Luke 20:3-8

20:3 He answered them,¹ “I will also ask you a question, and you tell me: 20:4 John’s baptism² – was it from heaven or from people?”³ 20:5 So⁴ they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 20:6 But if we say, ‘From people,’ all the people will stone us, because they are convinced that John was a prophet.” 20:7 So⁵ they replied that they did not know⁶ where it came from. 20:8 Then⁷ Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you⁸ by whose authority⁹ I do these things.”

¹tn Grk “answering, he said to them.” This is redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.

²sn John, like Jesus, was not a part of the official rabbinic order. So the question “John’s baptism – was it from heaven or from men?” draws an analogy between John the Baptist and Jesus. See Luke 3:1-20; 7:24-27. The phrase John’s baptism refers to the baptism practiced by John.

³tn The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is used here (and in v. 6) in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NAB, NRSV, “of human origin”; TEV, “from human beings”; NLT, “merely human”).

sn The question is whether John’s ministry was of divine or human origin.

⁴tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Jesus’ question.

⁵tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the dilemma Jesus’ opponents faced.

⁶sn Very few questions could have so completely revealed the wicked intentions of the religious leaders. Jesus’ question revealed the motivation of the religious leaders and exposed them for what they really were – hypocrites. They indicted themselves when they cited only two options and chose neither of them. The point of Luke 20:1-8 is that no matter what Jesus said in response to their question they were not going to believe it and would in the end use it against him.

⁷tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

⁸sn Neither will I tell you. Though Jesus gave no answer, the analogy he used to their own question makes his view clear. His authority came from heaven.

⁹tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ. This is exactly the same phrase as in v. 2.