Lukas 3:16

3:16 John answered them all, ¹  “I baptize you with water, ²  but one more powerful than I am is coming – I am not worthy ³  to untie the strap ⁴  of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ⁵ 

Lukas 7:20

7:20 When ⁶  the men came to Jesus, ⁷  they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, ⁸  ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?’” ⁹ 

Lukas 8:10

8:10 He ¹⁰  said, “You have been given ¹¹  the opportunity to know ¹²  the secrets ¹³  of the kingdom of God, ¹⁴  but for others they are in parables, so that although they see they may not see, and although they hear they may not understand. ¹⁵ 

Lukas 12:27

12:27 Consider how the flowers ¹⁶  grow; they do not work ¹⁷  or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these!

Lukas 13:32

13:32 But ¹⁸  he said to them, “Go ¹⁹  and tell that fox, ²⁰  ‘Look, I am casting out demons and performing healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day ²¹  I will complete my work. ²² 

[3:16]  ¹ tn Grk “answered them all, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated.

[3:16]  ² tc A few mss (C D 892 1424 pc it ) add εἰς μετάνοιαν (ei" metanoian, “for repentance”). Although two of the mss in support are early and important, it is an obviously motivated reading to add clarification, probably representing a copyist’s attempt to harmonize Luke’s version with Matt 3:11.

[3:16]  ³ tn Grk “of whom I am not worthy.”

[3:16]  sn The humility of John is evident in the statement I am not worthy. This was considered one of the least worthy tasks of a slave, and John did not consider himself worthy to do even that for the one to come, despite the fact he himself was a prophet!

[3:16]  ⁴ tn The term refers to the leather strap or thong used to bind a sandal. This is often viewed as a collective singular and translated as a plural, “the straps of his sandals,” but it may be more emphatic to retain the singular here.

[3:16]  ⁵ sn With the Holy Spirit and fire. There are differing interpretations for this phrase regarding the number of baptisms and their nature. (1) Some see one baptism here, and this can be divided further into two options. (a) The baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire could refer to the cleansing, purifying work of the Spirit in the individual believer through salvation and sanctification, or (b) it could refer to two different results of Christ’s ministry: Some accept Christ and are baptized with the Holy Spirit, but some reject him and receive judgment. (2) Other interpreters see two baptisms here: The baptism of the Holy Spirit refers to the salvation Jesus brings at his first advent, in which believers receive the Holy Spirit, and the baptism of fire refers to the judgment Jesus will bring upon the world at his second coming. One must take into account both the image of fire and whether individual or corporate baptism is in view. A decision is not easy on either issue. The image of fire is used to refer to both eternal judgment (e.g., Matt 25:41) and the power of the Lord’s presence to purge and cleanse his people (e.g., Isa 4:4-5). The pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost, a fulfillment of this prophecy no matter which interpretation is taken, had both individual and corporate dimensions. It is possible that since Holy Spirit and fire are governed by a single preposition in Greek, the one-baptism view may be more likely, but this is not certain. Simply put, there is no consensus view in scholarship at this time on the best interpretation of this passage.

[7:20]  ⁶ tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[7:20]  ⁷ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:20]  ⁸ tn Grk “to you, saying,” but since this takes the form of a question, it is preferable to use the phrase “to ask” in English.

[7:20]  ⁹ tn This question is repeated word for word from v. 19.

[8:10]  ¹⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[8:10]  ¹¹ tn This is an example of a so-called “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ExSyn 437-38).

[8:10]  ¹² tn Grk “it has been given to you to know.” The dative pronoun occurs first, in emphatic position in the Greek text, although this position is awkward in contemporary English.

[8:10]  ¹³ tn Grk “the mysteries.”

[8:10]  sn The key term secrets (μυστήριον, musthrion) can mean either (1) a new revelation or (2) a revealing interpretation of existing revelation as in Dan 2:17-23, 27-30. Jesus seems to be explaining how current events develop old promises, since the NT consistently links the events of Jesus’ ministry and message with old promises (Rom 1:1-4; Heb 1:1-2). The traditional translation of this word, “mystery,” is misleading to the modern English reader because this English word suggests a secret which people have tried to uncover but which they have failed to understand (L&N 28.77).

[8:10]  ¹⁴ 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.

[8:10]  ¹⁵ sn A quotation from Isa 6:9. Thus parables both conceal or reveal depending on whether one is open to hearing what they teach.

[12:27]  ¹⁶ tn Traditionally, “lilies.” According to L&N 3.32, “Though traditionally κρίνον has been regarded as a type of lily, scholars have suggested several other possible types of flowers, including an anemone, a poppy, a gladiolus, and a rather inconspicuous type of daisy.” In view of the uncertainty, the more generic “flowers” has been used in the translation.

[12:27]  ¹⁷ tn Traditionally, “toil.” Although it might be argued that “work hard” would be a more precise translation of κοπιάω (kopiaw) here, the line in English scans better in terms of cadence with a single syllable.

[13:32]  ¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[13:32]  ¹⁹ tn The participle πορευθέντες (poreuqente") has been taken as indicating attendant circumstance.

[13:32]  ²⁰ sn That fox. This is not fundamentally a figure for cleverness as in modern western culture, but could indicate (1) an insignificant person (Neh 4:3; 2 Esd 13:35 LXX); (2) a deceiver (Song Rabbah 2.15.1 on 2:15); or someone destructive, a destroyer (Ezek 13:4; Lam 5:18; 1 En. 89:10, 42-49, 55). Luke’s emphasis seems to be on destructiveness, since Herod killed John the Baptist, whom Luke calls “the greatest born of women” (Luke 7:28) and later stands opposed to Jesus (Acts 4:26-28). In addition, “a person who is designated a fox is an insignificant or base person. He lacks real power and dignity, using cunning deceit to achieve his aims” (H. W. Hoehner, Herod Antipas [SNTSMS], 347).

[13:32]  ²¹ sn The third day is a figurative reference to being further on in time, not a reference to three days from now. Jesus is not even in Jerusalem yet, and the events of the last days in Jerusalem take a good week.

[13:32]  ²² tn Or “I reach my goal.” The verb τελειόω (teleiow) is a key NT term for the completion of God’s plan: See Luke 12:50; 22:37; John 19:30; and (where it has the additional component of meaning “to perfect”) Heb 2:10; 5:8-9; 7:28.