Luke 20:2

2 and said to him, "Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you 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 One day, as he was teaching the people in the temple and telling the good news, the chief priests and the scribes came with the elders

2 and said to him, "Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?"

3 He answered them, "I will also ask you a question, and you tell me:

4 Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?"

5 They discussed it with one another, saying, "If we say, "From heaven,' he will say, "Why did you not believe him?'