16:1 manager. Wealthy people had managers to run their estates; some of these were slaves (see 1Co 4:1), but this one is free (vv. 2–4).

16:2 Give an account. The manager must provide his account books but knows he will be fired.

16:3 dig . . . beg. Digging (an arduous task sometimes relegated to prisoners of war) and begging were considered shameful, and might yield only subsistence income.

16:4 Ancient culture emphasized reciprocity, returning favors. The families dealing with the produce noted in vv. 6–7 are themselves wealthy, and might welcome a manager with business experience who had already supported their interests.

16:5 How much do you owe . . . ? Contracts specified what they would owe at harvest time; the manager, however, is able to change the contract. Rather than extorting more money, the manager does the opposite.

16:6 Nine hundred gallons of olive oil. That is, more than 3,000 liters; the fruit of some 150 olive trees.

16:7 A thousand bushels of wheat. That is, about 30 tons (27 metric tons); the harvest of some 100 acres (40 hectares). Scholars suggest that he forgives about 500 denarii in each case (the olive oil in v. 6 was worth about 1,000 denarii, and the wheat in v. 7 was worth about 2,500). Take . . . make it. By having the debtors change the bill in their own handwriting, the manager avoids being held accountable.

16:8 Landowners sometimes forgave or reduced debts in times of famine or other crises; those forgiven normally praised the creditor as benevolent in return. The landowner now recognizes his manager’s shrewdness: if the owner protests that the manager acted on his own, the debtors will be angry with the owner and generous toward the manager. For the sake of his honor, the owner is not likely to try to exact more from the debtors than what his manager promised. As far as the account books, the apparent lower income (v. 1) will now be attributed to generosity rather than to the manager’s mismanagement, honoring the owner. people of this world. Lit. “children of this age,” a phrase that would probably communicate to a Jewish audience that these people have no share in the world to come. the light. Lit. “children of light,” a phrase the Dead Sea Scrolls use to describe those who truly follow God.

16:9 use worldly wealth to gain friends. The point seems to be that one should use money for people rather than as an end in itself. wealth. Lit. “mammon” (see note on v. 13).

16:13 two masters. Two people sharing a slave was a rare situation; it arose, e.g., when two siblings inherited one slave. When it did occur, the slave normally preferred one master to the other. money. Lit. “mammon”; it was an Aramaic designation for money or property, but here Jesus apparently personifies it graphically.

16:14 Pharisees, who loved money. Although most Pharisees valued caring for the poor and did not belong to the elite, neither were many poor. The majority came from families with the means to allow them to be educated as Pharisees.

16:15 Jesus may echo 1Sa 16:7. The prophets often warned that God cared more about justice than about religious cultic practices (Isa 1:11–17; 58:3–7; Jer 6:20; Hos 6:6; Am 5:22–24).

16:16 The Law and the Prophets. Jewish people often used this phrase to summarize all of Scripture, and here perhaps the era treated in those works. forcing their way into it. Some of Jesus’ contemporaries wanted to use force (e.g., fighting against Rome) to bring about God’s kingdom; Jesus may speak here instead, parabolically, of spiritual zeal.

16:17 least stroke of a pen. See note on Mt 5:18.

16:18 Anyone who divorces . . . and marries another . . . commits adultery. See notes on Mt 5:31, 32.

16:19 purple. Although imitation purple dye existed, the dominant source of the dye came from crushing murex shellfish around Tyre. It was necessarily expensive; one source estimates 10,000 shellfish to produce a single gram of the dye. Robes so dyed not surprisingly carried a strong odor, but purple’s expense made it a status symbol.

16:20 Lazarus. Greek for Eleazar. Parables occasionally named a character; the surprise for ancient hearers would be that Jesus names the beggar rather than the rich man.

16:21 what fell from the rich man’s table. In wealthy homes, dogs might eat the scraps from the tables. dogs . . . licked his sores. Although some Gentile homes had dogs as pets, Jewish people considered them unclean scavengers, and would have found their contact with Lazarus’s open sores revolting.

16:22 angels carried him to Abraham’s side. Jewish stories and artwork depicted angels escorting the righteous to paradise and (sometimes) demons dragging the wicked to hell. Abraham’s side. See note on 13:28. buried. The wealthy received lavish burials; Jewish custom required at least a simple burial for even the poorest person, but the parable’s silence about Lazarus’s burial contrasts starkly with that of the rich man.

16:23 In a similar rabbinic parable the rich sinner went to paradise because he did one good deed; here, however, he is damned, apparently for letting Lazarus starve. Hades. Simply specifies the realm of the dead (hence that the rich man died), but the “torment” (here) and “fire” (v. 24) indicate that he is in what Jewish tradition specified as Gehinnom (which was conceived as fiery torment) or at least something like it.

16:24 fire. See note on Mt 3:12; see also Gehinnom.

16:25 he is comforted here and you are in agony. Many Jewish people expected an inversion of status in the end time (cf. Isa 2:11–12; 1 Enoch 96:8; Wisdom of Solomon 5:3–5); in particular, God would exalt oppressed Israel and judge the Gentiles. Many believed that they belonged to God, as part of the chosen people, by virtue of their descent from Abraham (see note on Mt 3:9). comforted. See note on 2:25.

16:29 Moses and the Prophets. Like “the Law and the Prophets” (v. 16), this phrase refers to the entire OT Scripture (the Torah could be referred to as “[the books of] Moses”).

16:31 even if someone rises from the dead. Ancient writers could prepare their audiences for later plot developments; here the warning portends the later failure to believe Jesus’ resurrection.

17:1, 2 stumble. A common ancient metaphor for sin or apostasy (e.g., Sirach 9:5; 23:8; 32:15); here the stumbling block merits a millstone.

17:2 thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck. See note on Mt 18:6.

17:3 rebuke them. Jewish custom required private reproof before exposing someone before a Jewish judicial assembly. forgive them. Jewish tradition valued forgiveness, though genuine repentance should include restitution and no plans to sin again.

17:6 mustard seed. Scholars do not all agree about which plant is meant by the mustard plant, but ancient sources agree in describing the mustard seed as proverbially small. mulberry tree. Scholars usually identify the tree here as the black mulberry; its wide root system reportedly made it hard to uproot.

