The people stood watching, and the rulers sneered at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”
Parallel translations
- WEB The people stood watching. The rulers with them also scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself, if this is the Christ of God, his chosen one!”
- KJV And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God.
- NKJV And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.”
- NASB And the people stood by, watching. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.”
- NLT The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. “He saved others,” they said, “let him save himself if he is really God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”
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
The rulers scoffed, daring Jesus to save Himself if He were truly the Christ. They mocked the very salvation He was accomplishing.
Overview
As the people watched, the leaders taunted Jesus, demanding self-rescue as proof of His Messiahship. Their words echo Psalm 22:7-8 and reveal blindness to the truth that He saves others precisely by not saving Himself. The cross is not a failure of power but the means of redemption, for He could not save others and Himself at once.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 22
- Ps 22:17I can count all my bones; they stare and gloat over me.
- Isa 42:1“Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations.
- 1 Pet 2:4As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight,
- Mark 15:29–32And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,
- Matt 12:18“Here is My Servant, whom I have chosen, My beloved, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will proclaim justice to the nations.
- Isa 53:3He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.
- Luke 16:14The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all of this and were scoffing at Jesus.
- Ps 22:6–8But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.
- Matt 27:38–43Two robbers were crucified with Him, one on His right hand and the other on His left.
- Ps 35:15But when I stumbled, they assembled in glee; they gathered together against me. Assailants I did not know slandered me without ceasing.
- Ps 69:26For they persecute the one You struck and recount the pain of those You wounded.
- Zech 12:10Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
- Ps 71:11saying, “God has forsaken him; pursue him and seize him, for there is no one to rescue him.”
- Ps 69:7–12For I have endured scorn for Your sake, and shame has covered my face.
- Ps 35:19–25Let not my enemies gloat over me without cause, nor those who hate me without reason wink in malice.
- Ps 22:12–13Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
- Isa 49:7Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, to Him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the Servant of rulers: “Kings will see You and rise, and princes will bow down, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen You.”
- Lam 3:14I am a laughingstock to all my people; they mock me in song all day long.
- Matt 3:17And a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!”
- Luke 22:67–70“If You are the Christ, tell us.” Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe.
- Gen 37:19–20“Here comes that dreamer!” they said to one another.
- Ps 4:2How long, O men, will my honor be maligned? How long will you love vanity and seek after lies? Selah
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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 23:35 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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