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New Living Translation
Matthew 21:26
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
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- InternationalParallel Translations
But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we’re afraid of the crowd, because everyone considers John to be a prophet.”
But if we shall say, Of men, we feare the people, for all hold Iohn as a Prophet.
But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.
But if we say, ‘From man,' we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet."
"But if we say, 'From men,' we fear the people; for they all regard John as a prophet."
But if we say, ‘It was from people,' we are afraid of what the crowd will do because they all believe that John was a prophet."
"But if we say, 'From men,' we are afraid of the [response of the] crowd; for they all regard John as a prophet."
"But if we say, 'From men,' we fear the people; for they all regard John as a prophet."
But if we say, ‘From men,' we fear the crowd; for they all regard John as a prophet."
But if we say, 'From men,' we are afraid of the crowd, for they all regard John as a prophet."
On the other hand, these people think that John was a prophet, and we are afraid of what they might do to us. That's why we can't say that it was merely some human who gave John the right to baptize."
But if we say, ‘From a human source,' we are afraid of the people, for they all regard Yochanan as a prophet."
but if we should say, Of men, we fear the crowd, for all hold John for a prophet.
But we can't say John's baptism was from someone else. We are afraid of the people, because they all believe John was a prophet."
And if we say, Of men, we feare the multitude, for all holde Iohn as a Prophet.
And if we should say, from men, we are afraid of the people, for all of them regard John as a prophet.
But if we say, ‘From human beings,' we are afraid of what the people might do, because they are all convinced that John was a prophet."
But if we say, ‘From men,' we are afraid of the crowd, because they all look upon John as a prophet."
But if we should say, From men, we fear the people. For all hold John to be a prophet.
But if we shall say, From men; we fear the multitude; for all hold John as a prophet.
But if we say, From men; we are in fear of the people, because all take John to be a prophet.
But if we will say, 'From men,' we fear the multitude, for all hold Yochanan as a prophet."
But if we say, 'From humans,' we are afraid of the crowd, for all regard John as a prophet."Matthew 14:5; Mark 6:20; Luke 20:6;">[xr]
And if we shall say, From men, we fear from the crowd; for all have regarded Juchanon as a prophet.
And if we should say, From men; we are afraid of the multitude, for they all hold John as a prophet.
But yf we shall say of men, then feare we the people: for all [men] holde Iohn as a prophete.
But if we shall say, From men; we fear the multitude; for all hold John as a prophet.
But if we will say, 'From men,' we fear the multitude, for all hold John as a prophet."
But if we say, Of men: we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.
and if we say `a human origin' we have the people to fear, for they all hold John to have been a Prophet."
seiynge, If we seien of heuene, he schal seie to vs, Whi thanne bileuen ye not to hym? If we seien of men, we dreden the puple, for alle hadden Joon as a prophete.
But if we shall say, From men; we fear the multitude; for all hold John as a prophet.
But if we shall say, From men; we fear the people: for all hold John as a prophet.
But if we say, ‘From people,' we fear the crowd, for they all consider John to be a prophet."
But if we say, "From men,' we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet."
But if we say, ‘From men,' we are afraid of the people, because they all think John was one who spoke for God."
But if we say, ‘Of human origin,' we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet."
But, if we say, Of men, we fear the multitude, for, all, as a prophet, are holding John.
If we shall say, from heaven, he will say to us: Why then did you not believe him? But if we shall say, from men, we are afraid of the multitude: for all held John as a prophet.
But if we say, 'From men,' we are afraid of the multitude; for all hold that John was a prophet."
But and if we shall saye of men then feare we the people. For all men helde Iohn as a Prophet.
and if we should say, From men, we fear the multitude, for all hold John as a prophet.'
But yf we saye it was of men, the feare we the people: For euery ma helde Ihon for a prophet.
but if we say, it was merely human, we are obnoxious to the people; for all hold John as a prophet.