17:7–8 sit down to eat . . . Prepare my supper. Masters virtually never ate with slaves, least of all field slaves; one who was reported to do so (Cato) did so because he saved money by sharing the less expensive food served to his slaves, whom he often mistreated. Even a Roman aristocrat who ate even with his freedmen was considered unusual. A home with just one multitasking slave, as here, was far from elite, though this would not likely be the home of a Galilean tenant farmer either. Although field work lasted longer during harvest, during other seasons a slave might finish and be ready to serve an afternoon meal after 3:00 p.m.

17:16 he was a Samaritan. In this border region (v. 11), the common condition of leprosy apparently surmounted the normal prejudice between Jews and Samaritans (see note on 9:52–53), uniting the lepers (v. 12). Ironically, lepers in ancient Samaria (2Ki 7:3), then the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, were among those not cleansed in Elisha’s day (Lk 4:27).

17:20–21 Jewish people prayed regularly for the coming of God’s kingdom, or reign (see note on 11:2). They expected it to include Israel’s (and usually creation’s) restoration. Many debated what signs would portend its coming and some developed schemes to predict when it would come (usually specifying a date in the near future). Although Jewish people recognized that God also reigns in the present, Jesus’ answer might appear to the Pharisees like a riddle. Because Jesus was the promised king, his presence indicated that the kingdom had come among them.

17:22 days of the Son of Man. Some Jewish teachers spoke of a future era they called “the days of the Messiah.” Later rabbis spoke of this as an era when the Messiah would rule, between the present world and the glorious age to come.

17:23 Even in the decades immediately following Jesus’ ministry, some figures envisioning themselves as being like Moses or Joshua gained followers to try (unsuccessfully) to bring about God’s kingdom.

17:26–29 days of Noah . . . days of Lot . . . Sodom. Ancient Jewish sources depicted Noah’s generation (Ge 6:11–13) and Sodom (Ge 18:20; 19:4–9), sometimes together, as the epitome of evil. The point here is that they thought only of life as usual, and sudden judgment took them by surprise (Ge 7:21–23; 19:24–25).

17:31 housetop. Rooftops in this region were flat, and people engaged in various activities on their roofs, such as drying vegetables, chatting with neighbors, praying, and the like. The roof was approached by an outside staircase or ladder, so it would take extra time to enter the house after descending. field. See, e.g., Mt 24:18 (see note there).

17:32 Remember Lot’s wife! Because Lot’s wife could not let go of her life in Sodom, she looked back and perished, becoming a pillar of salt (Ge 19:26).

17:35 grinding grain together. Many Galilean homes shared a common courtyard with other families, and housewives worked together at a common millstone. Here one is taken to judgment (v. 37) but the other is spared despite their close association.

17:37 vultures will gather. Ancient sources often depicted corpses strewn on battlefields or after other slaughter being eaten by carrion birds such as vultures (see, e.g., Eze 32:4; 39:17–20).

18:2 neither feared God nor cared what people thought. The law required judges to be fair and just (Lev 19:15; Dt 16:18); corruption was forbidden (Ex 23:8; Dt 10:17). As in this case, however, it certainly did happen (1Sa 8:3).

18:3 widow. Because men controlled judicial settings and advocacy, widows were easily exploited; the law commanded that they be defended (Ex 22:22; Dt 24:17; Isa 1:17).

18:5 because this widow keeps bothering me. Usually only men pleaded cases in court, but when women did speak men considered them courageous and, insofar as we can tell from ancient records, usually granted their requests. In this case, however, the judge gives in just to make her stop harassing him (which was her only means of securing justice).

18:6–7 Parables are analogies, and not every point in the story is meant for comparison. Here Jesus reasons (as often in ancient Jewish argument) from lesser to greater: if an unjust judge would grant justice, how much more will the perfectly just God?

18:8 will he find faith on the earth? Jewish people often expected a period of intense suffering, leading some to apostasy, before the day of God’s judgment and vindication of his people. Cf. teaching regarding endurance in 21:19, 36; 22:32, 40.

18:10 Pharisee . . . tax collector. Later rabbis sometimes contrasted Pharisees and tax collectors as the epitomes of piety and sin, respectively.

18:11 Among Jesus’ contemporaries, thanking God for one’s piety, rather than taking credit for it, was considered pious and humble. Yet this Pharisee also “looked down on everyone else” (v. 9).

18:12 fast twice a week. Particularly devout Jews fasted without water on Mondays and Thursdays (later Christians, seeking to avoid their example, fasted instead on Wednesdays and Fridays!—Didache 8.1) tenth of all I get. Pharisees were known to be meticulous in tithing on agricultural produce; so rigorous were they that if they could not be certain that farmers had already tithed the produce, Pharisees would tithe it again. See note on Mt 23:23.

18:13 look up to heaven. People often looked to heaven when they prayed. beat his breast. An act of mourning, in this case for one’s sin. The tax collector here recognizes that he can depend only on God’s mercy, not his own righteousness.

18:14 The exaltation of the humble and humbling of those who exalt themselves recalls an OT principle of judgment (Isa 2:11–12; Eze 21:26), here applied to the religiously proud.

18:15 bringing babies to Jesus. A person blessed by God could lay hands on someone to pray for a blessing on them (Ge 48:14). rebuked them. Because they were concerned that others respect the time and physical space around their teachers, disciples sometimes tried to protect their teachers from distractions (2Ki 4:27).

18:16 little children. See note on Mt 18:3. do not hinder them. A man of God could overrule his disciple from keeping a supplicant away; Jesus might here follow the honorable example of Elisha (2Ki 4:27). Perhaps the disciples, eager for Jesus’ kingdom in Jerusalem, failed to understand what his kingdom was really about, in caring for others.

18:18 Later surviving sources record that non-disciples sometimes asked Jewish teachers how to have eternal life. This man thus asks a somewhat natural question, but he is not prepared for Jesus’ extraordinary answer.

18:20 See notes on Mt 19:17, 18–19.

18:22 Sell everything you have. See note on Mt 19:22.

