Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 19:47
And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him,
47, 48. Eagerness of the People to hear.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Daily in the temple – That is, for five or six days before his crucifixion.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 47. And he taught daily in the temple.] This he did for five or six days before his crucifixion. Some suppose that it was on Monday in the passion week that he thus entered into Jerusalem, and purified the temple; and on Thursday he was seized late at night: during these four days he taught in the temple, and lodged each night at Bethany. See Clarke on Mt 21:17.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This our Saviours preaching daily must be understood of a very few days, for it appeareth from Joh 12:1, that he came to Bethany but six days before the passover; now upon the passover day he died; but for the intermediate time, it is plain from the other evangelists that he was wont to spend the day time at Jerusalem in the temple, and at night to return to Bethany.
The chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him, only they stood in a little awe of the people, who were
very attentive to hear him.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
47. soughtcontinued seeking,that is, daily, as He taught.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And he taught daily in the temple,…. Every day till the passover came, and only in the day; for at night he went out of the city to Bethany, or to the Mount of Olives: some of his discourses in the temple, the parables he delivered, and his disputations with the doctors, are recorded in Mt 21:27:
but the chief priests, and the Scribes, and the chief of the people; or “the elders of the people”, as the Syriac version renders it; that is, the whole sanhedrim:
sought to destroy him; met and consulted together how to get him into their hands, and what charges to bring against him, in order to put him to death.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
He was teaching ( ). Periphrastic imperfect.
Daily ( ‘ ). Note the accusative neuter article, “as to the according to the day,” very awkward English surely, but perfectly good Greek. The same idiom occurs in 11:3.
Sought (). Imperfect active, conative imperfect, were seeking, trying to seek.
The principal men of the people ( ). The first men of the people. The position after the verb and apart from the chief priests and the scribes calls special attention to them. Some of these “first men” were chief priests or scribes, but not all of them. The lights and leaders of Jerusalem were bent on the destruction () of Jesus. The raising of Lazarus from the dead brought them together for this action (John 11:47-53; John 12:9-11).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And he taught daily in the temple,” (kai en didaskon to Kath’ hemeran en to hiero) “And he was teaching daily in the temple,” that week of the Passover, after He cleansed the temple area, during His last week on earth, with a zeal, unto the end, Ecc 9:10.
2) “But the chief priests and the scribes,” (hoi de archiereis kai hoi grammateis) “Then the administrative priests and the scribes,” Mar 11:18; Joh 7:19; Joh 8:37, or the archives guardians in collusion with the regular priests; as it had been prophesied they would, Psa 2:2; Psa 2:6; Act 4:23-26.
3) “And the chief of the people sought to destroy him.” (ezoutoun auton apolesai kai hoi protoi tou laou) “And the first rank men of the people sought to destroy him,” to liquidate him, or to “wipe him out,” to get rid of him, even by assassination, if possible, like a mafia gang of today, a thing they eventually did, Act 2:22-23; Act 2:36; Act 3:14-17; Act 4:10; Act 5:30; Act 7:52; Act 10:39; Act 13:26-30; 1Th 2:14-15.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Luk 19:47
. And he taught daily in the temple. Mark and Luke point out, first, what was the class of men of which the Church consisted, namely, of the despised multitude; and again, what enemies Christ had, namely, the priests and scribes, and all the rulers. Now this is a part of the folly of the cross, that God, passing by the excellence of the world, chooses what is foolish, weak, and despised. Secondly, they relate that those worthy guardians of the Church of God sought an occasion of putting Christ to death, by which their wicked impiety was discovered; for though there had been good grounds for pursuing Christ, yet they had no right to proceed to murder after the manner of robbers, or secretly to hire assassins. Thirdly, they show that the wicked conspiracy of those men was frustrated, because, by the secret purpose of God, Christ was appointed to the death of the cross.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(47) And he taught daily in the temple.Literally, He was teaching.