The Royal Welcome When they neared Jerusalem, having arrived at Bethphage on Mount Olives, Jesus sent two disciples with these instructions: "Go over to the village across from you. You'll find a donkey tethered there, her colt with her. Untie her and bring them to me. If anyone asks what you're doing, say, ‘The Master needs them!' He will send them with you." This is the full story of what was sketched earlier by the prophet: Tell Zion's daughter, "Look, your king's on his way, poised and ready, mounted On a donkey, on a colt, foal of a pack animal." The disciples went and did exactly what Jesus told them to do. They led the donkey and colt out, laid some of their clothes on them, and Jesus mounted. Nearly all the people in the crowd threw their garments down on the road, giving him a royal welcome. Others cut branches from the trees and threw them down as a welcome mat. Crowds went ahead and crowds followed, all of them calling out, "Hosanna to David's son!" "Blessed is he who comes in God's name!" "Hosanna in highest heaven!" As he made his entrance into Jerusalem, the whole city was shaken. Unnerved, people were asking, "What's going on here? Who is this?" The parade crowd answered, "This is the prophet Jesus, the one from Nazareth in Galilee." Jesus went straight to the Temple and threw out everyone who had set up shop, buying and selling. He kicked over the tables of loan sharks and the stalls of dove merchants. He quoted this text: My house was designated a house of prayer; You have made it a hangout for thieves. Now there was room for the blind and crippled to get in. They came to Jesus and he healed them. When the religious leaders saw the outrageous things he was doing, and heard all the children running and shouting through the Temple, "Hosanna to David's Son!" they were up in arms and took him to task. "Do you hear what these children are saying?" Jesus said, "Yes, I hear them. And haven't you read in God's Word, ‘From the mouths of children and babies I'll furnish a place of praise'?" Fed up, Jesus turned on his heel and left the city for Bethany, where he spent the night. Early the next morning Jesus was returning to the city. He was hungry. Seeing a lone fig tree alongside the road, he approached it anticipating a breakfast of figs. When he got to the tree, there was nothing but fig leaves. He said, "No more figs from this tree—ever!" The fig tree withered on the spot, a dry stick. The disciples saw it happen. They rubbed their eyes, saying, "Did we really see this? A leafy tree one minute, a dry stick the next?" But Jesus was matter-of-fact: "Yes—and if you embrace this kingdom life and don't doubt God, you'll not only do minor feats like I did to the fig tree, but also triumph over huge obstacles. This mountain, for instance, you'll tell, ‘Go jump in the lake,' and it will jump. Absolutely everything, ranging from small to large, as you make it a part of your believing prayer, gets included as you lay hold of God." Then he was back in the Temple, teaching. The high priests and leaders of the people came up and demanded, "Show us your credentials. Who authorized you to teach here?" Jesus responded, "First let me ask you a question. You answer my question and I'll answer yours. About the baptism of John—who authorized it: heaven or humans?" They were on the spot and knew it. They pulled back into a huddle and whispered, "If we say ‘heaven,' he'll ask us why we didn't believe him; if we say ‘humans,' we're up against it with the people because they all hold John up as a prophet." They decided to concede that round to Jesus. "We don't know," they answered. Jesus said, "Then neither will I answer your question. "Tell me what you think of this story: A man had two sons. He went up to the first and said, ‘Son, go out for the day and work in the vineyard.' "The son answered, ‘I don't want to.' Later on he thought better of it and went. "The father gave the same command to the second son. He answered, ‘Sure, glad to.' But he never went. "Which of the two sons did what the father asked?" They said, "The first." Jesus said, "Yes, and I tell you that crooks and whores are going to precede you into God's kingdom. John came to you showing you the right road. You turned up your noses at him, but the crooks and whores believed him. Even when you saw their changed lives, you didn't care enough to change and believe him. "Here's another story. Listen closely. There was once a man, a wealthy farmer, who planted a vineyard. He fenced it, dug a winepress, put up a watchtower, then turned it over to the farmhands and went off on a trip. When it was time to harvest the grapes, he sent his servants back to collect his profits. "The farmhands grabbed the first servant and beat him up. The next one they murdered. They threw stones at the third but he got away. The owner tried again, sending more servants. They got the same treatment. The owner was at the end of his rope. He decided to send his son. ‘Surely,' he thought, ‘they will respect my son.' "But when the farmhands saw the son arrive, they rubbed their hands in greed. ‘This is the heir! Let's kill him and have it all for ourselves.' They grabbed him, threw him out, and killed him. "Now, when the owner of the vineyard arrives home from his trip, what do you think he will do to the farmhands?" "He'll kill them—a rotten bunch, and good riddance," they answered. "Then he'll assign the vineyard to farmhands who will hand over the profits when it's time." Jesus said, "Right—and you can read it for yourselves in your Bibles: The stone the masons threw out is now the cornerstone. This is God's work; we rub our eyes, we can hardly believe it! "This is the way it is with you. God's kingdom will be taken back from you and handed over to a people who will live out a kingdom life. Whoever stumbles on this Stone gets shattered; whoever the Stone falls on gets smashed." When the religious leaders heard this story, they knew it was aimed at them. They wanted to arrest Jesus and put him in jail, but, intimidated by public opinion, they held back. Most people held him to be a prophet of God.
