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 8:27

8:27 As ⁶  Jesus ⁷  stepped ashore, ⁸  a certain man from the town ⁹  met him who was possessed by demons. ¹⁰  For a long time this man ¹¹  had worn no clothes and had not lived in a house, but among ¹²  the tombs.

Lukas 12:48

12:48 But the one who did not know his master’s will ¹³  and did things worthy of punishment ¹⁴  will receive a light beating. ¹⁵  From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, ¹⁶  and from the one who has been entrusted with much, ¹⁷  even more will be asked. ¹⁸ 

Lukas 20:9

The Parable of the Tenants

20:9 Then ¹⁹  he began to tell the people this parable: “A man ²⁰  planted a vineyard, ²¹  leased it to tenant farmers, ²²  and went on a journey for a long time.

[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.

[8:27]  ⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[8:27]  ⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:27]  ⁸ tn Grk “stepped out on land.”

[8:27]  ⁹ tn Or “city.”

[8:27]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “who had demons.”

[8:27]  ¹¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the demon-possessed man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:27]  ¹² tn Or “in.”

[12:48]  ¹³ tn Grk “did not know”; the phrase “his master’s will” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the contemporary English reader.

[12:48]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “blows.”

[12:48]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “will receive few (blows).”

[12:48]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “required from him”; but the words “from him” are redundant in English and have not been translated.

[12:48]  ¹⁷ sn Entrusted with much. To be gifted with precious responsibility is something that requires faithfulness.

[12:48]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “they will ask even more.”

[20:9]  ¹⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. The parable Jesus tells here actually addresses the question put to him by the leaders.

[20:9]  ²⁰ tc ‡ There are several variants here, most of which involve variations in word order that do not affect translation. However, the presence or absence of τις (ti") after ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), which would be translated “a certain man,” does affect translation. The witnesses that have τις include A W Θ Ë¹³ 1241 2542 al sy. Those that lack it include א B C D L Ψ Ë¹ 33 Ï it. Externally, the evidence is significantly stronger for the omission. Internally, however, there is some pause. A feature unique to Luke-Acts in the NT is to use the construction ἄνθρωπος τις (cf. 10:30; 12:16; 14:2, 16; 15:11; 16:1; 19:12; Acts 9:33). However, scribes who were familiar with this idiom may have inserted it here. In light of the overwhelming external support for the omission of τις, the shorter reading is preferred. NA²⁷ places τις in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[20:9]  ²¹ sn The vineyard is a figure for Israel in the OT (Isa 5:1-7). The nation and its leaders are the tenants, so the vineyard here may well refer to the promise that resides within the nation. The imagery is like that in Rom 11:11-24.

[20:9]  ²² sn The leasing of land to tenant farmers was common in this period.