Luke 20:2

2 and said to him, "Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that 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 preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up

2 and said to him, "Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority."

3 He answered them, "I also will ask you a question; now tell me,

4 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?"

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