He was then asked, “Then does the mule (being sterile) bear young?” to which he replied: “Can salt lose its flavor?” The point appears to be, both are impossible. The saying, while admittedly late, suggests that culturally the loss of flavor by salt was regarded as an impossibility. Genuine salt can never lose its flavor. In this case the saying by Jesus here may be similar to Matt 19:24 , where it is likewise impossible for the camel to go through the eye of a sewing needle.