18:25 camel . . . through the eye of a needle. Against some popular but mistaken notions that the “needle’s eye” was the name of a gate in first-century Jerusalem, a needle’s eye back then meant what it means today—a very tiny opening. It provided a graphic contrast for a camel. In Babylonia, where the largest animal was an elephant, Jewish teachers could speak of what was nearly impossible as “an elephant passing through the eye of a needle.” In Judea and Galilee, the largest animal was a camel; getting it through a needle’s eye provided an apt metaphor for what was virtually impossible.

18:27 See note on Mt 19:26.

18:29 left home or . . . children. For the disciples and the Galilean villagers whom Jesus often addressed, loyalty to family was paramount in their culture. Jesus comes before everything else, even the otherwise most important matters.

18:30 many times as much in this age. Perhaps this is true because Jesus’ followers together are meant to care for one another as family.

18:31 everything . . . will be fulfilled. See note on Mt 16:21.

18:32 spit on him. Spitting on someone was a form of malice, and Jewish people deemed the spittle of Gentiles impure.

18:33 flog him. Flogging the accused after stripping him naked normally preceded execution.

18:35 Jericho. About 17 miles (27 kilometers)—less than a day’s walk—from Jerusalem, although the journey would be uphill from here. In this period Jericho was wealthy, with residences of aristocratic priests and with winter palaces once held by Herod the Great. The ruins of the original Jericho lay south of the current city; some scholars thus think that this verse and Mk 10:46 speak of different sites. begging. Especially during this time of pilgrimage for the festival, a beggar on the roadside might acquire ample provision.

18:38, 39 Son of David. An implication that he believes Jesus to be the Messianic king.

18:39 shouted all the more. Refusing to be deterred expresses faith (cf., e.g., 2Ki 4:27–28).

19:2 Jericho was fertile and wealthy; many wealthy priests lived there, and because of its strategic border location (between Judea and Antipas’s Perea) customs duties would also be significant. chief tax collector. Zacchaeus would hire those who collected taxes and would set collection policies. These factors would have made him wealthy even had he behaved ethically—but he had not (v. 8).

19:3 short. People often gave greater attention to those who were tall, but everyone locally would know Zacchaeus (mostly negatively; v. 7). In his case, his height is an issue only because he could not see. For average height in this period, see note on Jn 7:25.

19:4 sycamore-fig tree. Ficus sycomorus did bear figs but it was less desirable than the fruit of normal fig trees, and the tree was used especially for wood. Major limbs of the tree spread out close to the ground, making it easier to climb (certainly high enough to see above the crowd).

19:5 I must stay. Offers of hospitality were valued, and providing hospitality to a renowned teacher would be considered an honor. Nevertheless, respectable people did not normally request hospitality—and especially from someone deemed sinful. Jerusalem remained 17 uphill miles (27 kilometers) farther down the road, so Jesus and his disciples would need to spend the night somewhere and resume the journey the next morning.

19:7 guest of a sinner. Zacchaeus would have a home large enough to host Jesus and his disciples. For the poor reputation of tax collectors, see note on Mk 2:14. Zacchaeus also had developed a reputation for lack of integrity (v. 8). Table fellowship created bonds of friendship; Pharisees would also likely doubt that the food had been tithed, and thus question whether it would be acceptable to eat it in that condition.

19:8 cheated. People sometimes paid tax collectors bribes to prevent higher fees being extorted. Zacchaeus’s position would have also allowed him to make false accusations that could lead even to people being imprisoned; people would have to cooperate with him, even if reluctantly. four times the amount. Normally one made restitution when seeking forgiveness; Zacchaeus offers it in response to the gift of forgiveness. Pharisees demanded four- or fivefold restitution only for the offenses specified in Ex 22:1, but Zacchaeus recognizes that his activity of cheating people is equivalent to theft and promises to make fourfold restitution.

19:9 son of Abraham. See note on Mt 3:9.

19:10 to seek and to save the lost. God had promised to seek the lost members of his people (Eze 34:4, 11–12, 16).

19:11 kingdom . . . was going to appear at once. Expecting that the Messiah would establish his kingdom in Jerusalem, Jesus’ followers anticipated imminent military victory. After all, Jesus had been speaking about the kingdom (17:20–21; 18:16–17, 24–25) and of salvation “today” (v. 9).

19:12 A man of noble birth went . . . to have himself appointed king. Because Rome conferred on any subordinate rulers the right to rule, Herod the Great and his son Archelaus (Mt 2:22) both had to travel to Rome to be appointed ruler and then return to Judea. The image was thus intelligible; Jesus was warning his disciples that he would depart before returning.

19:13 ten minas. Roughly the wages an average worker could earn in 100 days or (see NIV text note) three months. Although Jewish people were not supposed to charge interest directly to fellow Jews, everyone knew what interest was. Moneylending was common in antiquity, often through temples, which normally doubled as banks because deposits were trusted there.

19:14 his subjects hated him and sent a delegation. Historically, Archelaus’s subjects (cf. v. 12) in fact had sent a delegation after him asking that he not be allowed to rule.

19:15–19 Because few people had capital, those who had it could lend money at significant interest. Investors thus could receive five or even ten times their investment, or at least double it. Rulers could delegate authority over cities to their own servants. Roman law allowed slaves not only to manage estates, but also to earn and hold money and receive bonuses. Some imperial freedmen even wielded more power than most aristocrats.

19:20 laid away in a piece of cloth. People often buried money in a strongbox to keep it safe, but it would have been safe with the bankers and also increased (in contrast to vv. 16–17). To bury it in a piece of cloth, however, was not even safe; it was considered careless. The money did not belong to the servant, and presumably for this reason he did not care what happened to it.

19:21 hard man. In a manner that would have shocked ancient audiences, the servant insults the master, essentially blaming his harsh character for why the servant did not increase his investment.

19:22 by your own words. Rulers sometimes punished people according to their own answers (e.g., 1Ki 20:40).

19:27 kill them in front of me. Herod, Archelaus, and other rulers often dealt harshly with their political opponents.

