¹ tn Or “The scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

² sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

³ sn The term translated watched…closely is emotive, since it carries negative connotations. It means they were watching him out of the corner of their eye or spying on him.

⁴ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text; Jesus’ opponents anticipated he would do this.

⁶ sn The background for this is the view that only if life was endangered should one attempt to heal on the Sabbath (see the Mishnah, m. Shabbat 6.3; 12.1; 18.3; 19.2; m. Yoma 8.6).

⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁸ sn They began to accuse him. There were three charges: (1) disturbing Jewish peace; (2) fomenting rebellion through advocating not paying taxes (a lie – 20:20-26); and (3) claiming to be a political threat to Rome, by claiming to be a king, an allusion to Jesus’ messianic claims. The second and third charges were a direct challenge to Roman authority. Pilate would be forced to do something about them.

⁹ tn On the use of the term διαστρέφω (diastrefw) here, see L&N 31.71 and 88.264.

sn Subverting our nation was a summary charge, as Jesus “subverted” the nation by making false claims of a political nature, as the next two detailed charges show.

¹⁰ tn Grk “and forbidding.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated to suggest to the English reader that this and the following charge are specifics, while the previous charge was a summary one. See the note on the word “misleading” earlier in this verse.

¹¹ tn This was a “poll tax.” L&N 57.182 states this was “a payment made by the people of one nation to another, with the implication that this is a symbol of submission and dependence – ‘tribute tax.’”

¹² tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

¹³ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

sn See the note on Christ in 2:11.