John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or from men?”
Parallel translations
- WEB the baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men?”
- KJV The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?
- NKJV The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men?”
- NASB Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?”
- NLT “Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus asks whether John's baptism was from heaven or from men. He ties the question of his own authority to their response to John.
Overview
John the Baptist had pointed to Jesus, so to judge John rightly is to judge Jesus rightly. The question forces the leaders to confront the divine origin of John's ministry, and by implication Jesus's. Their answer would reveal whether they were willing to submit to God's appointed messengers.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Luke 15:18I will get up and go back to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
- Matt 11:7–19As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind?
- Luke 7:28–35I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John, yet even the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
- Matt 21:25–32What was the source of John’s baptism? Was it from heaven or from men?” They deliberated among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’
- Matt 17:11–12Jesus replied, “Elijah does indeed come, and he will restore all things.
- Dan 4:25–26You will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field. You will feed on grass like an ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes.
- John 1:19–28And this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?”
- John 1:6There came a man who was sent from God. His name was John.
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 20:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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