19:29 Bethphage. Apparently a walled suburb of Jerusalem, outside the capital’s city walls and about three quarters of a mile (one kilometer) east of the peak of Mount Olivet; it was probably closer to Jerusalem than Bethany, to its east. Bethany. Some two miles (three kilometers) east of Jerusalem, on the eastern side of Mount Olivet. two. Messengers were often sent in pairs.

19:30 colt . . . no one has ever ridden. Animals never before ridden or yoked were often those preferred for dedication to God (Nu 19:2; Dt 21:3; 1Sa 6:7).

19:31 The Lord needs it. Roman soldiers could commandeer animals for their use; more to the point here, so could kings, such as the Lord (vv. 34, 38).

19:35 Jesus entering Jerusalem on a colt evokes Zec 9:9—the humble king. A conqueror might enter on a horse; peaceful processions like this one could use donkeys (Jdg 10:4; 12:14; 2Sa 13:29; 1Ki 1:38).

19:36 spread their cloaks. Casting garments for a ruler to walk on was a way of hailing him king (2Ki 9:13).

19:38 the king who comes. Pilgrims already present often welcomed the newcomers. The crowds would know Ps 118:26 (quoted here) by heart. It was part of the Hallel, consisting of Ps 113–118, which was sung at the Passover season. Hopes for a new act of redemption also ran high at Passover; the expectation of the Davidic kingdom here may have been provoked by knowledge of Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom and the way he was entering (see v. 35 and note). Peace. See note on 2:14.

19:39 rebuke your disciples. As leader, Jesus would be held responsible for the crowd’s acclamations unless he corrected them. Public opinion often held teachers accountable for their disciples’ behavior.

19:40 stones will cry out. Greeks had stories of stones becoming people (and vice versa), but see note on Mt 3:9. God’s creation could be envisioned as celebrating his acts (Isa 55:12).

19:42–44 Within a generation, Rome’s army would surround Jerusalem and then destroy it in the year AD 70. The survivors would be slaughtered or enslaved.

19:44 not leave one stone on another. This may be hyperbole, but it did underline the traumatic devastation (and makes a verbal connection with v. 40). Ironically, the people in Jerusalem could have averted this fate had they embraced the vision of the kingdom Jesus offered (cf. v. 35).

19:45 See notes on Mk 11:15, 16.

19:46 Isa 56:7, quoted here, shows God’s ideal for the temple, fitting also Luke’s emphasis on prayer. This ideal may contrast with the current arrangement of the temple (see notes on Mk 11:15, 16, 17). den of robbers. Evokes Jer 7:11; in that context people wrongly believe that the temple will protect them from God’s judgment, but God warns that he will judge the temple (see vv. 42–44 and note).

19:47 were trying to kill him. Any challenge to practices legally conducted in the temple constituted a challenge to the priestly authorities who controlled the temple. The chief priests held significant political power and could deal with affronts to their honor swiftly.

20:1 teaching the people in the temple courts. Temples were public places often used for lectures and also suitable for public confrontations. The more public a confrontation, the more each side would feel that its honor was at stake.

20:2 authority. Ancient elites saw their own authority as natural (invested by heredity, wealth, or politics) and viewed populist leaders as demagogues who led the unlearned masses astray.

20:3 also ask you a question. Questions given in response to questions were common.

20:5–6 If we say . . . But if we say. Without questioning the rightness of their own position, the priestly aristocracy had reason to take into account public opinion before answering in public. In contrast to the Pharisees, the chief priests held minority opinions on many issues, requiring extra sensitivity or Pharisaic help when trying to persuade the people.

20:9 planted . . . rented. Parables allow Jesus to speak truth in riddles (see the article “Parables,” see also parables); the meaning is transparent (20:19) but not directly indictable. Although many Galileans owned their own plots of land, many landless peasants worked on larger estates. Wealthy absentee landowners were common; they usually either contracted laborers or rented their land to tenant farmers (serfs).

20:10 Tenant farmers lived and worked landowners’ estates and merely paid the landowners a portion of the harvest. Because tenants did not own the land they worked, they sometimes had to pay the landowners half the harvest. Profits from vineyards usually did not begin to be realized until four years after planting; the owner is wealthy enough to be able to afford the delay. Contracts specified the tenants’ obligations; owners were advised not to be too lenient lest the tenants default on what they owe.

20:11–12 beat and treated shamefully . . . sent away . . . wounded him . . . threw him out. Jewish people hearing the parable would think of the tradition of Israel persecuting God’s prophets (cf. 13:33–34; Ac 7:52).

20:13–14, 16 See note on Mt 21:37.

20:17 Ps 118:22 (quoted here) is from the Hallel, which consists of Ps 113–118 and was sung during Passover season; it would be fresh on everyone’s minds at this time (see note on Mk 11:9).

20:18 See note on Mt 21:44.

20:19 See note on vv. 5–6.

20:20 hand him over. Roman governors, who had very few people working with them, did not normally seek out people to prosecute but depended on local officials to do this for them.

20:24 denarius . . . Whose image and inscription . . . ? See note on Mt 22:19–20.

20:25 what is Caesar’s . . . what is God’s. See note on Mt 22:21.

20:26 became silent. In ancient settings where honor was challenged, those who were silenced were also shamed. They may have been unprepared to try to counter Jesus’ answer in part because they had not expected him to be learned enough to debate them.

20:27 no resurrection. See note on Mt 22:23.

20:28 man must marry . . . raise up offspring. Because widows could be left destitute, the extended families into which they married were supposed to provide for them by having a brother of the deceased marry the widow (Dt 25:5–6).

20:29–31 The story line of a widow having seven husbands (though not brothers) evokes a popular Jewish story in Tobit 3:8. In antiquity, many men would assume (even after the second or third husband) that the woman was dangerous or cursed (though this was not correct; Ge 38:11, 27).

20:33 Sadducees were known to pose conundrums such as this to the Pharisees, seeking to illustrate what they believed were the absurd implications of belief in the resurrection.

20:34 marry . . . given in marriage. Grooms married; fathers gave their daughters in marriage.

20:36 like the angels. Most Jewish people agreed that angels, who were immortal, did not propagate; the same then would be true of those resurrected to immortality.