The chief of the people.Literally, the first of the people. The word is the same as in Mar. 6:21, for the chief estates of Galilee. Here, apparently, it denotes those who, whether members of the Sanhedrin or not, were men of marknotables, as it wereamong the inhabitants of Jerusalem. As to the purpose ascribed to them, see Note on Mar. 11:18.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘And he was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people sought to destroy him,’
Every day Jesus returned to the Temple to preach (and to heal ‘the blind and the lame’- Mat 21:14). Meanwhile all the leading authorities were banded together, differences forgotten, in order to find a way of destroying Him, the chief priests because He had affected their profits and their reputations, the Scribes because he had shown up their teaching and their lives, and the principal men of the people because they had no doubt yielded to the pressure of the other two parties and were concerned that there might be disorder in the city which might affect their wealth. Not being willing to go and listen to Jesus themselves, they accepted the word of their respected colleagues. So the leaders of the most religious nation on earth were banded together against the most gracious and loving man on earth, and all for the wrong reasons. Like the monkeys in the story of Mowgli they gathered together and said in unison, ‘We all say so, so it must be true’. Thus almost the whole Sanhedrin, the leading judicial authority in Jerusalem, were banded up against Him. Truth had to come second when the status quo, which benefited them all, was at stake.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jesus Is Challenged By The Sanhedrin Members As To His Authority (19:47-20:8).
This challenge came at the beginning of this week in which Jesus was constantly tested out, and in each case His replies were more than sufficient to deal with the matters brought against Him, so that there soon came a time when they dared not ask Him any more questions. This first challenge was as to His authority for doing ‘the things’ that He does. Probably largely in mind by ‘the thongs’ was the incident of the cleansing of the Temple, but it also included his miracles and His apparent occasional disregard for the Sabbath. Their purpose in coming there was deliberately in order to show Him up before all the people, for they knew that if they were to be able to do with Him what they wanted, it was first necessary to get the support of the people. So their first aim was to demonstrate to the crowds that in fact He had no authority.
Their question seemed reasonable. There was no doubt that He was claiming some special kind of authority, and that He had caused some disruption in the Temple, and it was after all their genuine responsibility to check the credentials of any who claimed such religious authority, and they were also responsible for public order, especially in the Temple. Yet the fact is that they had had plenty of opportunity for questioning Him and weighing Him up before this, and even now they could have spoken with Him in private and discussed matters reasonably. But the truth was that they had taken on an attitude of extreme belligerence. For the way in which Jesus now dealt with them demonstrated that He saw their challenge as hostile, not as neutral.
That their approach was over more than just His actions in the Temple comes out in the strength of the deputation. His act in the Temple could have been dealt with by the Temple police. It was His whole activity that was in question and the ‘hidden’ claims that He was thus making.
Analysis.
a
b They could not find what they might do, for the people all hung on Him, listening (Luk 19:48).
c And it came about that, on one of the days, as He was teaching the people in the temple, and preaching the gospel, there came on Him the chief priests and the scribes with the elders, and they spoke, saying to Him, “Tell us, by what authority do you do these things? or who is he who gave you this authority?” (Luk 20:1-2).
d He answered and said to them, “I also will ask you a question, and you tell me, The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men?” (Luk 20:3-4).
c And they reasoned with themselves, saying, “If we shall say, From heaven, he will say, Why did you not believe him? But if we shall say, From men, all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet” (Luk 20:5-6).
b They answered, that they knew not whence it was (Luk 20:7).
a And Jesus said to them, “Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things” (Luk 20:8).
Note that in ‘a’ the leaders of Israel acting in God’s name (they come officially together) but on their own authority were determined to destroy Him, while in the parallel Jesus refused to divulge His authority which was from that same God, on the grounds that they had revealed their incapacity to judge it. In ‘b’ they were baffled as to what to do before the people, and in the parallel they were baffled in seeking to answer Jesus’ question. In ‘c’ they questioned His authority, and in the parallel they reasoned unsuccessfully concerning John’s authority. Centrally in ‘d’ came the crunch question about the source of John’s authority.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jesus Preaches In The Temple (19:47-21:38).
