UTN uW Translation Notes:

Luke 9 Chapter Introduction

Structure and Formatting

1. Jesus sends his 12 apostles to teach and heal (9:1–9)
2. Jesus miraculously feeds 5,000 people (9:10–17)
3. Jesus speaks with his disciples about who he is (9:18–27)
4. The glory of Jesus is revealed on a mountaintop (9:28–36)
5. Jesus drives a demon out of a boy (9:37–43)
6. Jesus speaks about being his disciple (9:44–50)
7. Jesus begins to travel to Jerusalem (9:51–62)

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

Elijah

God had promised the Jews that the prophet Elijah would return before the Messiah came. So some people who saw Jesus do miracles thought Jesus was Elijah (9:9, 9:19). He was not. However, Elijah did come to earth to speak with Jesus (9:30). (See: prophet and christ and elijah)

Glory

Scripture often speaks of God’s glory as a great, brilliant light. When people see this light, they are afraid. Luke says in this chapter that Jesus’ clothing shone with this glorious light so that his followers could see that Jesus truly was God’s Son. At the same time, God told them that Jesus was his Son. (See: glory and fear)

Translation Issues in This Chapter

Paradox

A paradox is a statement that describes two things that seem as if they cannot both be true at the same time, but which actually are both true. Jesus speaks a paradox in this chapter: “Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it” (9:24).

“Receiving”

This word appears several times in this chapter and means different things. When Jesus says, “If someone receives a little child like this in my name, he also is receiving me, and if someone receives me, he is also receiving the one who sent me” (9:48), he is speaking of people serving the child. When Luke says, “the people there did not receive him” (9:53), he means that the people did not believe in or accept Jesus. (See: believe)