20:37 account of the burning bush. The account of Ex 3. Although the most obvious Biblical text to which Jesus would allude to prove his case for the resurrection could be Da 12:2, Jesus here proves his case from the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible). When arguing against Sadducees, Pharisees also made a case from the Pentateuch, because that was what Sadducees would readily accept. the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. See note on Mt 22:32.

20:39 teachers of the law. Pharisaic teachers of the law would have actually agreed with Jesus’ response (see note on v. 37).

20:40 See note on v. 26.

20:41 son of David. Jewish people who expected a royal Messiah expected him to be a descendant of David.

20:42–44 See notes on Mt 22:44, 45.

20:46 important seats. See note on Mk 12:39. places of honor. See note on Mt 23:6.

20:47 devour widows’ houses. Widows often had debt and normally lacked influential advocates; people of status, if unscrupulous, could thus seize their property more readily, often through legal means. Scripture demanded special consideration for the defenseless, including widows (Ex 22:22; Dt 10:18; Isa 1:17, 23; 10:2; Jer 7:6; 22:3). (In that social system, most women lacked sufficient means to support themselves.)

21:1 temple treasury. Temples in the ancient world doubled as banks, since they were considered the safest place to deposit money; few people were sacrilegious enough to risk offending a deity by robbing a temple. Jewish people also donated money to the temple; indeed, every male Jewish adult paid an annual tax for its upkeep. The temple treasury (where money was stored) was adjacent to the court of women, which was the court between the outer court (where the events of 19:45–46 took place) and the court of Israel.

21:2 copper coins. Each of the two coins was worth only 1/128 of a denarius. For the woman’s access to the treasury, see note on v. 1.

21:4 On the poverty and vulnerability of widows, see note on 20:47.

21:5 adorned with beautiful stones. The beauty of Jerusalem’s temple was famous throughout the Mediterranean world. It was the largest of ancient temples and considered sacred even to most of those who resented its builder, Herod. It included various courts and outer porches; although laypersons could not pass beyond the court of Israel, the sanctuary’s height made it visible. Gates of bronze and a vine made of gold decorated the temple. The majority of Jews lived outside of Israel, but the temple tax (see note on Mt 17:24) shows that they also remained loyal to the temple.

21:6 not one stone will be left on another. See note on Mt 24:2.

21:7 when will these things happen? Many ancient Jewish thinkers were interested in the timing of events that they associated with the end time and the signs that would accompany them. In the OT, prophecy often linked events according to their topic more than according to their timing; thus scholars debate the relationship between the temple’s destruction here and Jesus’ future coming (cf. v. 27).

21:8 The Jewish historian Josephus reports a number of “false prophets” who tried to emulate Moses or Joshua, and hence probably viewed themselves as messianic, even in the decades between Jesus’ resurrection and AD 70 (see notes on Ac 5:36–37; 21:38).

21:9–11 Many Jewish thinkers offered lists of sufferings that would precede the end of the age. Although these sufferings include those mentioned here, they also include some more unusual phenomena such as mutant infants. In contrast to many other Jewish thinkers, Jesus identifies at least some of the events listed here as not yet the end (v. 9). Wars, earthquakes, and famines happened before AD 70 (as well as afterward).

21:12 hand you over to synagogues. Priests and other elders normally judged local councils. Synagogues doubled as community centers, and disciplines could be meted out there. put you in prison. Courts used prisons as places of (sometimes lengthy) detention until trial or execution more often than as punishment per se, but prison conditions were usually deplorable: crowded, little food except what was brought from outside, often little light, and no toilet facilities or means of washing.

21:16 betrayed even by . . . relatives and friends. Betrayal by family members and close friends was considered particularly heinous and unusual. Sometimes those so betrayed were also criticized for their poor judgment in choosing friends, unless discernment was clearly impossible. According to many ancient ideals, true friends were supposed to be ready to die for and with one another.

21:18 See note on 12:7.

21:20 surrounded by armies. Shortly after Jewish revolutionaries killed the Roman garrison in Jerusalem and took over the city in AD 66, Rome’s armies surrounded the city. Initially some fugitives escaped the revolutionaries’ control and surrendered to the Romans, but eventually safe surrender became impossible. Syrian auxiliaries working for Rome, hearing that Judean fugitives swallowed jewels in hopes of maintaining resources after their escape, intercepted the fugitives and sliced them open.

21:21 flee to the mountains. See note on Mt 24:16.

21:22 time of punishment. For similar OT expressions, see Jer 46:10; Hos 9:7.

21:23 pregnant women and nursing mothers. See note on Mt 24:19.

21:24 taken as prisoners to all the nations. Those who survived Jerusalem’s siege were enslaved when Jerusalem fell in AD 70. Jerusalem will be trampled. This happened after AD 70. Moreover, after a later revolt, Romans rebuilt Jerusalem as a Roman city, Aelia Capitolina, in AD 135. until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. Jewish people believed that God had permitted four empires to rule the world (in this period, they believed Rome the final of those four) before God would establish his own kingdom.

21:25 Cf., e.g., Isa 13:10; Joel 2:31. Jewish people expected heavenly signs to precede the kingdom. Josephus also noted reports of heavenly signs before the fall of Jerusalem (Wars 6.298).

21:27 the Son of Man coming in a cloud. Alludes to Da 7:13; the son of man was given “authority, glory and sovereign power” in Da 7:14.

21:28 redemption is drawing near. Some Jewish people spoke of their coming liberation and deliverance as “redemption.”

21:29–30 Unlike most Judean trees, fig trees lost their leaves each year; they produced new leaves (see note on Mk 11:13) when summer was coming, before the wheat harvest and well before the grape vintage. Once the signs mentioned in this context were fulfilled, no further predicted barriers would remain to the coming of the kingdom.

21:32 this generation. In Luke, this refers to the generation then living (11:50–51; 17:25).

21:33 God’s words are more permanent than heaven and earth (Jer 31:35–37; on the permanence of God’s word, cf. Isa 40:6–8; Zec 1:5–6).

