Lukas 6:20

6:20 Then ¹  he looked up ²  at his disciples and said:

“Blessed ³  are you who are poor, ⁴  for the kingdom of God belongs ⁵  to you.

Lukas 19:12

19:12 Therefore he said, “A nobleman ⁶  went to a distant country to receive ⁷  for himself a kingdom and then return. ⁸ 

[6:20]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[6:20]  ² tn Grk “lifting up his eyes” (an idiom). The participle ἐπάρας (epara") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[6:20]  ³ sn The term Blessed introduces the first of several beatitudes promising blessing to those whom God cares for. They serve as an invitation to come into the grace God offers.

[6:20]  ⁴ sn You who are poor is a reference to the “pious poor” for whom God especially cares. See Ps 14:6; 22:24; 25:16; 34:6; 40:17; 69:29.

[6:20]  ⁵ sn The present tense (belongs) here is significant. Jesus makes the kingdom and its blessings currently available. This phrase is unlike the others in the list with the possessive pronoun being emphasized. Jesus was saying, in effect, “the kingdom belongs even now to people like you.”

[19:12]  ⁶ tn Grk “a man of noble birth” or “a man of noble status” (L&N 87.27).

[19:12]  ⁷ sn Note that the receiving of the kingdom takes place in the far country. This suggests that those in the far country recognize and acknowledge the king when his own citizens did not want him as king (v. 14; cf. John 1:11-12).

[19:12]  ⁸ sn The background to this story about the nobleman who went…to receive for himself a kingdom had some parallels in the area’s recent history: Archelaus was appointed ethnarch of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea in 4 b.c., but the people did not like him. Herod the Great also made a similar journey to Rome where he was crowned King of Judea in 40 b.c., although he was not able to claim his kingdom until 37 b.c.