Lukas 7:28

7:28 I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater ¹  than John. ²  Yet the one who is least ³  in the kingdom of God ⁴  is greater than he is.”

Lukas 13:28

13:28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth ⁵  when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, ⁶  and all the prophets in the kingdom of God ⁷  but you yourselves thrown out. ⁸ 

Lukas 18:16

18:16 But Jesus called for the children, ⁹  saying, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of God ¹⁰  belongs to such as these. ¹¹ 

Lukas 19:15

19:15 When ¹²  he returned after receiving the kingdom, he summoned ¹³  these slaves to whom he had given the money. He wanted ¹⁴  to know how much they had earned ¹⁵  by trading.

[7:28]  ¹ sn In the Greek text greater is at the beginning of the clause in the emphatic position. John the Baptist was the greatest man of the old era.

[7:28]  ² tc The earliest and best mss read simply ᾿Ιωάννου (Iwannou, “John”) here (Ì⁷⁵ א B L W Ξ Ë¹ 579 pc). Others turn this into “John the Baptist” (K 33 565 al it), “the prophet John the Baptist” (A [D] Θ Ë¹³ Ï lat), or “the prophet John” (Ψ 700 [892 1241] pc). “It appears that προφήτης was inserted by pedantic copyists who wished thereby to exclude Christ from the comparison, while others added τοῦ βαπτιστοῦ, assimilating the text to Mt 11.11” (TCGNT 119).

[7:28]  ³ sn After John comes a shift of eras. The new era is so great that the lowest member of it (the one who is least in the kingdom of God) is greater than the greatest one of the previous era.

[7:28]  ⁴ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus’ proclamation. 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. It is not strictly future, though its full manifestation is yet to come. That is why membership in it starts right after John the Baptist.

[13:28]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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.

[18:16]  ⁹ tn Grk “summoned them”; the referent (the children) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:16]  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.

[18:16]  ¹¹ sn The kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Children are a picture of those whose simple trust illustrates what faith is all about. The remark illustrates how everyone is important to God, even those whom others regard as insignificant.

[19:15]  ¹² tn Grk “And it happened that when.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[19:15]  ¹³ tn Grk “he said for these slaves to be called to him.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one and simplified to “he summoned.”

[19:15]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “in order that he might know” (a continuation of the preceding sentence). Due to the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronoun “he” as subject and the verb “wanted” to convey the idea of purpose.

[19:15]  ¹⁵ sn The Greek verb earned refers to profit from engaging in commerce and trade (L&N 57.195). This is an examination of stewardship.