Luke 9 - Introduction
CHAPTER 9. THE CLOSE OF THE GALILEAN MINISTRY. SETTING THE FACE TOWARDS JERUSALEM.... [ Continue Reading ]
CHAPTER 9. THE CLOSE OF THE GALILEAN MINISTRY. SETTING THE FACE TOWARDS JERUSALEM.... [ Continue Reading ]
συγκαλεσάμενος δὲ : the δὲ turns attention to a new subject, and the part συγκαλ. implies that it is a matter of importance: calling together the _Twelve_, out of the larger company of disciples that usually followed Jesus, including the women mentioned in Luke 8:1-3. δύναμιν καὶ ἐξουσίαν, power and... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 9:1-50 contain sundry particulars which together form the closing scenes of the Galilean ministry: the mission of the Twelve, the feeding of the thousands, the conversation on the Christ and the cross, the transfiguration, the epileptic boy, the conversation on “who is the greatest”. At Luke 9:... [ Continue Reading ]
_The mission of the Twelve_ (Matthew 10:1; Matthew 10:5-15; Mark 6:7-13).... [ Continue Reading ]
This might have been viewed as an incidental mention of preaching as another subordinate function, but for the reference to healing (ἰᾶσθαι), which suggests that this verse is another way of stating the objects of the mission, perhaps taken from another source.... [ Continue Reading ]
The instructions in this and the next two verses follow pretty closely the version in Mk. μηδὲν αἴρετε εἰς τὴν ὁδόν : as in Mk., but in direct speech, while Mk.'s is indirect (ἵνα μ. αἴρωσιν.) μήτε ῥάβδον : Lk. interprets tie prohibition more severely than Mk. Not a staff (Mk. except a staff only).... [ Continue Reading ]
Thus far of material wants. We now pass to social relations. The general direction here is: stay in the same house all the time you are in a place; pithily put by Lk. = ἐκεῖ μένετε, ἐκεῖθεν ἐξέρχεσθε, _there_ remain, _thence_ depart, both adverbs referring to οἰκίαν.... [ Continue Reading ]
By omitting the ἀκούσωσιν ὑμῶν of Mk. Lk. gives the impression that non-receiving refers to the missionaries not as _preachers_ but as _guests_ = If they will not take you into the house you select, do not try another house, leave the place (so Hahn). This would be rather summary action, and contrar... [ Continue Reading ]
Brief statement, as in Mk., as to the execution of the mission, but wanting his reference to the use of oil in healing. Hahn states that this mission was purely pedagogic, for the benefit of the Twelve, not of the people. This is a mere unfounded assertion. The training of the Twelve by no means ap... [ Continue Reading ]
_Herod's interest in Jesus_ (Matthew 14:1-2; Mark 6:14-16). ὁ τετράρχης as in Mt., βασιλεὺς in Mk. τὰ γινόμενα πάντα, all the things which were happening, most naturally taken as referring to the mission of the Twelve, though it is difficult to believe that Herod had not heard of Jesus till then. δι... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐφάνη, appeared, the proper word to use of one who had not died, but been translated.... [ Continue Reading ]
Ἰ. ἐγὼ ἀπεκεφάλισα : the fact stated in the form of a confession by the criminal, but the grim story not told. ἐγὼ, emphatic, the “I” of a guilty troubled conscience. τις : he has no theory, but is simply puzzled, yet the question almost implies suspicion that Jesus is John returned to life. Could t... [ Continue Reading ]
The Twelve return from their mission and report what they had _done_; Mk. adds and _taught_. ὑπεχώρησε, withdrew, here and in Luke 5:16, only, in N. T. The reason of this retirement does not appear in Lk.'s narrative, nor whether Jesus with His disciples went by land or by sea.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Feeding of the multitude_ (Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; John 6:1-14).... [ Continue Reading ]
οἱ ὄχλοι : no particular multitude is meant, but just the crowds that were wont to gather around Jesus. In Mt. and Mk. Jesus appears as endeavouring (in vain) to escape from the people. In Lk. this feature is not prominent. Even the expression τόπον ἔρημον in Luke 9:10 is probably not genuine. What... [ Continue Reading ]
