Luke 20:1-8
New English Translation
The Authority of Jesus
20 Now one[a] day, as Jesus[b] was teaching the people in the temple courts[c] and proclaiming[d] the gospel, the chief priests and the experts in the law[e] with the elders came up[f] 2 and said to him,[g] “Tell us: By what authority[h] are you doing these things?[i] Or who is it who gave you this authority?” 3 He answered them,[j] “I will also ask you a question, and you tell me: 4 John’s baptism[k]—was it from heaven or from people?”[l] 5 So[m] they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From people,’ all the people will stone us, because they are convinced that John was a prophet.” 7 So[n] they replied that they did not know[o] where it came from. 8 Then[p] Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you[q] by whose authority[r] I do these things.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Luke 20:1 tn Grk “Now it happened that one.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
- Luke 20:1 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Luke 20:1 tn Grk “the temple.”
- Luke 20:1 tn Or “preaching.”
- Luke 20:1 tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.
- Luke 20:1 sn The chief priests and the experts in the law with the elders came up. The description is similar to Luke 19:47. The leaders are really watching Jesus at this point.
- Luke 20:2 tn Grk “and said, saying to him.” This is redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.
- Luke 20:2 tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ.
- Luke 20:2 sn The leadership is looking back to acts like the temple cleansing (19:45-48). How could a Galilean preacher do these things?
- Luke 20:3 tn Grk “answering, he said to them.” This is redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.
- Luke 20:4 sn John, like Jesus, was not a part of the official rabbinic order. So the question “John’s baptism—was it from heaven or from men?” draws an analogy between John the Baptist and Jesus. See Luke 3:1-20; 7:24-27. The phrase John’s baptism refers to the baptism practiced by John.
- Luke 20:4 tn The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anthrōpōn) is used here (and in v. 6) in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NAB, NRSV, “of human origin”; TEV, “from human beings”; NLT, “merely human”).sn The question is whether John’s ministry was of divine or human origin.
- Luke 20:5 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Jesus’ question.
- Luke 20:7 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the dilemma Jesus’ opponents faced.
- Luke 20:7 sn Very few questions could have so completely revealed the wicked intentions of the religious leaders. Jesus’ question revealed the motivation of the religious leaders and exposed them for what they really were—hypocrites. They indicted themselves when they cited only two options and chose neither of them. The point of Luke 20:1-8 is that no matter what Jesus said in response to their question they were not going to believe it and would in the end use it against him.
- Luke 20:8 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
- Luke 20:8 sn Neither will I tell you. Though Jesus gave no answer, the analogy he used to their own question makes his view clear. His authority came from heaven.
- Luke 20:8 tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ. This is exactly the same phrase as in v. 2.
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