translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: LUK

label: NET study note

text: Note how Luke distinguishes between exorcisms ( authority over all demons ) and diseases here.


text: “To send out” is often a term of divine commission in Luke: 1:19; 4:18, 43; 7:27; 9:48; 10:1, 16; 11:49; 13:34; 24:49 .


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: As Jesus’ own ministry ( Luke 4:16-44 ) involved both word ( to proclaim ) and deed ( to heal ) so also would that of the disciples.


text: Mark 6:8 allows one staff. It might be that Luke’s summary (cf. Matt 10:9-10 ) means not taking an extra staff or that the expression is merely rhetorical for “traveling light” which has been rendered in two slightly different ways.


text: Jesus telling his disciples to stay there in one house contrasts with the practice of religious philosophers in the ancient world who went from house to house begging.


text: To shake the dust off represented shaking off the uncleanness from one’s feet; see Luke 10:11 ; Acts 13:51; 18:6 . It was a sign of rejection.


text: Herod refers here to Herod Antipas. See the note on Herod Antipas in 3:1 .


text: See the note on tetrarch in 3:1 .


text: John refers to John the Baptist, whom Herod had beheaded (v. 9 ).


text: The appearance of Elijah would mean that the end time had come. According to 2 Kgs 2:11 , Elijah was still alive. In Mal 4:5 it is said that Elijah would be the precursor of Messiah.


text: The phrase had risen could be understood to mean “had been resurrected,” but this is only a possible option, not a necessary one, since the phrase could merely mean that a figure had appeared on the scene who mirrored an earlier historical figure. The three options of vv. 7-8 will be repeated in v. 19 .


text: Bethsaida was a town on the northeast side of the Sea of Galilee. Probably this should be understood to mean a place in the vicinity of the town. It represents an attempt to reconcile the location with the place of the miraculous feeding that follows.


text: Again the combination of word ( spoke to them ) and healing ( cured , compassionate deed) is what summarizes Jesus’ ministry: See Luke 4:38-44; 6:17-19; 7:22 (as also the disciples, 9:6 ).


text: Not only would going and buying food have been expensive and awkward at this late time of day, it would have taken quite a logistical effort to get the food back out to this isolated location.


text: This is a parenthetical note by the author.


text: Gave thanks adds a note of gratitude to the setting. The scene is like two other later meals: Luke 22:19 and 24:30 . Jesus gives thanks to God “with respect to” the provision of food. The disciples learn how Jesus is the mediator of blessing. speaks of him in this scene as picturing the “Bread of Life.”


text: There was more than enough for everybody, as indicated by the gathering of what was left over .


text: Prayer is a favorite theme of Luke and he is the only one of the gospel authors to mention it in the following texts (with the exception of 22:41 ): Luke 3:21; 5:16; 6:12; 9:28-29; 11:1; 22:41; 23:34, 46 .


text: “ Who do the crowds say that I am? ” The question of who Jesus is occurs frequently in this section of Luke: 7:49; 8:25; 9:9 . The answer resolves a major theme of Luke’s Gospel.


text: The phrase has risen could be understood to mean “has been resurrected,” but this is only a possible option, not a necessary one, since the phrase could merely mean that a figure had appeared on the scene who mirrored an earlier historical figure. Note that the three categories in the reply match the ones in Luke 9:7-8 .


text: No explanation for the command not to tell this to anyone is given, but the central section of Luke, chapters 9-19 , appears to reveal a reason. The disciples needed to understand who the Messiah really was and exactly what he would do before they were ready to proclaim Jesus as such. But they and the people had an expectation that needed some instruction to be correct.


text: The necessity that the Son of Man suffer is the particular point that needed emphasis, since for many 1st century Jews the Messiah was a glorious and powerful figure, not a suffering one.


text: Rejection in Luke is especially by the Jewish leadership (here elders, chief priests, and experts in the law ), though in almost all will join in.


text: The description of the Son of Man being rejected…killed, and…raised is the first of six passion summaries in Luke: 9:44; 17:25; 18:31-33; 24:7; 24:46-47 .


text: 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.


text: 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 .


text: The point of the saying whoever wants to save his life will lose it is that if one comes to Jesus then rejection by many will certainly follow. If self-protection is a key motivation, then one will not respond to Jesus and will not be saved. One who is willing to risk rejection will respond and find true life.


text: How one responds now to Jesus and his teaching is a reflection of how Jesus, as the Son of Man who judges, will respond then in the final judgment.


