and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!”
Parallel translations
- WEB and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”
- KJV And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself.
- BSB “If You are the King of the Jews,” they said, “save Yourself!”
- NKJV and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.”
- NLT They called out to him, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”
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 soldiers challenged Jesus to save Himself if He were King of the Jews. Their taunt unknowingly proclaimed His true royal identity.
Overview
Mocking the charge written against Him, the soldiers dare Jesus to demonstrate kingship by self-deliverance. Their jeer ironically affirms the truth they reject, for He is indeed the King. His refusal to come down from the cross is the very exercise of His saving reign, conquering sin and death through apparent weakness.
Cross-references & the web
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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 23:37 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.