Luke 20:2

2 and spoke to him saying, Tell us by what authority thou doest these things, or who is it who has given thee this authority?

Luke 20:2 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 20:2

And spoke unto him, saying, tell us by what authority
doest thou these things?
&c.] The Arabic and Ethiopic versions read, "this thing"; as if the sanhedrim only referred to his preaching the Gospel, which is mentioned in the preceding verse, and was what he was about when they came to him: but the Persic version reads, "all these things"; not only preaching, but working miracles; and particularly driving the buyers and sellers out of the temple, which especially affected them, they losing their rents thereby:

or who is he that gave thee this authority?
God or man? (See Gill on Matthew 21:23).

Luke 20:2 In-Context

1 And it came to pass on one of the days, as he was teaching the people in the temple, and announcing the glad tidings, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up,

2 and spoke to him saying, Tell us by what authority thou doest these things, or who is it who has given thee this authority?

3 And he answering said to them, *I* also will ask you [one] thing, and tell me:

4 The baptism of John, was it of heaven or of men?

5 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, If we should say, Of heaven, he will say, Why have ye not believed him?