If we tell him it came from man, then all these cowboys are going to get mad and throw us out because they think he came on the Boss's word."
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
we fear: Matthew 21:46, Matthew 14:5, Isaiah 57:11, Mark 11:32, Mark 12:12, Luke 20:6, Luke 20:19, Luke 22:2, John 9:22, Acts 5:26
for: Mark 6:20, John 5:35, John 10:41, John 10:42
Reciprocal: Matthew 26:5 - lest Luke 1:76 - shalt be
Cross-References
So disputes broke out between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot. (At that time Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land.)
And God was with the boy as he grew up in the wilderness. He became a skillful archer,
Abraham replied, "Yes, I swear to it!"
Gill's Notes on the Bible
But if we shall say of men,.... They reasoned with themselves, that should they give their answer in this form, and say, that the ministry and baptism of John, were merely human, and what he took up of himself, or which he performed by an authority derived from men,
we fear the people; that were then upon the spot, in the temple; who, as many of them were now the followers of Christ, more of them had been the admirers of John, and probably had been baptized by him: wherefore the sanhedrim were afraid of them, lest if they should affirm, that the authority by which John acted was human, they would immediately rise up against them; and, as Luke says, "stone" them: so high a veneration had they for him, and so dear was his memory still unto them.
For all held John as a prophet. These are the words of the high priests and elders, and not of the evangelist, expressing the reason of their fears from the people, who, in general, were thoroughly persuaded, as Luke expresses it, and firmly believed that John was a prophet, that was raised up, and sent immediately by God; and did not derive his authority and commission to preach and baptize from any man, or set of men, whatever.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
See also Mark 11:27-33; Luke 20:1-9.
Matthew 21:23
When he was come into the temple - That is, probably, into the inner court - the court of the Israelites.
They took this opportunity of questioning him on this subject when he was not surrounded by the multitude.
By what authority ... - There was a show of propriety in this question. He was making great changes in the affairs of the temple, and they claimed the right to know why this was done, contrary to their permission. He was not âa priest;â he had no civil or ecclesiastical authority as a Jew. It was sufficient authority, indeed, that he came as a prophet and worked miracles. But they professed not to be satisfied with that.
These things - The things which he had just done, in overturning the seats of those that were engaged in traffic, Matthew 21:12.
Matthew 21:24, Matthew 21:25
And Jesus answered ... - Jesus was under no obligation to give them an answer.
They well knew by what authority he did this. He had not concealed his power in working miracles, and had not kept back the knowledge that he was the Messiah. He therefore referred them to a similar case - that of John the Baptist. He knew the estimation in which John was held by the people, and he took the wise in their own craftiness. Whatever answer they gave, he knew they Would convict themselves, and so they saw when they looked at the question. They reasoned correctly. If they should say that John received authority to baptize from God or from heaven, he would directly ask why they did not believe him. They professed to hear all the prophets. If they said, âOf men,â they would be in danger, for all the people believed that John was a prophet.
The baptism of John - For an account of this, see Matthew 3:0. The word âbaptismâ here probably includes all his work. This was his principal employment; and hence he was called the Baptist, or the âBaptizer.â But our Saviourâs question refers âto his whole ministry.â âThe âministry of Johnâ - his baptism, preaching, prophecies was it from God, or not?â If it was, then the inference was clear that Jesus was the Messiah, and then they might easily know by what authority he did those things.
From heaven - By divine authority, or by the command of God.
From men - By human authority.
Matthew 21:26
We fear the people - They feared that the people would stone them (Luke). Such an unpopular sentiment as to profess that all that âJohnâ did was âimposture,â would have probably ended in tumult, perhaps in their death.
Matthew 21:27
We cannot tell - This was a direct falsehood. They could have told; and the answer should have been, âWe will not tell.â There was no reason but that why they did not tell. The reason, probably, why they would not acknowledge that John was a prophet, was that, if they did, they saw he could easily show them by âwhat authorityâ he did those things; that is, by his authority as Messiah. John came as his forerunner, pointed him out to the people, baptized him, and bore his public and solemn testimony to the fact that he was the Messiah, Matthew 3:13-15; John 1:29-34. If they acknowledged one, they must the other. In this way our Saviour was about to lead these crafty men to answer their own question, to their own confusion, about his authority. They saw this; and, having given them a âsufficientâ answer, there was no need of stating anything further.