κλίνειν, the day began to _decline_; the fact is alluded to here, not in a participial clause, but in an independent sentence, as bringing an unwelcome close to the beneficent labours of Jesus. He went on teaching and healing, _but_ (δὲ) the day, etc. καταλύσωσι : the disciples in Lk. are solicitous... [ Continue Reading ]
πλεῖον ἢ : on the construction, _vide_ Winer, § 58, 4 obs. 1. εἰ μήτι … ἀγοράσωμεν, unless perhaps we are to buy, etc.; εἰ with subjunctive is one of the forms of protasis in N. T. to express a future supposition with some probability, εἰ takes also present and future indicative. _Vide_ Burton, M. a... [ Continue Reading ]
Hence also he does not think it worth while to mention the amount of money at their disposal (200 denarii, Mark 6:37). κλισίας, dining parties, answering to Mk.'s συμπόσια. Mk.'s πρασιαὶ, describing the appearance to the eye. like flower beds, with their gay garments, red, blue, yellow, Lk. omits.... [ Continue Reading ]
εὐλόγησεν αὐτοὺς, He blessed them (the loaves), and by the blessing made them sufficient for the wants of all. In Mt. and Mk. εὐλόγησεν has no object. This is the only trait added by Lk. to enhance the greatness of the miracle, unless the position of πάντες after ἐχορτάσθησαν be another = they ate a... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Christ and the cross_ (Matthew 16:13-28; Mark 8:27 to Mark 9:1). At this point occurs a great gap in Lk.'s narrative as compared with those of Mt. and Mk., all between Matthew 14:22; Matthew 16:12 and between Mark 6:45; Mark 8:27 being omitted. Various explanations of the omission have been sug... [ Continue Reading ]
τὸν Χριστὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ : even the form of the confession, as here given, hides its significance. Peter speaks the language of the apostolic age, _the Christ of God_, a commonplace of the Christian faith. Mk.'s Thou art the _Christ_, laconic, emphatic, is original by comparison, and Mt.'s form still mo... [ Continue Reading ]
_The cross and cross-bearing_.... [ Continue Reading ]
εἰπὼν introduces reference to the coming sufferings of Jesus in a quite incidental way as a reason why the disciples should keep silence as to the Messiahship of their Master, just confessed. The truth is that the conversation as to the _Christ_ was a mere prelude to a very formal, solemn, and plain... [ Continue Reading ]
ἔλεγε δὲ πρὸς πάντας : with this formula Lk. smoothly passes from Christ's statement concerning His own Passion to the kindred topic of cross-bearing as the law of discipleship. The discourse on that theme is reproduced in much the same terms as in the parallel accounts. But it loses greatly in poin... [ Continue Reading ]
ἑαυτὸν ἀπολέσας ἢ ζημιωθείς = losing, or receiving damage in, his own self (Field, _Ot. Nor._). The idea expressed by the second participle seems to be that even though it does not come to absolute loss, yet if gaining the world involve damage to the self, the moral personality taint, lowering of th... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐν τῇ δόξῃ, etc., in the glory of Father, Son, and holy angels, a sort of trinitarian formula.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀληθῶς = ἀμὴν in parallels. αὐτοῦ, here = ὧδε in parallels. τὴν βασ. τ. Θ., the Kingdom of God, a simplified expression compared with those in Mt. and Mk., perhaps due to the late period at which Lk. wrote, probably understood by him as referring to the origination of the church at Pentecost.... [ Continue Reading ]
τοὺς λόγους τούτους : the words about the Passion and cross-bearing. ὡσεὶ ἡμέραι ὀκτώ : no real discrepancy between Lk. and the other evangelists (after six days). Πέτρον, etc., Peter, _John_ and _James_, same order as in Luke 8:51 ([90] [91], etc.). εἰς τὸ ὄρος : the mountain contiguous to the scen... [ Continue Reading ]
