Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save.
Parallel translations
- WEB Likewise, also the chief priests mocking among themselves with the scribes said, “He saved others. He can’t save himself.
- BSB In the same way, the chief priests and scribes mocked Him among themselves, saying, “He saved others, but He cannot save Himself!
- NKJV Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save.
- NASB In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were mocking Him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself!
- NLT The leading priests and teachers of religious law also mocked Jesus. “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself!
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 chief priests and scribes mock that he saved others but cannot save himself. Their taunt unknowingly states the gospel.
Overview
Israel's religious leaders join the scorn, sneering at Jesus' record of healing and rescue. Their words contain a profound truth: it was because he would not save himself that he could save others. His refusal to come down was the very means of redemption.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- John 12:23–24And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.
- Ps 22:16–17For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
- Ps 2:1–4Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
- Luke 23:35–37And 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.
- John 11:47–52Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.
- 1 Pet 3:17–18For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.
- Matt 27:41–43Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,
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 15:31 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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