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.”
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.
- BSB 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.”
- 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.”
- 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 of my bones. They look and stare at me.
- Isa 42:1“Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delights — I have put my Spirit on him. He will bring justice to the nations.
- 1 Pet 2:4coming to him, a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God, precious.
- Mark 15:29–32Those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads, and saying, “Ha! You who destroy the temple, and build it in three days,
- Matt 12:18“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen; my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my Spirit on him. He will proclaim justice to the nations.
- Isa 53:3He was despised, and rejected by men; a man of suffering, and acquainted with disease. He was despised as one from whom men hide their face; and we didn’t respect him.
- Luke 16:14The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they scoffed at him.
- Ps 22:6–8But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people.
- Matt 27:38–43Then there were two robbers crucified with him, one on his right hand and one on the left.
- Ps 35:15But in my adversity, they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together. The attackers gathered themselves together against me, and I didn’t know it. They tore at me, and didn’t cease.
- Ps 69:26For they persecute him whom you have wounded. They tell of the sorrow of those whom you have hurt.
- Zech 12:10I will pour on David’s house, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they will look to me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son, and will grieve bitterly for him, as one grieves for his firstborn.
- Ps 71:11saying, “God has forsaken him. Pursue and take him, for no one will rescue him.”
- Ps 69:7–12Because for your sake, I have borne reproach. Shame has covered my face.
- Ps 35:19–25Don’t let those who are my enemies wrongfully rejoice over me; neither let those who hate me without a cause wink their eyes.
- Ps 22:12–13Many bulls have surrounded me. Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.
- Isa 49:7Yahweh, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, says to him whom man despises, to him whom the nation abhors, to a servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and rise up; princes, and they shall worship; because of Yahweh who is faithful, even the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
- Lam 3:14I have become a derision to all my people, and their song all day long.
- Matt 3:17Behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
- Luke 22:67–70“If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you won’t believe,
- Gen 37:19–20They said to one another, “Behold, this dreamer comes.
- Ps 4:2You sons of men, how long shall my glory be turned into dishonor? Will you love vanity, and seek after falsehood? 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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