Luke 20:2 BSB — MannaFest

Luke 20:2

“Tell us,” they said, “by what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

and they spake, saying unto him, Tell us: By what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority?

KJV

And spake unto him, saying, Tell us, by what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority?

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Commentary

4 voices

Cyril of Alexandria

COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 132 (444)

For the Saviour Himself reproached them, saying, "And to you, lawyers, woe! for you have taken away the key of knowledge: you enter not in yourselves, and those that are entering in you have hindered." They rise up therefore against Christ as He teaches, and wickedly and abominably call out and say, "Tell us, by what authority You do these things? Who gave You this authority?"

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

Bede

Catena Aurea by Aquinas (735)

Or when they say, By what authority doest thou these things? they doubt concerning the power of God, and wish it to be understood that of the devil He doeth this. Adding moreover, And who is he that gave thee this authority? Most plainly do they deny the Son of God when they think that not by His own power but another's He doeth miracles.

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)

And spoke unto him, saying, tell us by what authority doest thou these things?.... 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?

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

J.C. Ryle

1816–1900

Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1858)

The spirit which prompted this demand is too evident to be mistaken. These men hated and envied Christ. They saw His influence increasing. They saw their own power waning. They resolved, if possible, to stop the progress of this new teacher; and the point on which they made their assault was His authority . They ought to have examined His mighty works. His teaching they ought, in all fairness, to have compared with their own Scriptures. But they refused to take either one course or the other. They preferred to call His authority into question.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

21 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
εἶπαν	eipan	spoke	G2036 →
λέγοντες	legontes	saying	G3004 →
πρὸς	pros	to	G4314 →
αὐτόν·	auton	Him:	G846 →
εἰπὸν	eipon	do tell	G2036 →
ἡμῖν	hēmin	us	G3165 →
ἐν	en	by	G1722 →
ποίᾳ	poia	what	G4169 →
ἐξουσίᾳ	exousia	authority	G1849 →
ταῦτα	tauta	these things	G3778 →
ποιεῖς	poieis	You do	G4160 →
ἢ	ē	or	G2228 →
τίς	tis	who	G5101 →
ἐστιν	estin	is	G1510 →
ὁ	ho	the [one]	G3588 →
δούς	dous	having given	G1325 →
σοι	soi	to You	G4771 →
τὴν	tēn	<the>	G3588 →
ἐξουσίαν	exousian	authority	G1849 →
ταύτην;¶	tautēn	this?	G3778 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Exodus 2:14
But the man replied, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you planning to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “This thing I have done…
leads to
- Luke 12:14
  But Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed Me judge or executor between you?”
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Matthew 21:23
  When Jesus returned to the temple courts and began to teach, the chief priests and elders of the people came up to Him. “By what authority are You doing these things?” they asked. “And…
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Psalms 2:2–6
  The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together, against the LORD and against His Anointed One:
- Genesis 19:9
  “Get out of the way!” they replied. And they declared, “This one came here as a foreigner, and he is already acting like a judge! Now we will treat you worse than them.” And…
- Genesis 37:19–20
  “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to one another.
Through
John 2:18
On account of this, the Jews demanded, “What sign can You show us to prove Your authority to do these things?”
leads to
- Luke 11:29
  As the crowds were increasing, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.
- Mark 11:27–28
  After their return to Jerusalem, Jesus was walking in the temple courts, and the chief priests, scribes, and elders came up to Him.
Through
Acts 7:27
But the man who was abusing his neighbor pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us?
leads to
- Acts 7:35
  This Moses, whom they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ is the one whom God sent to be their ruler and redeemer through the angel who appeared to him…

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About Luke

The Return of the Prodigal Son — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

Luke: the study guide →Read chapter 20 →The featured study →

Continue: Luke 20 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Luke

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Luke