_The transfiguration_ (Matthew 17:1-13; Mark 9:2-13).... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐν τῷ προσεύχεσθαι, while praying, and as the result of the exercise. ἕτερον, different; a real objective change, not merely to the view of the three disciples. Lk. omits ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῶν. λευκὸς may be viewed as an adverb in _function_, qualifying ἐξαστράπτων (De Wette), but there is no reason why i... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐν δόξῃ : this is peculiar to Lk. ἔλεγον, were speaking about. Kypke thinks more is meant: speaking with praise (_cum laude aliquid commemorare_). One could have accepted this sense had Peter's opposition been reported. τὴν ἔξοδον, decease, death; so in 2 Peter 1:15. Other words for death are ἔκβασι... [ Continue Reading ]
βεβαρ. ὕπνῳ : this particular, in Lk. only, implies that it was a night scene; so also the expression ἐν τῇ ἑξῆς ἡμέρᾳ, Luke 9:37. The celestial visitants are supposed to arrive while the disciples are asleep. They fell asleep while their Master prayed, as at Gethsemane. διαγρηγορήσαντες, having tho... [ Continue Reading ]
While the two celestials were departing Peter made his proposal, to prevent them from going. μὴ εἰδὼς, etc., not knowing what he said; an apology for a proposal to keep the two celestials from returning to heaven.... [ Continue Reading ]
It is not clear who were enveloped by the cloud. If the reading ἐκείνους before εἰσελθεῖν were retained it would imply that the three disciples were outside; αὐτοὺς, the reading of [92], etc., implies that all were within. [92] Codex Vaticanus (sæc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐκλελεγμένος, the reading of [93] [94] [95], is to be preferred, because ἀγαπητός, T. R., is conformed to that in the parallels; here only in N. T. [93] Codex Sinaiticus (sæc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862. [94] Codex Vaticanus (sæ... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐσίγησαν, they were silent; “in those days,” it is added, implying that afterwards (after the resurrection) they spoke of the experience. Lk. does not mention the injunction of Jesus to keep silence, nor the conversation on the way down the hill about Elijah and John the Baptist.... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 9:37-43 a. _The epileptic boy_ (Matthew 17:14-21; Mark 9:14-29).... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐπιβλέψαι, to look with pity, as in Luke 1:48. μονογενής, only son, as in Luke 7:12; Luke 8:42. to bring out the benevolence of the miracle.... [ Continue Reading ]
κράζει, he (the boy) crieth. σπαράσσει, he (the demon) teareth him.... [ Continue Reading ]
προσερχομένου αὐτοῦ, while the boy was approaching Jesus, in accordance with His request that he should be brought to Him, the demon made a final assault on his victim, rending and convulsing him.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐπὶ τῇ μεγαλειότητι τ. Θεοῦ, the people were astonished _at the majesty of God_, revealed in the power that could work such a cure. In Acts 2:22 God is represented as working miracles through Jesus. So the matter is conceived here. But Lk. thinks of the majesty of God as immanent in Jesus.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Second prediction of the Passion_ (Matthew 17:22-23; Mark 9:30-32). πάντων θαυμαζόντων, etc., while all were wondering at all the things which He did. The reference is to the cure of the epileptic, which led the multitude to see in Jesus the bearer of the majesty or greatness of the Almighty. εἶπε.... [ Continue Reading ]
μέλλει παραδίδοσθαι, is about to be betrayed. Lk. gives the specialty of the second prediction as in the parallels. Where he fails in comparison with Mt. and Mk. is in grasping the _psychological_ situation the emotional state of Christ's mind. _Cf._ remarks on Mk., _ad loc._ Lk.'s Christ is compara... [ Continue Reading ]
