Luke 20:1

Jesus’ Authority Challenged

1 And it happened that on one of the days [while] he was teaching the people in the temple [courts] and proclaiming the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes approached together with the elders

Luke 20:1 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 20:1

And it came to pass, that on one of those days
According to the account of the Evangelist Mark, it must be the second day, or two days after his public entrance into Jerusalem; for on the evening of the day he made his entry, he went out to Bethany with his disciples; the next morning, as he returned from thence, he cursed the barren fig tree; and when he came to the temple cast out the buyers and sellers; at evening he went out again, either to Bethany, or the Mount of Olives; and the next morning, as he and his disciples returned, the fig tree was observed to be dried up; and when they were come to Jerusalem, as he was walking in the temple, he was attacked by the sanhedrim, and had the following discourse with them:

as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the Gospel;
for he taught them by preaching that, and which he did most clearly, faithfully, and publicly, being abundantly anointed and qualified for it, and sent to do it.

The chief priests, and the Scribes, came upon him, with the
elders.
The whole sanhedrim being purposely convened together, came upon him in a body; and it may be suddenly, and at an unawares, and came open mouthed against him, and attacked him with great warmth and vehemency.

Luke 20:1 In-Context

1 And it happened that on one of the days [while] he was teaching the people in the temple [courts] and proclaiming the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes approached together with the elders
2 and said, saying to him, "Tell us, by what authority you are doing these [things], or who is the one who gave you this authority?
3 And he answered [and] said to them, "I also will ask you a question, and you tell me:
4 The baptism of John--was [it] from heaven or from men?
5 And they discussed [this] with one another, saying, "If we say 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why did you not believe him?'

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. *Here "[while]" is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle ("was teaching")
  • [b]. *Here "[courts]" is supplied to distinguish this area from the interior of the temple building itself
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.