The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me.”
Parallel translations
- WEB The baptism of John — was it from heaven, or from men? Answer me.”
- KJV The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me.
- BSB John’s baptism—was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me!”
- NASB Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me.”
- NLT “Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human? Answer 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
Jesus asks whether John's baptism was from heaven or from men.
Overview
By pointing to John the Baptist, Jesus links His own authority to John's God-given prophetic ministry, since John bore witness to Him. The question puts the leaders in a dilemma they cannot escape without exposing themselves. Their response to John reveals their response to Jesus.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Mark 1:1–11The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
- Mark 9:13But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they have also done to him whatever they wanted to, even as it is written about him.”
- Luke 3:1–20Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,
- Matt 3:1–17In those days, John the Baptizer came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,
- John 1:6–8There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John.
- John 1:15–36John testified about him. He cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me, for he was before me.’”
- John 3:25–36There arose therefore a questioning on the part of John’s disciples with some Jews about purification.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 11:30 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.