_Who might be the greatest_ (Matthew 18:1-5; Mark 9:33-41).... [ Continue Reading ]
εἰσῆλθε διαλογισμὸς, now there entered in among them (the Twelve) a _thought_. Lk.'s way of introducing this subject seems to show a desire, by way of sparing the future Apostles, to make as little of it as possible. It is merely a thought of the heart (τῆς καρδίας, Luke 9:47), not a dispute as in M... [ Continue Reading ]
παρʼ ἑαυτῷ, beside Himself, not ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν, as in Mt. and Mk., as if to say, here is the greater one.... [ Continue Reading ]
τοῦτο τὸ παιδίον, this particular child not such a child, or what such a child represents, the little and insignificant as in Mt. and Mk. Yet Lk.'s expression practically means that = this child, for example. δέξηται : in Lk. the receiving of the little child is placed first in the discourse of Jesu... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐκωλύσαμεν (T. R.), aorist, instead of Mk.'s imperfect; the former implies successful repression, the latter an attempt at it. _Vide_ notes on Mk., _ad loc._ μεθʼ ἡμῶν : Phrynichus objects to this construction after ἀκολουθεῖν, and says it should be followed by the dative. But Lobeck gives examples... [ Continue Reading ]
forms the introduction to the great division, Luke 9:51 to Luke 18:15. It makes all that follows up to the _terminus ad quem_ stand under the solemn heading: _the beginning of the end_. From this time forth Jesus has the close of His earthly career in view. His face is fixedly set towards Jerusalem... [ Continue Reading ]
_Looking southward. Samaritan intolerance_.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Samaritan intolerance_. εἰς κώμην Σαμαρειτῶν : this indicates an intention to go southward through Samaritan territory. Not an unusual thing. Josephus (Antiq., xx., vi. 1) states that it was the custom for Galileans going to Jerusalem to the feasts to pass through Samaria. ἐτοιμάσαι α., to prepare... [ Continue Reading ]
Ἰάκωβος καὶ Ἰωάννης : their outburst of temper, revealed in their truculent proposal, probably indicated the attitude of the whole company. In that case journeying through Samaria was hopeless. καταβῆναι, infinitive, instead of ἵνα with subjunctive as often after εἰπεῖν.... [ Continue Reading ]
στραφεὶς : an imposing gesture, as in Luke 7:9; Luke 7:44.... [ Continue Reading ]
εἰς ἑτέραν κώμην, to another village, probably in Galilee; both in the borderland.... [ Continue Reading ]
_New disciples_. ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ : the indication of time is not precise. It does not mean, on the way to the other village, mentioned just before (Meyer), but on the way to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51). Grotius thinks the connection is purely topical. “Visum est Lucae connectere τὰ ὁμογενέα.” The first two of t... [ Continue Reading ]
This remarkable saying is given in identical terms by Mt. and Lk. _Vide_ on Mt.... [ Continue Reading ]
_The second case_ (Matthew 8:21-22). ἀκολούθει μοι. Jesus takes the initiative in this case. That He should not have done so in the first is intelligible if the aspirant was a _scribe_. Jesus did not look for satisfactory discipleship from that quarter. σὺ δὲ, but _thou_, emphatic, implying that the... [ Continue Reading ]
_The third case_, peculiar to Lk., and setting forth a distinct type. ἀκολουθήσω σοι, I will follow Thee, implying that he also has been asked to do so, and that he is ready, but on a condition. ἐπίτρεψόν μοι : this is a type of man who always wants to do something, in which he is himself specially... [ Continue Reading ]
οὐδεὶς ἐπιβαλὼν, etc.: the necessity of self-concentration inculcated in proverbial language borrowed from agricultural life. Wetstein cites from Hesiod, Ἔργ., ver. 443, the well-known lines: ἰθεῖαν αὔλακʼ ἐλαύνοι, Μηκέτι παπταίνων μεθʼ ὁμήλικας, ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ ἔργῳ Θυμὸν ἔχων. The ambition to make a stra... [ Continue Reading ]