Luke 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.”

Luke 15:20

15:20 So ⁵  he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way from home ⁶  his father saw him, and his heart went out to him; ⁷  he ran and hugged ⁸  his son ⁹  and kissed him.

Luke 21:34

Be Ready!

21:34 “But be on your guard ¹⁰  so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day close down upon you suddenly like a trap. ¹¹ 

Luke 24:8

24:8 Then ¹²  the women remembered his words, ¹³ 

Luke 24:25

24:25 So ¹⁴  he said to them, “You ¹⁵  foolish people ¹⁶  – how slow of heart ¹⁷  to believe ¹⁸  all that the prophets have spoken!

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.

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).

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.

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.

⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of the son’s decision to return home. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

⁶ tn Grk “a long way off from [home].” The word “home” is implied (L&N 85.16).

⁷ tn Or “felt great affection for him,” “felt great pity for him.”

⁸ tn Grk “he fell on his neck,” an idiom for showing special affection for someone by throwing one’s arms around them. The picture is of the father hanging on the son’s neck in welcome.

⁹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the son) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁹ tn Grk “watch out for yourselves.”

¹⁰ sn Or like a thief, see Luke 12:39-40. The metaphor of a trap is a vivid one. Most modern English translations traditionally place the words “like a trap” at the end of v. 34, completing the metaphor. In the Greek text (and in the NRSV and REB) the words “like a trap” are placed at the beginning of v. 35. This does not affect the meaning.

¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

¹⁴ sn On his words see Luke 9:22.

¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the disciples’ inability to believe in Jesus’ resurrection.

¹⁸ tn Grk “O,” an interjection used both in address and emotion (BDAG 1101 s.v. 1).

¹⁹ tn The word “people” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied to complete the interjection.

²⁰ sn The rebuke is for failure to believe the promise of scripture, a theme that will appear in vv. 43-47 as well.

²¹ tn On the syntax of this infinitival construction, see BDAG 364-65 s.v. ἐπί 6.b.