Luke 19:35-40

19:35 Then ¹  they brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks ²  on the colt, ³  and had Jesus get on ⁴  it. 19:36 As ⁵  he rode along, they ⁶  spread their cloaks on the road. 19:37 As he approached the road leading down from ⁷  the Mount of Olives, ⁸  the whole crowd of his ⁹  disciples began to rejoice ¹⁰  and praise ¹¹  God with a loud voice for all the mighty works ¹²  they had seen: ¹³  19:38 “Blessed is the king ¹⁴  who comes in the name of the Lord! ¹⁵  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 19:39 But ¹⁶  some of the Pharisees ¹⁷  in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” ¹⁸  19:40 He answered, ¹⁹  “I tell you, if they ²⁰  keep silent, the very stones ²¹  will cry out!”

Luke 19:45-46

Cleansing the Temple

19:45 Then ²²  Jesus ²³  entered the temple courts ²⁴  and began to drive out those who were selling things there, ²⁵  19:46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house will be a house of prayer,’ ²⁶  but you have turned it into a den ²⁷  of robbers!” ²⁸ 

Matthew 21:23-27

The Authority of Jesus

21:23 Now after Jesus ²⁹  entered the temple courts, ³⁰  the chief priests and elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority ³¹  are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 21:24 Jesus ³²  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?” ³³  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 ³⁴  they answered Jesus, ³⁵  “We don’t know.” ³⁶  Then he said to them, “Neither will I tell you ³⁷  by what authority ³⁸  I am doing these things.

Mark 11:28-33

11:28 and said, “By what authority ³⁹  are you doing these things? Or who gave you this authority to do these things?” 11:29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question. Answer me and I will tell you by what authority I do these things: 11:30 John’s baptism – was it from heaven or from people? ⁴⁰  Answer me.” 11:31 They discussed with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 11:32 But if we say, ‘From people – ’” (they feared the crowd, for they all considered John to be truly a prophet). 11:33 So ⁴¹  they answered Jesus, ⁴²  “We don’t know.” ⁴³  Then Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you ⁴⁴  by what authority ⁴⁵  I am doing these things.”

[19:35]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[19:35]  ² tn Grk “garments”; but this refers in context to their outer cloaks. The action is like 2 Kgs 9:13.

[19:35]  ³ sn See Zech 9:9.

[19:35]  ⁴ tn Although ἐπεβίβασαν (epebibasan) is frequently translated “set [Jesus] on it” or “put [Jesus] on it,” when used of a riding animal the verb can mean “to cause to mount” (L&N 15.98); thus here “had Jesus get on it.” The degree of assistance is not specified.

[19:36]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:36]  ⁶ tn The disciples initiated this action (since in 19:35 and 37 they are the subject) but the other gospels indicate the crowds also became involved. Thus it is difficult to specify the referent here as “the disciples” or “people.”

[19:37]  ⁷ tn Grk “the descent of”; this could refer to either the slope of the hillside itself or the path leading down from it (the second option has been adopted for the translation, see L&N 15.109).

[19:37]  ⁸ sn See the note on the name Mount of Olives in v. 29.

[19:37]  ⁹ tn Grk “the”; the Greek article has been translated here as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[19:37]  ¹⁰ tn Here the participle χαίροντες (caironte") has been translated as a finite verb in English; it could also be translated adverbially as a participle of manner: “began to praise God joyfully.”

[19:37]  ¹¹ sn See 2:13, 20; Acts 2:47; 3:8-9.

[19:37]  ¹² tn Or “works of power,” “miracles.” Jesus’ ministry of miracles is what has drawn attention. See Luke 7:22.

[19:37]  ¹³ tn Grk “they had seen, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[19:38]  ¹⁴ sn Luke adds the title king to the citation from Ps 118:26 to make clear who was meant (see Luke 18:38). The psalm was used in looking for the deliverance of the end, thus leading to the Pharisees’ reaction.

[19:38]  ¹⁵ sn A quotation from Ps 118:26.

[19:39]  ¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context. Not all present are willing to join in the acclamation.

[19:39]  ¹⁷ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

[19:39]  ¹⁸ sn Teacher, rebuke your disciples. The Pharisees were complaining that the claims were too great.

[19:40]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “and answering, he said.” This has been simplified in the translation to “He answered.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:40]  ²⁰ tn Grk “these.”

[19:40]  ²¹ sn This statement amounts to a rebuke. The idiom of creation speaking means that even creation knows what is taking place, yet the Pharisees miss it. On this idiom, see Gen 4:10 and Hab 2:11.

[19:45]  ²² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[19:45]  ²³ tn Grk “he.”

[19:45]  ²⁴ tn Grk “the temple” (also in v. 47).

[19:45]  ²⁵ sn Matthew (21:12-27), Mark (11:15-19) and Luke (here, 19:45-46) record this incident of the temple cleansing at the end of Jesus’ ministry. John (2:13-16) records a cleansing of the temple at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. See the note on the word temple courts in John 2:14 for a discussion of the relationship of these accounts to one another.

[19:46]  ²⁶ sn A quotation from Isa 56:7.

[19:46]  ²⁷ tn Or “a hideout” (see L&N 1.57).

[19:46]  ²⁸ sn A quotation from Jer 7:11. The meaning of Jesus’ statement about making the temple courts a den of robbers probably operates here at two levels. Not only were the religious leaders robbing the people financially, but because of this they had also robbed them spiritually by stealing from them the opportunity to come to know God genuinely. It is possible that these merchants had recently been moved to this location for convenience.

[21:23]  ²⁹ tn Grk “he.”

[21:23]  ³⁰ tn Grk “the temple.”

[21:23]  ³¹ tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ.1

[21:24]  ³² 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]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ tn Grk “answering Jesus, they said.” This construction is somewhat awkward in English and has been simplified in the translation.

[21:27]  ³⁶ 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]  ³⁷ 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]  ³⁸ tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ. This is exactly the same phrase as in v. 23.

[11:28]  ³⁹ tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ.

[11:30]  ⁴⁰ tn The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is probably used here (and in v. 32) in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NAB, NRSV, “of human origin”; TEV, “from human beings”; NLT, “merely human”).

[11:33]  ⁴¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[11:33]  ⁴² tn Grk “answering, they said to Jesus.” The participle ἀποκριθέντες (apokriqentes) is redundant, but the syntax of the phrase has been modified to conform to English style.

[11:33]  ⁴³ 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 Mark 11:27-33 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.

[11:33]  ⁴⁴ 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.

[11:33]  ⁴⁵ tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ. This is exactly the same phrase as in v. 28.