Malachi 3:1

3:1 “I am about to send my messenger, ¹  who will clear the way before me. Indeed, the Lord ²  you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger ³  of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming,” says the Lord who rules over all.

Matthew 21:23-27

The Authority of Jesus

21:23 Now after Jesus ⁴  entered the temple courts, ⁵  the chief priests and elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority ⁶  are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 21:24 Jesus ⁷  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?” ⁸  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 ⁹  they answered Jesus, ¹⁰  “We don’t know.” ¹¹  Then he said to them, “Neither will I tell you ¹²  by what authority ¹³  I am doing these things.

Luke 20:1-8

The Authority of Jesus

20:1 Now one ¹⁴  day, as Jesus ¹⁵  was teaching the people in the temple courts ¹⁶  and proclaiming ¹⁷  the gospel, the chief priests and the experts in the law ¹⁸  with the elders came up ¹⁹  20:2 and said to him, ²⁰  “Tell us: By what authority ²¹  are you doing these things? ²²  Or who it is who gave you this authority?” 20:3 He answered them, ²³  “I will also ask you a question, and you tell me: 20:4 John’s baptism ²⁴  – was it from heaven or from people?” ²⁵  20:5 So ²⁶  they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 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 ²⁷  they replied that they did not know ²⁸  where it came from. 20:8 Then ²⁹  Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you ³⁰  by whose authority ³¹  I do these things.”

John 10:23

10:23 It was winter, ³²  and Jesus was walking in the temple area ³³  in Solomon’s Portico. ³⁴ 

John 18:20

18:20 Jesus replied, ³⁵  “I have spoken publicly to the world. I always taught in the synagogues ³⁶  and in the temple courts, ³⁷  where all the Jewish people ³⁸  assemble together. I ³⁹  have said nothing in secret.

[3:1]  ¹ tn In Hebrew the phrase “my messenger” is מַלְאָכִי (mal’akhi), the same form as the prophet’s name (see note on the name “Malachi” in 1:1). However, here the messenger appears to be an eschatological figure who is about to appear, as the following context suggests. According to 4:5, this messenger is “Elijah the prophet,” whom the NT identifies as John the Baptist (Matt 11:10; Mark 1:2) because he came in the “spirit and power” of Elijah (Matt 11:14; 17:11-12; Lk 1:17).

[3:1]  ² tn Here the Hebrew term הָאָדוֹן (ha’adon) is used, not יְהוָה (yÿhvah, typically rendered Lord). Thus the focus is not on the Lord as the covenant God, but on his role as master.

[3:1]  ³ sn This messenger of the covenant may be equated with my messenger (that is, Elijah) mentioned earlier in the verse, or with the Lord himself. In either case the messenger functions as an enforcer of the covenant. Note the following verses, which depict purifying judgment on a people that has violated the Lord’s covenant.

[21:23]  ⁴ tn Grk “he.”

[21:23]  ⁵ tn Grk “the temple.”

[21:23]  ⁶ tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ.1

[21:24]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “answering Jesus, they said.” This construction is somewhat awkward in English and has been simplified in the translation.

[21:27]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ. This is exactly the same phrase as in v. 23.

[20:1]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “Now it happened that one.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[20:1]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:1]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “the temple.”

[20:1]  ¹⁷ tn Or “preaching.”

[20:1]  ¹⁸ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

[20:1]  ¹⁹ sn The chief priests and the experts in the law with the elders came up. The description is similar to Luke 19:47. The leaders are really watching Jesus at this point.

[20:2]  ²⁰ tn Grk “and said, saying to him.” This is redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.

[20:2]  ²¹ tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ.

[20:2]  ²² sn The leadership is looking back to acts like the temple cleansing (19:45-48). How could a Galilean preacher do these things?

[20:3]  ²³ tn Grk “answering, he said to them.” This is redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.

[20:4]  ²⁴ sn John, like Jesus, was not a part of the official rabbinic order. So the question “John’s baptism – was it from heaven or from men?” draws an analogy between John the Baptist and Jesus. See Luke 3:1-20; 7:24-27. The phrase John’s baptism refers to the baptism practiced by John.

[20:4]  ²⁵ tn The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is used here (and in v. 6) in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NAB, NRSV, “of human origin”; TEV, “from human beings”; NLT, “merely human”).

[20:5]  ²⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Jesus’ question.

[20:7]  ²⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the dilemma Jesus’ opponents faced.

[20:7]  ²⁸ 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.

[20:8]  ²⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[20:8]  ³⁰ 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.

[20:8]  ³¹ tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ. This is exactly the same phrase as in v. 2.

[10:23]  ³² sn It was winter. The feast began on 25 Kislev, in November-December of the modern Gregorian calendar.

[10:23]  ³³ tn Grk “in the temple.”

[10:23]  ³⁴ tn Or “portico,” “colonnade”; Grk “stoa.”

[18:20]  ³⁵ tn Grk “Jesus answered him.”

[18:20]  ³⁶ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:59.

[18:20]  ³⁷ tn Grk “in the temple.”

[18:20]  ³⁸ tn Grk “the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the Jewish people generally, for whom the synagogues and the temple courts in Jerusalem were important public gathering places. See also the note on the phrase “Jewish religious leaders” in v. 12.

[18:20]  ³⁹ tn Grk “And I.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences.