Lukas 8:39

8:39 “Return to your home, ¹  and declare ²  what God has done for you.” ³  So ⁴  he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole town ⁵  what Jesus ⁶  had done for him.

Lukas 9:23

A Call to Discipleship

9:23 Then ⁷  he said to them all, ⁸  “If anyone wants to become my follower, ⁹  he must deny ¹⁰  himself, take up his cross daily, ¹¹  and follow me.

Lukas 16:18

16:18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries ¹²  someone else commits adultery, and the one who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

[8:39]  ¹ tn Grk “your house.”

[8:39]  ² tn Or “describe.”

[8:39]  ³ sn Jesus instructs the man to declare what God has done for him, in contrast to the usual instructions (e.g., 8:56; 9:21) to remain silent. Here in Gentile territory Jesus allowed more open discussion of his ministry. D. L. Bock (Luke [BECNT], 1:781) suggests that with few Jewish religious representatives present, there would be less danger of misunderstanding Jesus’ ministry as political.

[8:39]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the man’s response to Jesus’ instructions.

[8:39]  ⁵ tn Or “city.”

[8:39]  ⁶ sn Note that the man could not separate what God had done from the one through whom God had done it (what Jesus had done for him). This man was called to witness to God’s goodness at home.

[9:23]  ⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[9:23]  ⁸ sn Here them all could be limited to the disciples, since Jesus was alone with them in v. 18. It could also be that by this time the crowd had followed and found him, and he addressed them, or this could be construed as a separate occasion from the discussion with the disciples in 9:18-22. The cost of discipleship is something Jesus was willing to tell both insiders and outsiders about. The rejection he felt would also fall on his followers.

[9:23]  ⁹ tn Grk “to come after me.”

[9:23]  ¹⁰ tn This translation better expresses the force of the Greek third person imperative than the traditional “let him deny,” which could be understood as merely permissive.

[9:23]  ¹¹ sn Only Luke mentions taking up one’s cross daily. To bear the cross means to accept the rejection of the world for turning to Jesus and following him. Discipleship involves a death that is like a crucifixion; see Gal 6:14.

[16:18]  ¹² sn The examples of marriage and divorce show that the ethical standards of the new era are still faithful to promises made in the presence of God. To contribute to the breakup of a marriage, which involved a vow before God, is to commit adultery. This works whether one gets a divorce or marries a person who is divorced, thus finalizing the breakup of the marriage. Jesus’ point concerns the need for fidelity and ethical integrity in the new era.