21:34 Be careful . . . suddenly. The prophets sometimes spoke of judgment as a trap that would catch the unprepared (Isa 8:14; 24:17; Jer 50:24; Eze 12:13; 17:20).

21:36 escape. This term can mean “to flee or avoid danger”; cf. perhaps v. 21.

21:37 Because Jerusalem was crowded, it made sense to lodge outside the city until the Passover meal. Jesus was staying in Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, about two miles (three kilometers) east of Jerusalem (see note on Mk 11:1).

21:38 early in the morning. Artificial lighting was limited, so most people rose at sunrise.

22:1 Festival of Unleavened Bread . . . Passover. By this period, Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were often treated together as parts of a single festival (e.g., Josephus, Antiquities 14.21; 17.213; 18.29; 20.106).

22:2 some way to get rid of Jesus. The hostile portrayal of the chief priests here is not limited to the Gospels; most surviving Jewish sources from the period (the Dead Sea Scrolls, rabbis’ memories from the Pharisees, and reports in Josephus) depict members of this group exploiting their power against others.

22:3 Satan entered Judas. Jewish people understood that Satan could move people to do evil things, though God could still be sovereignly at work (e.g., compare 1Ch 21:1 with 2Sa 24:1).

22:4 officers of the temple guard. See note on Ac 4:1.

22:7 See note on v. 1.

22:10 a man carrying a jar of water. Although male servants could carry water, more often one would see women carrying water. Because most homes lacked their own running water, urban residents would typically have to go to public fountains to procure water.

22:11–12 See note on Mt 26:17.

22:14 hour came . . . reclined. For banquets, such as Passover, Jews adopted the Greek custom of reclining. The Passover began at sundown, around 6:00 p.m.

22:17 the cup. Jewish meals regularly included opening thanks for the wine and the bread. Like the father of a family at a Passover meal, Jesus would lift the cup as he spoke about it. Tradition suggests that the wine used for Passover was red.

22:18 will not drink again . . . until. Jewish people often offered vows of abstinence, promising not to partake of a particular food or drink until such-and-such a matter occurred.

22:19 This is my body given for you. Passover recalled deliverance from slavery in Egypt. Even at everyday meals, the father could give thanks for the bread, break it and then distribute it. If later tradition reflects first-century practice, however, the household head gave thanks at normal meals for wine first and then bread, whereas at Passover he would give thanks for the bread first, as here. At Passover he would give thanks for the unleavened bread and explain its significance for Passover: “This is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate when they came from Egypt” (cf. Dt 16:3). No one believed that it was literally the same bread eaten by their ancestors; instead, they reenacted their ancestors’ experience, participating by faith as their descendants. Tradition suggests that the head of the household would sit up and lift the bread as he spoke about it. Here Jesus shockingly offers a different meaning for the bread, as he speaks of a new act of redemption. remembrance. Probably also evokes a Passover context: at Passover, God’s people remembered by reenacting the original Passover meal (Ex 12:14; 13:3; Dt 16:2–3).

22:20 new covenant in my blood. See note on Mt 26:28.

22:21 with mine on the table. Jesus might mean that the betrayer shares the same table, hence the same couch or setting with three or four persons. Cf. Mt 26:23, Mk 14:20, Jn 13:28 (see notes there).

22:22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. In Da 7:13–14, 21–22, the son of Man apparently is connected with the holy people who suffer as well as reign. woe. See note on 6:24–25.

22:24 See note on 9:46.

22:25 Benefactors. Throughout the empire, inscriptions honored as “benefactors” rulers and other powerful people who gave favors to the public. Traditionally eastern rulers even claimed to be divine, and deceased Caesars were honored in the same way.

22:26 greatest . . . like the youngest. In general, honor increased with age in ancient culture.

22:30 judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Most Jewish people expected God to restore the 12 tribes of Israel at the time of the end. Qumran documents even speak of a group of 12 leaders, apparently because of their expectation that God would restore the 12 tribes.

22:31 Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. Satan raises charges, accusing and trying God’s servants (Job 1:9–12; 2:4–7). Grain was sifted to remove the elements other than wheat (cf. Am 9:9).

22:34 before the rooster crows. Roosters crow often during the night, but ancient literature associates them most often with dawn.

22:36 if you don’t have a sword . . . buy one. Jesus’ enemies wanted to charge him with leading a revolutionary movement (23:2); Jesus accommodates this expectation sufficiently (two swords being enough, v. 38) to allow him to be convicted (v. 37), fulfilling Isa 53:12. (On the application to Jesus of Isaiah’s servant passages, see note on Mt 12:18–21.) sword. Here can refer to either a dagger or short sword. Some have even suggested that knives used for cutting the food could be in view in v. 38, though that is not the usual literal sense of the term.

22:39 went out . . . to the Mount of Olives. See note on Mt 26:30.

22:40 Pray . . . temptation. In context, one common ancient Jewish prayer against temptation is a prayer that the petitioners would not succumb to temptation; that is probably the meaning in this context as well (vv. 46–47).

22:42 take this cup. Biblical prophets used a cup to symbolize sufferings, normally as divine judgment (Isa 51:17; Jer 25:15–17; 51:7; Hab 2:16; Zec 12:2); here it applies to Jesus’ painful death (v. 20).

22:45 exhausted from sorrow. It was customary to stay awake on Passover and talk of God’s acts of redemption, despite the heavy meal. On many Passovers, the disciples had probably stayed awake late—but not this time.

22:47 approached Jesus to kiss him. Using a disciple to approach the group would delay resistance or flight and allow the leaders to identify Jesus quickly despite the cover of night. kiss. Kisses were used in friendly greetings, including respectful greetings to one’s teacher. Betrayal with a kiss (v. 48) was thus particularly heinous (2Sa 20:9–10; Pr 27:6). Typical kisses of greeting were light kisses on the lips, although for superiors one could kiss the cheek or even their finger ring.

22:52 with swords and clubs. Some later Jewish traditions complained that the servants of the high priest in this period used clubs when abusing people.

22:53 your hour—when darkness reigns. Darkness was viewed as the time when people could commit acts that they would not commit if people could see them. Authorities generally suspected those who acted only at night of being subversive and seeking to hide their activity; here it is the authorities who act this way.

