5:36 “But I have a testimony greater than that from John. For the deeds 5 that the Father has assigned me to complete – the deeds 6 I am now doing – testify about me that the Father has sent me.
24:8 Be careful during an outbreak of leprosy to follow precisely 7 all that the Levitical priests instruct you; as I have commanded them, so you should do.
21:23 Now after Jesus 8 entered the temple courts, 9 the chief priests and elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority 10 are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 21:24 Jesus 11 answered them, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 21:25 Where did John’s baptism come from? From heaven or from people?” 12 They discussed this among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 21:26 But if we say, ‘From people,’ we fear the crowd, for they all consider John to be a prophet.” 21:27 So 13 they answered Jesus, 14 “We don’t know.” 15 Then he said to them, “Neither will I tell you 16 by what authority 17 I am doing these things.
21:28 “What 18 do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 21:29 The boy answered, 19 ‘I will not.’ But later he had a change of heart 20 and went. 21:30 The father 21 went to the other son and said the same thing. This boy answered, 22 ‘I will, sir,’ but did not go. 21:31 Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.” 23 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, 24 tax collectors 25 and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God! 21:32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe. Although 26 you saw this, you did not later change your minds 27 and believe him.
3:15 While the people were filled with anticipation 28 and they all wondered 29 whether perhaps John 30 could be the Christ, 31 3:16 John answered them all, 32 “I baptize you with water, 33 but one more powerful than I am is coming – I am not worthy 34 to untie the strap 35 of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 36 3:17 His winnowing fork 37 is in his hand to clean out his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his storehouse, 38 but the chaff he will burn up with inextinguishable fire.” 39
3:18 And in this way, 40 with many other exhortations, John 41 proclaimed good news to the people.
1 sn John refers to John the Baptist.
2 tn Or “I do not receive.”
3 sn He was a lamp that was burning and shining. Sir 48:1 states that the word of Elijah was “a flame like a torch.” Because of the connection of John the Baptist with Elijah (see John 1:21 and the note on John’s reply, “I am not”), it was natural for Jesus to apply this description to John.
4 tn Grk “for an hour.”
5 tn Or “works.”
6 tn Grk “complete, which I am now doing”; the referent of the relative pronoun has been specified by repeating “deeds” from the previous clause.
7 tn Heb “to watch carefully and to do.”
8 tn Grk “he.”
9 tn Grk “the temple.”
10 tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ.1
11 tn Grk “answering, Jesus said to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
12 tn The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is used here (and in v. 26) in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NAB, NRSV, “of human origin”; TEV, “from human beings”; NLT, “merely human”).
13 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “So” to indicate that the clause is a result of the deliberations of the leaders.
14 tn Grk “answering Jesus, they said.” This construction is somewhat awkward in English and has been simplified in the translation.
15 sn 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 (“We do not know”). The point of Matt 21:23-27 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.
16 sn 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.
17 tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ. This is exactly the same phrase as in v. 23.
18 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
19 tn Grk “And answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here the referent (“the boy”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20 tn The Greek text reads here μεταμέλομαι (metamelomai): “to change one’s mind about something, with the probable implication of regret” (L&N 31.59); cf. also BDAG 639 s.v. The idea in this context involves more than just a change of mind, for the son regrets his initial response. The same verb is used in v. 32.
21 tn “And he”; here δέ (de) has not been translated.
22 tn Grk “And answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated. Here the referent (“this boy”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
23 tc Verses 29-31 involve a rather complex and difficult textual problem. The variants cluster into three different groups: (1) The first son says “no” and later has a change of heart, and the second son says “yes” but does not go. The second son is called the one who does his father’s will. This reading is found in the Western
24 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
25 sn See the note on tax collectors in 5:46.
26 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
27 sn The word translated change your minds is the same verb used in v. 29 (there translated had a change of heart). Jesus is making an obvious comparison here, in which the religious leaders are viewed as the disobedient son.
28 tn Or “with expectation.” The participle προσδοκῶντος (prosdokwnto") is taken temporally.
29 tn Grk “pondered in their hearts.”
30 tn Grk “in their hearts concerning John, (whether) perhaps he might be the Christ.” The translation simplifies the style here.
31 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
32 tn Grk “answered them all, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated.
33 tc A few
34 tn Grk “of whom I am not worthy.”
35 tn The term refers to the leather strap or thong used to bind a sandal. This is often viewed as a collective singular and translated as a plural, “the straps of his sandals,” but it may be more emphatic to retain the singular here.
36 sn With the Holy Spirit and fire. There are differing interpretations for this phrase regarding the number of baptisms and their nature. (1) Some see one baptism here, and this can be divided further into two options. (a) The baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire could refer to the cleansing, purifying work of the Spirit in the individual believer through salvation and sanctification, or (b) it could refer to two different results of Christ’s ministry: Some accept Christ and are baptized with the Holy Spirit, but some reject him and receive judgment. (2) Other interpreters see two baptisms here: The baptism of the Holy Spirit refers to the salvation Jesus brings at his first advent, in which believers receive the Holy Spirit, and the baptism of fire refers to the judgment Jesus will bring upon the world at his second coming. One must take into account both the image of fire and whether individual or corporate baptism is in view. A decision is not easy on either issue. The image of fire is used to refer to both eternal judgment (e.g., Matt 25:41) and the power of the Lord’s presence to purge and cleanse his people (e.g., Isa 4:4-5). The pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost, a fulfillment of this prophecy no matter which interpretation is taken, had both individual and corporate dimensions. It is possible that since Holy Spirit and fire are governed by a single preposition in Greek, the one-baptism view may be more likely, but this is not certain. Simply put, there is no consensus view in scholarship at this time on the best interpretation of this passage.
37 sn A winnowing fork is a pitchfork-like tool used to toss threshed grain in the air so that the wind blows away the chaff, leaving the grain to fall to the ground. The note of purging is highlighted by the use of imagery involving sifting though threshed grain for the useful kernels.
38 tn Or “granary,” “barn” (referring to a building used to store a farm’s produce rather than a building for housing livestock).
39 sn The image of fire that cannot be extinguished is from the OT: Job 20:26; Isa 34:8-10; 66:24.
40 tn On construction μὲν οὖν καί (men oun kai), see BDF §451.1.
41 tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.