20:20 Then 1 they watched him carefully and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. 2 They wanted to take advantage of what he might say 3 so that they could deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction 4 of the governor.
20:27 Now some Sadducees 5 (who contend that there is no resurrection) 6 came to him.
1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
2 tn Grk “righteous,” but in this context the point is their false sincerity.
3 tn Grk “so that they might catch him in some word.”
4 tn This word is often translated “authority” in other contexts, but here, in combination with ἀρχή (arch), it refers to the domain or sphere of the governor’s rule (L&N 37.36).
5 sn The Sadducees controlled the official political structures of Judaism at this time, being the majority members of the Sanhedrin. They were known as extremely strict on law and order issues (Josephus, J. W. 2.8.2 [2.119], 2.8.14 [2.164-166]; Ant. 13.5.9 [13.171-173], 13.10.6 [13.293-298], 18.1.2 [18.11], 18.1.4 [18.16-17], 20.9.1 [20.199]; Life 2 [10-11]). They also did not believe in resurrection or in angels, an important detail in v. 36. See also Matt 3:7, 16:1-12, 22:23-34; Mark 12:18-27; Acts 4:1, 5:17, 23:6-8.
6 sn This remark is best regarded as a parenthetical note by the author.