22:54 house of the high priest. Trying someone in the high priest’s home at night (or even interrogating them there in preparation for a morning hearing) violated ancient judicial ethics, which required unbiased public hearings.

22:55 courtyard. Can refer to, among other things, the gated, walled area open to the sky in front of the actual dwelling.

22:59 he is a Galilean. See note on Mt 26:73.

22:63 mocking and beating him. This behavior violated all official ancient legal ethics, though in practice abuse of prisoners was common in antiquity.

22:64 Prophesy! While Jesus’ abusers mock him as a false prophet, i.e., for a capital offense (Dt 13:5), Jesus’ prophecy about Peter has just been fulfilled (Lk 22:54–62), as one would expect for a true prophet (Dt 18:22).

22:66 At daybreak. Night hearings lacked even a semblance of legality, but at dawn members of the Sanhedrin (translated here as “council”), Jerusalem’s senate, could formulate an official charge for Pilate. The current Sanhedrin was dominated by families originally approved as supporters of Herod the Great; he had reportedly executed more independent-minded members of the previous Sanhedrin (see the article “Herod the Great”).

22:69 Son of Man . . . right hand of the mighty God. Jesus’ response combines Daniel’s son of man (Da 7:13–14) with the psalmist’s “Lord” (Ps 110:1).

22:70 Are you then the Son of God? The Dead Sea Scrolls attest that some understood the Messiah as Son of God. The Sadducees, whose authority depended on continuing Roman favor and who did not believe in a future resurrection, may not have been convinced about a future Messiah either, but they would be familiar with contemporary views.

23:1 See note on Mt 27:1. Pilate. See note on Mt 27:2.

23:2 opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be . . . a king. Protests against taxes had led to a disastrous revolt a generation earlier; both (1) inciting people not to pay taxes and (2) claiming to be a king constituted acts of treason, punishable by death. Cf. 20:22–25.

23:3 king of the Jews. See note on Mt 27:11.

23:4 Pilate was known for not cooperating voluntarily with the local authorities. He may see Jesus as not a political threat but an impractical sage (see note on Jn 18:36).

23:7 sent him to Herod. Although Pilate had authority to try Jesus, he could delegate the case to Herod Antipas, who would be in town for Passover. This would free Pilate of the responsibility.

23:11 elegant robe. Could also be translated “bright robe,” applied especially to white ones; Jewish kings often wore white robes.

23:12 became friends. Pilate and Herod Antipas had clashed before. Acts of cooperation could transcend political enmity and create political alliances, which ancients often called “friendship.”

23:24 grant their demand. For pragmatic Roman governors, the politics of crowd control sometimes took precedence over ideals of justice.

23:26 Simon. See note on Mt 27:32.

23:27 women who mourned and wailed for him. Later sources suggest that Jerusalem’s women mercifully mourned those being led to execution, giving them a pain-killing drink. Throughout ancient Mediterranean culture, women were expected to grieve more passionately than men (also in the OT; cf., e.g., Jer 9:17, 20; 49:3).

23:28 Daughters of Jerusalem. This Biblical phrase was natural for Jerusalemite women but in this context might evoke judgment prophecies (Isa 3:16–17; 4:4).

23:29 Blessed are the childless. See note on 21:23 (unlike Isa 54:1, the idea here involves judgment).

23:30 Jesus quotes (with slight changes) Hos 10:8: judgment would be so terrible that people would want to find cover from it by any means necessary.

23:31 tree is green . . . dry. Dry wood burns faster than green wood; Jesus was unjustly executed, but wider bloodshed was imminent.

23:32 Two other men. Executing the condemned at festivals, when the crowds were larger, was thought to send a wider warning against defying Roman power.

23:33 place called the Skull. See note on Mt 27:33. crucified. See note on Mt 27:35.

23:34 forgive them. A person being executed was supposed to confess his sins, but Jesus instead confesses that of his unjust judges. Prayers for judgment against persecutors were common in the OT (see 2Ch 24:22; Ps 137:7–9; Jer 15:15; 17:18; 18:23; 20:12); Jesus exemplifies his own teaching here (Lk 6:28). divided up his clothes . . . casting lots. See note on Mt 27:35. lots. See note on Ac 1:26.

23:36 wine vinegar. Cheaper than normal wine, it assuaged thirst more readily than water; it was widely used by the nonelite, including workers and soldiers.

23:38 written notice. Sometimes someone would carry a tablet indicating the titulus, or charge, against the prisoner, to the site of the execution. KING OF THE JEWS. A treason charge—yet, ironically, Luke’s audience knows that Jesus really is king.

23:42 remember me. A person achieving rank might “remember” someone else, i.e., help them at some point in the future (Ge 40:14, 23; 1Sa 25:31).

23:43 paradise. Jewish pictures of the afterlife often contrasted Gehinnom (hell) with the Garden of Eden, paradise (see the article “Paul’s Experience of the ‘Third Heaven’ ”). (Jesus going to paradise that day might contrast with some later Christian traditions about him preaching in hell.)

23:44 about noon . . . darkness came over the whole land. Darkness often appears as a judgment in the OT (e.g., Ex 10:21–23), including darkness at noon (Am 8:9). Although a minority of intellectuals found natural explanations for eclipses, the majority of people in antiquity found in eclipses omens of impending disaster. The timing here seems hardly coincidental.

23:45 curtain . . . torn in two. The curtain’s tearing probably implies the departure of God’s presence from the temple, prefiguring its destruction (cf. Eze 9:3; 10:4–18), and perhaps also new access to the Most Holy Place (cf. Heb 6:19–20; 9:3; 10:19–20). See note on Mt 27:51.

23:46 Jesus echoes Ps 31:5; a Jewish tradition says that this prayer was recited during the evening offering, roughly the time that Jesus died. Jesus, however, has special reason to use the prayer at this time.

23:48 beat their breasts. Expressed mourning (18:13; Isa 32:12; Eze 21:12).

23:49 women who had followed him. See note on 8:2–3. Women followers and family members present to mourn faced a lower risk of arrest than did men.

