Luke

9:51-56

The teachings of Messiah, 9:51-19:44

1. The meaning and acceptance of the kingdom message, 9:51-10:42

i] Rejection in Samaria

"As the ministry in Galilee is made to begin with a typical rejection of Christ at Nazareth, so this ministry outside Galilee (with Jesus setting out on his journey to Jerusalem and the cross) begins with a rejection of Him by Samaritans", Plummer.

In the unit The meaning and acceptance of the kingdom message, 9:51-10:42, Luke tells us that the message of the kingdom concerns deliverance, not judgement, and that gaining this deliverance must take priority in our life. This section "concentrates on disciples, first their failures and then their success.... Thus the journey begins with instruction: knowing God is both a blessing and life's highest priority", Bock.

At this point in Luke's gospel we have a major division between the Galilean ministry of Jesus and the journey of Jesus to Jerusalem. Whereas The mission of Messiah, geographically placed in Galilee, focused on Jesus' acts, The teachings of Messiah, framed within Jesus' journey to Jerusalem, focuses on his teachings. The teachings of messiah develop out of a debate with the Jewish authorities, along with personal instruction to the disciples. The section ends with Jesus tearfully entering Jerusalem as the rejected messiah. The arrangement of Luke's material is an ongoing matter for debate, but as already indicated, these notes follow the structure proposed by Ellis. See Bock for an overview of proposed structures.

egeneto (ginomai) "-" - "And it came to pass", AV.

en tw/ sumplhrousqai (sumplhrow) pres. inf. "as the time approached" - [while] approaches/completed [the days]. The articular infinitive with this preposition forms a temporal clause. Given that taV hJmeraV, "the days", are most likely the days leading up to Jesus death and resurrection, the phrase would be better rendered "when the days were fulfilled / when the time was fulfilled." The timing difficulty in the phrase is probably explained by the presence of an ellipsis (missing words), so "when the time was about to be fulfilled", or "as the days of Jesus life on earth were coming to an end."

thV analhmyewV (iV ewV) "taken up to heaven" - of the taken up, received up = ascension [of him]. The word is a difficult one. It probably refers to the whole work of Christ in his death, resurrection and ascension. The sense may be similar to John's description of Christ's crucifixion as a lifting up. The idea of Christ's translation to heaven is certainly a possibility, but the general idea of "taken away from this world", JB, is better.

esthrisen (sthrizw) aor. "[Jesus] resolutely" - he firmly fixed [the face]. Hebraic phrase meaning "resolved firmly / resolutely set / decided definitely." It was time for Jesus to meet his destiny.

tou poreuesqai (poreuomai) pres. inf. "set out [for Jerusalem]" - to go [to Jerusalem]. A genitive of the articular infinitive often used to express purpose in Matt., and Luke/Acts, and as usual, the force of the genitive is not retained. "Jesus decided to make his final trip to Jerusalem."

apesteilen (apostellw) aor. "he sent [messengers]" - he sent. This is not actually a mission to the Samaritans, but certainly alludes to the role of the disciples as sent-ones, going before the coming king, preparing his way. This is of course, the role of all disciples in all ages.

pro poswpou autou "on ahead" - before his face. An allusion to Mal.3:1.

poreuqenteV (poreuomai) aor. pas. part. "who went" - having gone. The participle is possibly adjectival as NIV, although attendant circumstance is more likely, expressing action accompanying the verb "they entered"; "they went and entered a Samaritan village", Moffatt.

eiV kwmhn Samaritwn "into a Samaritan village" - A Jew would not normally pass through Samaria when heading to Jerusalem, so why is Jesus travelling through this unclean territory? The incident may image the coming worldwide mission, but more likely illustrates Jesus' urgent resolve to fulfill his destiny in Jerusalem.

wJV eJtoimasai (eJtoimazw) inf. "to get things ready [for him]" - to prepare / to make arrangements. This conjunction, with the infinitive, forms a result, or purpose clause. Jesus sent the messengers on ahead for the purpose of getting things ready for him, or, as a result of sending them, they got things ready for him. Purpose and hypothetical result are close in meaning.

ouk edexanto (decomai) aor. mid. "the people did not welcome [him]" - they did not receive. This negative reaction may be toward the disciples as they made plans for Jesus' arrival in the village, therefore, "they would not receive him.

oJti "because" - that. Here expressing cause/reason.

hn poreuomenon (poreuomai) part. "he was heading" - [the face of him] was going. A periphrastic imperfect construction probably emphasizing aspect; "because he was making for Jerusalem", NEB. The implication is that the villagers are not so much rejecting Jesus as such, but rather are reacting to another wondering holier-than-thou Jewish rabbi who wants to get out of Samaria as quickly as possible so he isn't overly polluted by the experience. If this is the case, then Luke's point is to illustrate Jesus' focus on the journey to Jerusalem.

idonteV (oJraw) aor. part. "when [the disciples James and John] saw this" - seeing. Most translations assume that the participle here forms a temporal clause.

qeleiV (qelw) pres. "[do] you want" - will, wish. Functioning as an independent clause without the usual introductory conjunction or prepositional phrase, ie. it is an asyndeton. Used for staccato effect to introduce the disciples' question.

eipwmen (eipon) aor. subj. "do [you want] us to call [fire down ....]" - we should call / we should order. A deliberative subjunctive. An allusion to 2 Kings 1:10, 12. The disciples have asked for an Elijah type judgement upon the villagers.

analwsai (analow) aor. inf. "to destroy [them]" - to destroy, consume. The infinitive is adverbial forming a final clause expressing purpose, "in order to destroy them."

straqeiV (strefw) aor. pas. part. "[but Jesus] turned" - having turned. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "rebuked"; "he turned and rebuked". Note again Luke's use of the phrase "Jesus turned" to emphasize Jesus' engagement with someone or some group of people following him.

epetimhsen (epitimaw) aor. "rebuked [them]" - he rebuked, reproved. The point is that judgement will come to those who deserve it, yet this is not the time for judgement, but the time for journey, journey to the cross. Therefore, the disciples are rebuked for their lack of perception.

eporeuqhsan (poreuomai) aor. pas. "they went" - they journeyed. Luke makes the point that the journey continues.

Luke Introduction

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