Luke 20:3

Luk 20:3. Εἴπατε, tell ye Me) Answering to Εἶπον ἡμῖν, tell us, in Luk 20:2.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk 20:3 . λόγον : without the ἕνα of the parallels. Vide notes there.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. I will also ask you one thing] Rather, a question. The divine readiness and (if we may be allowed the expression) presence of mind of Jesus was most conspicuously shewn on this perilous day and the next day.

and answer me] We see from St Mark (Luk_11:30) that this emphatic expression came after His question—as though to hasten their delay, and break up a whispered colloquy of perplexity.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he answered and said unto them,.... That is, Jesus replied to them, as the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Persic versions express it:

I will also ask you one thing, and answer me; when he also promised, that if they would give him an answer to his question, he would satisfy them in the point they interrogated him about: and as this was a prudent decline to avoid the snare they laid for him, so it was not an impertinent reply to them; since it led on to a proper answer to their question, as appears by the case proposed; See Gill on Mat 21:24.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

3 And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me:

Ver. 3. {See Trapp on "Mat 21:23"} See Mar 11:27.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

See Poole on "Mat 21:24", and following verses to Mat 21:27. See Poole on "Mar 11:29", and following verses to Mar 11:33. The substance of our Saviour’s answer is this: From whence had John his authority? He preached and baptized; who gave him his authority? They had sent much such another message to John, Joh 1:19-22. Was John’s authority ordinary or extraordinary? It is plain that he had no authority from them, for then they would not have sent to him to know who he was. He must therefore have it from heaven. Now if they had allowed John’s call extraordinary, why should not they allow Christ’s to be such, to whom John gave so large a testimony, and who confirmed his extraordinary mission by miraculous operations, which we do not read that John ever did? Besides, the Pharisees saw that if they allowed John’s mission to be extraordinary, and from heaven, they had obviously exposed themselves to a check for not believing what he said; they therefore refuse to make any answer, and Christ refuseth also to satisfy them.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Vers. 3-6. And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me: The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men! And they reasoned with themselves saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then believed ye him not? But and if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet. The reply of Jesus was one of strange wisdom. He Jesus as was well known, had been introduced to the people by this very John. If the Sanhedrin acknowledged John the Baptist as a divinely accredited messenger, then surely they could not question the claims of one borne special witness to by him, brought forward and introduced to public notice by him! If, on the other hand, the Sanhedrin refused to acknowledge the authority of John as a Heaven-sent messenger, which would have been the course they would have preferred, then the popularity and influence of the Sanhedrin would have been sorely imperilled, for the people generally held firmly that John the Baptist was really a prophet of the Lord. They even feared as we read, "All the people will stone us personal violence on the part of the people whose favour they so zealously courted.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The answer of Jesus:

v. 3. And He answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer Me:

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

v. 5. And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven, He will say, Why, then, believed ye him not?

v. 6. But and if we say, Of men, all the people will stone us; for they be persuaded that John was a prophet.

v. 7 And they answered that they could not tell whence it was.

v. 8. And Jesus said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

The challenge of the Jews Jesus answered with a counter question, which incidentally contained the answer they demanded. For His question implied that He personally knew John’s ministry to have been a divine commission. And if the Jews would concede so much to be true, they would admit also the authority of Jesus, for John had expressly testified concerning the Prophet of Galilee. The question of the Lord was therefore a poser for the members of the Sanhedrin, since Jesus made their answer the condition of His own answering. They well knew that to this question, whether the baptism of John had been done by divine authority and commission, there were only two answers possible, yes or no, from heaven or of men. They therefore conferred very earnestly among themselves in order to find some way out of the dilemma, either alternative being exceedingly distasteful to them. If they should say: From heaven, they would thereby invite the just censure of Christ on account of their refusal to believe. Should they say, on the other hand, that John had no divine commission, but acted solely on his own authority, they would incur the hatred of the people, who would probably stone them without the slightest compunction. For the people at large had the firm persuasion that John was a prophet, and would therefore have meted out quick justice upon any blasphemous denier of this truth. And so the wise leaders of the people had to acknowledge themselves outwitted and unable to answer; whereupon Jesus informed them that His answer would also be deferred. They had actually received both answer and refutation, and well they felt it. They had to admit to their own hearts: If even the baptism and ministry of John was from heaven, then Christ, whose miracles and preaching both proclaimed Him a greater than John, would have still greater authority to act as He did in the world. Note: It appears from this story how despicable, even from the standpoint of mere morality, unbelief must acknowledge itself to be. The unbelievers cannot deny the power of the truth, and yet refuse to bow to the truth. And so they try to avert disaster by making use of lies, subterfuges, and excuses. If a Christian is firmly grounded in the truth of the Scriptures, it will not even be necessary for him to know all the arguments of the opponents in advance. By simply marshaling facts of Scripture and calmly standing on the infallibility of the Bible, he can confound, even if he cannot convince, the gainsayers.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

Jesus responds to the chief priests, scribes, and elders.

He answered and said to them

"Jesus replied"

I will also ask you a question, and you tell me

The words "I will ... ask you a question" are a statement. The words "you tell me" are a command.

was it from heaven or from men

Jesus knows that John's authority comes from heaven, so he is not asking for information. He asks the question so the Jewish leaders will have to tell what they think to all who are listening. This question is rhetorical, but you will probably have to translate it as a question. AT: "do you think John's authority to baptize people came from heaven or from men" or "was it God who told John to baptize people, or did people tell him to do it" (See: Rhetorical Question)

from heaven

"from God." Jewish people avoided referring to God by his name "Yahweh." Often they used the word "heaven" to refer to him. (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

baptize

John (the Baptist)

heaven

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

3. λόγον. ‘A question.’ The divine readiness and (if we may be allowed the expression) presence of mind of Jesus was most conspicuously shewn on this perilous day and the next day.

καὶ εἴπατέ μοι. We see from St Mark (Mar 11:30) that this emphatic expression came after His question—as though to hasten their delay, and break up a whispered colloquy of perplexity.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς. Both Mt. and Mk. have αὐτοῖς.

Ἐρωτήσω ὑμᾶς κἀγὼ λόγον. The λόγον refers to their answer rather than His question, as is shown by ὅν ἐὰν εἴπητέ μοι (Mat 21:24). “You ask Me to state My authority. I also will ask you for a statement”; not, “ask you a question” (RV.), nor, “ask you one thing” (AV.). As teachers they must speak first.

The ἕνα (A C D) is an insertion from Mt. and Mk, om. א B L R, Syr-Sin. Latin texts are divided.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.