23:51 Arimathea. Virtually unknown outside Judea; no one would have invented the idea of Joseph being from Arimathea.

23:52 asked for Jesus’ body. See note on Mt 27:58.

23:53 linen cloth. Linen shrouds were common for Jewish burials. See note on Mk 15:46. tomb. Because the tomb is immediately available, a reader may presume that it was Joseph’s own (cf. 1Ki 13:30–31; Isa 53:12), as Matthew makes explicit (Mt 27:60). Because his family tomb was likely in Arimathea (cf. v. 51), but he now held a position on Jerusalem’s ruling council, this was a new tomb “in which no one had yet been laid.” See note on Mt 27:60.

23:56 rested on the Sabbath. Jewish tradition allowed washing and anointing corpses even on the Sabbath, but these women plan to honor Jesus’ body more fully after the Sabbath ends.

24:1 very early in the morning. The Sabbath (23:56) ended at sundown the previous evening, but it would not be safe for these Galilean women to try to relocate this tomb outside the city before morning light. spices. Spices diminished the odor of a decomposing corpse and offered a costly way of showing appreciation (or, for wealthy people, status).

24:2 stone rolled away. The disk-shaped stone used to seal a tomb’s entrance was large and heavy, normally requiring several men to move it in the groove. See note on Mt 27:60.

24:4 clothes that gleamed like lightning. Different biblical accounts demonstrate that people could mistake angels for humans (see note on Mk 16:5) but they also could appear dressed in white (Da 10:5) or even as if made of fire (2Ki 6:17; Da 10:6).

24:11 their words seemed . . . like nonsense. See note on Mt 28:7.

24:13 Emmaus. Scholars differ as to the modern site for ancient Emmaus. seven miles. Lit. 60 stadia; i.e., 11 kilometers, thus Emmaus is still in Judea.

24:19 a prophet. Many of Jesus’ actions (such as speaking God’s message, raising the dead, cleansing lepers, and feeding crowds) resembled the actions of Biblical prophets (such as Moses, Elijah and Elisha).

24:21 hoped that he was . . . going to redeem Israel. Many expected the Messiah to be a liberator, i.e., to “redeem Israel.”

24:26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer . . . ? The Biblical prophets spoke of a servant (on behalf of the larger servant Israel) who would both suffer and be exalted (Isa 52:13; 53:12). Scripture also revealed God’s way of raising up deliverers: they often suffered before being exalted (e.g., Joseph, Moses, and David, as well as psalms of the righteous sufferer; cf. Ac 7).

24:27 all the Scriptures. Based on other texts in Luke-Acts, we may infer that the passages would have included Dt 18:15–18 and royal psalms (e.g., Ps 2) and Ps 110.

24:29 Stay . . . it is nearly evening. People usually avoided traveling at night because of darkness and robbers; toward evening they would normally lodge in the nearest safe community. In a polite Middle Eastern way, Jesus refuses to impose; he may even test hospitality (as in Ge 19:2). The appropriate, polite Middle Eastern response, however, was to insist on showing hospitality (cf. Ge 19:3; Jdg 19:5–9). Showing hospitality was honorable and most people desired to do it.

24:30 he took bread. Often the head of the household would break bread. Jesus assumes this role, although the others have in a sense invited him as their guest.

24:31 eyes were opened and they recognized him. Jewish people told stories of angels who came disguised and were initially unrecognized. Jesus’ resurrection body differs from usual human existence (cf. Php 3:21). For spiritual perception, cf. 2Ki 6:17.

24:36 Peace be with you. The conventional Jewish greeting was shalom, i.e., “Peace be with you.” This greeting constituted an implicit prayer to God for the well-being of the person addressed.

24:37 ghost. Even some Jewish people who believed in heaven and hell inconsistently believed in ghosts or other kinds of spirits associated with the dead. People often believed that they saw apparitions of the dead, often in dreams or soon after the appearing person’s death; Jesus, however, proves to be no mere apparition (v. 39).

24:39 Look at my hands and my feet. Along with the head, the hands and feet were the most exposed parts of the body, not covered by the outer garment. Although some prisoners were simply tied to crosses, executioners sometimes nailed victims there, as they did in Jesus’ case. Touch me. Many ancients believed in a shadowy afterlife; such shadows could not be grasped with the hands.

24:43 he took it and ate it. Many Jewish sources doubted that angels ate human food.

24:44 the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. Usually Jewish sources summarized the OT as “the Law and the Prophets” (e.g., 16:16), but sometimes distinguished the Writings (“the Psalms”) as a third division distinct from the Prophets. The focus on the Psalms here could include both royal psalms (e.g., Ps 2) and the psalms of the righteous sufferer (e.g., Ps 22; 69).

24:46 This is what is written. See note on v. 27. the third day. If this is included in the references to “the Scriptures” (v. 45), this might evoke the reviving of Israel on the third day in Hos 6:2 or the model of Jonah’s reviving after three days (Jnh 1:17; 2:2). By Jewish reckoning, part of a day counted as a day.

24:47 to all nations. In Isaiah, God promised that his people would be witnesses before the nations (Isa 43:10, 12; 44:8); although this could include testifying against their idolatry, Isaiah also envisions nations acknowledging Israel and Israel’s God (Isa 2:2; 11:10; 56:3–8; 60:3–14), partly through God’s people (Isa 42:6; 49:6).

24:49 clothed with power from on high. In Isaiah, God would empower his people with his Spirit (Isa 42:1; 44:3; 48:16; 59:21). Other Jewish people employed the expression “clothed” to refer to qualities (e.g., the Spirit “clothing” a prophet in the Greek translation of 1Ch 12:18–19). on high. Might echo Isa 32:15.

24:50 lifted up his hands. In Jewish tradition, priests would lift their hands when they blessed the people.

24:51 taken up into heaven. When Elijah ascended, Elisha was empowered (see note on Ac 1:9; see also the article “Ascensions”).

24:53 at the temple, praising God. Judeans in the temple prayed and worshiped God. The Gospel of Luke thus closes where it opened (1:8–10). It was common to frame a passage by beginning and ending the passage the same way; Luke frames his entire Gospel with this worship in the temple.