John 5:33-36

5:33 You have sent to John, ¹  and he has testified to the truth. 5:34 (I do not accept ²  human testimony, but I say this so that you may be saved.) 5:35 He was a lamp that was burning and shining, ³  and you wanted to rejoice greatly for a short time ⁴  in his light.

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.

Deuteronomy 17:9-11

17:9 You will go to the Levitical priests and the judge in office in those days and seek a solution; they will render a verdict. 17:10 You must then do as they have determined at that place the Lord chooses. Be careful to do just as you are taught. 17:11 You must do what you are instructed, and the verdict they pronounce to you, without fail. Do not deviate right or left from what they tell you.

Deuteronomy 24:8

Respect for Human Dignity

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.

Matthew 21:23-32

The Authority of Jesus

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.

The Parable of the Two Sons

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.

Luke 3:15-18

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.

[5:33]  ¹ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[5:34]  ² tn Or “I do not receive.”

[5:35]  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.

[5:35]  ⁴ tn Grk “for an hour.”

[5:36]  ⁵ tn Or “works.”

[5:36]  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.

[24:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “to watch carefully and to do.”

[21:23]  ⁸ tn Grk “he.”

[21:23]  ⁹ tn Grk “the temple.”

[21:23]  ¹⁰ tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ.1

[21:24]  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.

[21:25]  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”).

[21:27]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “So” to indicate that the clause is a result of the deliberations of the leaders.

[21:27]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “answering Jesus, they said.” This construction is somewhat awkward in English and has been simplified in the translation.

[21:27]  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.

[21:27]  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.

[21:27]  ¹⁷ tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ. This is exactly the same phrase as in v. 23.

[21:28]  ¹⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:29]  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.

[21:29]  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.

[21:30]  ²¹ tn “And he”; here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:30]  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.

[21:31]  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 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).

[21:31]  ²⁴ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[21:31]  ²⁵ sn See the note on tax collectors in 5:46.

[21:32]  ²⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[21:32]  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.

[3:15]  ²⁸ tn Or “with expectation.” The participle προσδοκῶντος (prosdokwnto") is taken temporally.

[3:15]  ²⁹ tn Grk “pondered in their hearts.”

[3:15]  ³⁰ tn Grk “in their hearts concerning John, (whether) perhaps he might be the Christ.” The translation simplifies the style here.

[3:15]  ³¹ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[3:16]  ³² tn Grk “answered them all, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated.

[3:16]  ³³ tc A few mss (C D 892 1424 pc it ) add εἰς μετάνοιαν (ei" metanoian, “for repentance”). Although two of the mss in support are early and important, it is an obviously motivated reading to add clarification, probably representing a copyist’s attempt to harmonize Luke’s version with Matt 3:11.

[3:16]  ³⁴ tn Grk “of whom I am not worthy.”

[3:16]  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.

[3:16]  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.

[3:17]  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.

[3:17]  ³⁸ tn Or “granary,” “barn” (referring to a building used to store a farm’s produce rather than a building for housing livestock).

[3:17]  ³⁹ sn The image of fire that cannot be extinguished is from the OT: Job 20:26; Isa 34:8-10; 66:24.

[3:18]  ⁴⁰ tn On construction μὲν οὖν καί (men oun kai), see BDF §451.1.

[3:18]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.