text: The meaning of the statement that some will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God is clear at one level, harder at another. Jesus predicts some will experience the kingdom before they die. When does this happen? (1) An initial fulfillment is the next event, the transfiguration. (2) It is also possible in Luke’s understanding that all but Judas experience the initial fulfillment of the coming of God’s presence and rule in the work of . In either case, the “kingdom of God” referred to here would be the initial rather than the final phase.


text: Commentators and scholars discuss why Moses and Elijah are present. The most likely explanation is that Moses represents the prophetic office ( Acts 3:18-22 ) and Elijah pictures the presence of the last days ( Mal 4:5-6 ), the prophet of the eschaton (the end times).


text: This cloud is the cloud of God’s presence and the voice is his as well.


text: The expression listen to him comes from Deut 18:15 and makes two points: 1) Jesus is a prophet like Moses, a leader-prophet, and 2) they have much yet to learn from him.


text: Although the disciples told no one at the time, later they did recount this. The commentary on this scene is 2 Pet 1:17-18 .


text: The reaction is like an epileptic fit (see L&N 14.27). See the parallel in Matt 17:14-20 .


text: Note the repetition of the verb from v. 38 , an indication of the father’s desperation.


text: The pronouns you…you are plural, indicating that Jesus is speaking to a group rather than an individual.


text: At this point the boy was thrown down in another convulsion by the demon. See L&N 23.168.


text: This is a reference to an evil spirit. See Luke 4:33 .


text: The revelation of the mighty power of God was the manifestation of God’s power shown through Jesus. See Acts 10:38 .


text: The passive verb had been concealed probably indicates that some force was preventing them from responding. It is debated whether God or Satan is meant here. By 24:25 it is clear that their lack of response is their own responsibility. The only way to reverse this is to pay careful attention as v. 44 a urges.


text: Children were very insignificant in ancient culture, so this child would be the perfect object lesson to counter the disciples’ selfish ambitions.


text: Taken up is a reference to Jesus’ upcoming return to heaven by crucifixion and resurrection (compare Luke 9:31 ). This term was used in the LXX of Elijah’s departure in 2 Kgs 2:9 .


text: א B L Ξ 579 700* 1241 pc lat sa). It is difficult to explain how the shorter reading could have arisen from the longer, especially since it is well represented early on. However, the longer reading looks to have been a marginal note originally, incorporated into the text of Luke by early scribes. An allusion to 2 Kgs 1:10, 12, 14 .


text: [579] 700 2542 pm it) have at the end of the verse (with slight variations) “and he said, ‘You do not know what sort of spirit you are of, for the Son of Man did not come to destroy people’s lives, but to save [them].’” This variant is clearly secondary, as it gives some content to the rebuke. Further, it is difficult to explain how such rich material would have been omitted by the rest of the witnesses, including the earliest and best mss . The point of the rebuke is that now was not the time for judgment but patience; see 2 Pet 3:9 .


text: lat co). The statement “ I will follow you wherever you go ” is an offer to follow Jesus as a disciple, no matter what the cost.


text: Jesus’ reply is simply this: Does the man understand the rejection he will be facing? Jesus has no home in the world ( the Son of Man has no place to lay his head ).


text: There are several options for the meaning of Jesus’ reply Leave the dead to bury their own dead : (1) Recent research suggests that burial customs in the vicinity of Jerusalem from about 20 b.c. to a.d. 70 involved a reinterment of the bones a year after the initial burial, once the flesh had rotted away. At that point the son would have placed his father’s bones in a special box known as an ossuary to be set into the wall of the tomb. Thus Jesus could well be rebuking the man for wanting to wait around for as much as a year before making a commitment to follow him. In 1st century Jewish culture, to have followed Jesus rather than burying one’s father would have seriously dishonored one’s father (cf. Tobit 4:3-4). (2) The remark is an idiom (possibly a proverbial saying) that means, “The matter in question is not the real issue,” in which case Jesus was making a wordplay on the wording of the man’s (literal) request (see L&N 33.137). (3) This remark could be a figurative reference to various kinds of people, meaning, “Let the spiritually dead bury the dead.” (4) It could also be literal and designed to shock the hearer by the surprise of the contrast. Whichever option is preferred, it is clear that the most important priority is to preach the gospel ( proclaim the kingdom of God ).


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: Jesus warns that excessive concern for family ties ( looks back ) will make the kingdom a lesser priority, which is not appropriate for discipleship. The image is graphic, for who can plow straight ahead toward a goal while looking back? Discipleship cannot be double-minded.