Matthew 3:5-6

3:5 Then people from Jerusalem, ¹  as well as all Judea and all the region around the Jordan, were going out to him, 3:6 and he was baptizing them ²  in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.

Matthew 21:31-32

21:31 Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.” ³  Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, ⁴  tax collectors ⁵  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 ⁶  you saw this, you did not later change your minds ⁷  and believe him.

Luke 7:26-29

7:26 What did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more ⁸  than a prophet. 7:27 This is the one about whom it is written, ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, ⁹  who will prepare your way before you.’ ¹⁰  7:28 I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater ¹¹  than John. ¹²  Yet the one who is least ¹³  in the kingdom of God ¹⁴  is greater than he is.” 7:29 (Now ¹⁵  all the people who heard this, even the tax collectors, ¹⁶  acknowledged ¹⁷  God’s justice, because they had been baptized ¹⁸  with John’s baptism.

Luke 20:6-8

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 So ¹⁹  they replied that they did not know ²⁰  where it came from. 20:8 Then ²¹  Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you ²²  by whose authority ²³  I do these things.”

John 10:41

10:41 Many ²⁴  came to him and began to say, “John ²⁵  performed ²⁶  no miraculous sign, but everything John said about this man ²⁷  was true!”

¹ tn Grk “Then Jerusalem.”

² tn Grk “they were being baptized by him.” The passive construction has been rendered as active in the translation for the sake of English style.

³ 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 mss (D it). But the reading is so hard as to be nearly impossible. One can only suspect some tampering with the text, extreme carelessness on the part of the scribe, or possibly a recognition of the importance of not shaming one’s parent in public. (Any of these reasons is not improbable with this texttype, and with codex D in particular.) The other two major variants are more difficult to assess. Essentially, the responses make sense (the son who does his father’s will is the one who changes his mind after saying “no”): (2) The first son says “no” and later has a change of heart, and the second son says “yes” but does not go. But here, the first son is called the one who does his father’s will (unlike the Western reading). This is the reading found in (א) C L W (Z) 0102 0281 ˹ 33 Ï and several versional witnesses. (3) The first son says “yes” but does not go, and the second son says “no” but later has a change of heart. This is the reading found in B Θ Ë¹³ 700 and several versional witnesses. Both of these latter two readings make good sense and have significantly better textual support than the first reading. The real question, then, is this: Is the first son or the second the obedient one? If one were to argue simply from the parabolic logic, the second son would be seen as the obedient one (hence, the third reading). The first son would represent the Pharisees (or Jews) who claim to obey God, but do not (cf. Matt 23:3). This accords well with the parable of the prodigal son (in which the oldest son represents the unbelieving Jews). Further, the chronological sequence of the second son being obedient fits well with the real scene: Gentiles and tax collectors and prostitutes were not, collectively, God’s chosen people, but they did repent and come to God, while the Jewish leaders claimed to be obedient to God but did nothing. At the same time, the external evidence is weaker for this reading (though stronger than the first reading), not as widespread, and certainly suspect because of how neatly it fits. One suspects scribal manipulation at this point. Thus the second reading looks to be superior to the other two on both external and transcriptional grounds. But what about intrinsic evidence? One can surmise that Jesus didn’t always give predictable responses. In this instance, he may well have painted a picture in which the Pharisees saw themselves as the first son, only to stun them with his application (v. 32).

⁴ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

⁵ sn See the note on tax collectors in 5:46.

⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁷ 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.

⁸ tn John the Baptist is “more” because he introduces the one (Jesus) who brings the new era. The term is neuter, but may be understood as masculine in this context (BDAG 806 s.v. περισσότερος b.).

⁹ tn Grk “before your face” (an idiom).

¹⁰ sn The quotation is primarily from Mal 3:1 with pronouns from Exod 23:20. Here is the forerunner who points the way to the arrival of God’s salvation. His job is to prepare and guide the people, as the cloud did for Israel in the desert.

¹¹ sn In the Greek text greater is at the beginning of the clause in the emphatic position. John the Baptist was the greatest man of the old era.

¹² tc The earliest and best mss read simply ᾿Ιωάννου (Iwannou, “John”) here (Ì⁷⁵ א B L W Ξ Ë¹ 579 pc). Others turn this into “John the Baptist” (K 33 565 al it), “the prophet John the Baptist” (A [D] Θ Ë¹³ Ï lat), or “the prophet John” (Ψ 700 [892 1241] pc). “It appears that προφήτης was inserted by pedantic copyists who wished thereby to exclude Christ from the comparison, while others added τοῦ βαπτιστοῦ, assimilating the text to Mt 11.11” (TCGNT 119).

¹³ sn After John comes a shift of eras. The new era is so great that the lowest member of it (the one who is least in the kingdom of God) is greater than the greatest one of the previous era.

¹⁴ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus’ proclamation. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21. It is not strictly future, though its full manifestation is yet to come. That is why membership in it starts right after John the Baptist.

¹⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the parenthetical nature of the comment by the author.

¹⁶ sn See the note on tax collectors in 3:12.

¹⁷ tn Or “vindicated God”; Grk “justified God.” This could be expanded to “vindicated and responded to God.” The point is that God’s goodness and grace as evidenced in the invitation to John was justified and responded to by the group one might least expect, tax collector and sinners. They had more spiritual sensitivity than others. The contrastive response is clear from v. 30.

¹⁸ tn The participle βαπτισθέντες (baptisqente") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.

¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the dilemma Jesus’ opponents faced.

²⁰ 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. 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.

²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

²² 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.

²³ tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ. This is exactly the same phrase as in v. 2.

²⁴ tn Grk “And many.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

²⁵ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

²⁶ tn Grk “did.”

²⁷ tn Grk “this one.”