“If You are the Christ, tell us.” But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe;
Parallel translations
- WEB “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you won’t believe,
- KJV Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe:
- BSB “If You are the Christ, tell us.” Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe.
- NKJV “If You are the Christ, tell us.” But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will by no means believe.
- NLT and they said, “Tell us, are you the Messiah?” But he replied, “If I tell you, you won’t believe me.
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
Asked if He is the Christ, Jesus replies that if He tells them they will not believe. He exposes their hardened unbelief.
Overview
The council demands whether Jesus claims to be the Messiah, but He knows their minds are already closed. His answer reveals that their question is not a sincere search for truth. The exchange shows how unbelief refuses to be persuaded even by the truth standing before it.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- John 10:24–26The Jews therefore came around him and said to him, “How long will you hold us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
- Matt 11:3–5and said to him, “Are you he who comes, or should we look for another?”
- Luke 16:31“He said to him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead.’”
- John 12:37–43But though he had done so many signs before them, yet they didn’t believe in him,
- John 5:39–47“You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and these are they which testify about me.
- John 8:43–45Why don’t you understand my speech? Because you can’t hear my word.
- Mark 14:61–66But he stayed quiet, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”
- Matt 26:63–68But Jesus held his peace. The high priest answered him, “I adjure you by the living God, that you tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God.”
- John 9:27–28He answered them, “I told you already, and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You don’t also want to become his disciples, do you?”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 22:67 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.