Section 11:27–33

The Jewish leaders challenged Jesus’ authority

Jesus and his disciples arrived in Jerusalem for the third time in three days. This time the Jewish leaders confronted him directly. They questioned Jesus about his right to do the things he had been doing. They did not believe that God had authorized Jesus to do and say what he did.

Jesus responded by asking the Jewish leaders a question. He asked them who gave John the Baptist his authority. The Jewish leaders did not want to answer Jesus’ question. If they answered, they would either appear to agree that God had sent John the Baptist or show that they did not believe that God sent him. So they refused to answer. Jesus then refused to answer their question, because he knew that they would not accept his answer.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

The Authority of Jesus (NET Bible)
-or-
A Question about Jesus’ Authority (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Leaders Doubt Jesus’ Authority (New Century Version)
-or-
The Jewish leaders did not believe that Jesus came with God’s authority

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 21:23–27 and Luke 20:1–8.

Paragraph 11:27–33

11:27a

The events in this section probably occurred immediately after those in 11:20–25. In 11:20–25 Jesus and his disciples walked to Jerusalem in the morning. In 11:27 they arrived in Jerusalem. In some languages, it may be natural to begin this section with a time word. For example:

Then

After their: The pronoun their refers to Jesus and his disciples. In some languages, it will be natural to make this explicit.

return to Jerusalem: The word return indicates that Jesus and his disciples had already been to Jerusalem. In fact, this was the third time they had gone to Jerusalem in three days.

The first time was in 11:11 when Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey. The second time was the next day (11:12, 11:15) when they walked from Bethany to Jerusalem. The third time began the next morning (11:20) when they started walking to Jerusalem. So here in 11:27 they return to the city.

11:27b

Jesus was walking in the temple courts: When Jesus and his disciples arrived in Jerusalem, they again went to the courtyard of the temple. In some languages, it may be natural to add the implied information that they went to the temple. For example:

…and went again to the temple. While Jesus was walking in the temple courtyard…

temple courts: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as temple courts is literally “temple” (as in most English versions). The temple consisted of the temple building and the walls and courtyards that surrounded it. Here “temple” refers specifically to the courtyard. People did not meet inside the temple building because only the priests could go there.

See how you translated this word in 11:16. Also see temple, Meaning 1, in the Glossary for more information about the temple and how to translate it.

11:27c

All three of these terms (“chief priests”, “scribes”, and “elders”) also occur in 8:31c.

the chief priests: The chief priests were the leading priests. This same term occurs in 11:18a.

scribes: The scribes were the experts in the religious law. See how you translated this term in 11:18a.

See teacher of the law in the Glossary.

and elders: The elders were the civil leaders or rulers. They were generally older men. See how you translated this term in 8:31c.

came up to Him: They came to Jesus while he was in the temple courtyard.

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