Having driven the traders out of the Temple in His prophetic zeal Jesus then revealed the greatness of His great courage by returning daily to that same Temple in order to teach the people. As the traders, who would quickly have returned, watched with baleful eyes, and the Temple police stood by alert for trouble, Jesus boldly entered the Temple again, and ignoring both, proceeded to address the crowds gathered there. Indeed the great crowds that gathered to Him would make it seem to the authorities as though He had almost taken over the Temple, apart from the Sanctuary itself.
And perhaps that was how He intended it to be seen. Having driven out the traders He has now taken possession of it in the name of the Lord, for its genuine purpose, that of proclaiming the word of God within it (a theme of Luke/Acts) and of prayer. In the coming months and years this will be one of its purposes until at length it will be finally rejected because it had rejected Him (see Luk 19:47. Luk 20:1; Luk 21:37-38; Luk 24:53; Act 2:46; Act 3:1; Act 3:8; Act 4:1; Act 5:20-21; Act 5:25; Act 5:42). While it continued as the hub of the Jewish religion, it also became for a time the source from which light could go out from the Jews to the world (Isa 2:2-4).
But whereas the authorities wanted to arrest Him they did not dare make a move in public, because He was too popular. They were forced to recognise that any move against Him could only result in tumult, and that that would then bring down on them the wrath of their Roman overlords. Thus they turned to a new tactic, and got together to decide how they might discredit Him in the eyes of the people. They knew that if they could only do that, then they could take Him. This therefore resulted in a number of challenges which are found in what follows. These included the challenge as to His authority for behaving as He did (Luk 20:1-8), the challenge as to whether it was right to give tribute to Caesar (Luk 20:20-26) , and the challenge concerning the truth of the resurrection (Luk 20:27-38).
In dealing with these Jesus not only showed them up as being hypocritical and incompetent, but went on to denounce them and their fellow leaders by means of a parable which demonstrated their connection with the villainy of those who in the past had persecuted those sent from God (Luk 20:9-18). Within this parable at the same time He revealed His own uniqueness as God’s only Son. Then once their challenges were exhausted He riposted with a quotation from Scripture concerning His Messiahship (Luk 20:41-44), following it up with a further attack on the Scribes (Luk 20:45-47) and a contrasting of them with an impoverished widow whose godly giving aroused His admiration (Luk 21:1-4). This was then followed by His description to His disciples of the future destruction of the Temple, along with prophecies concerning the future, which ended up with the promise of His return in glory (Luk 21:5-36). And during all this period He continued teaching daily to the crowds in the Temple (Luk 21:37-38).
In all these episodes Luke was calling, at least to some extent, on Marcan material, but altered so as to suit the points that he was trying to get over, and in terms of other information received. This was, however done without altering their essential message. It all begins with an attack on His authority.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Luk 19:47-48 . . ] The worldly aristocracy, yet with special emphasis.
. . .] the people hung upon Him as they hearkened to Him . “Populi assiduitas aditum hostibus obstruebat,” Bengel. On with a genitive, comp. Plut. Mar 12 , and the passages in Wetstein. With , Gen 44:30 ; Plat. Leg . v. p. 731 E.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
47 And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him,
Ver. 47. He taught daily ] The nearer he drew to his end the more intent he was upon the work, that he might say, as afterwards he did in that heavenly prayer of his, “I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do,” Joh 17:4 .
But the chief priests ] Wild beasts cannot endure fire; no more can wicked men away with zeal. Tigers are enraged with sweet odours; beat up a drum to them and they will tear themselves for anger.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
47, 48. ] A general description of His employment during these last days, the particulars of which follow. It is rightly however placed at the end of a chapter, for it forms a close to the long section wherein the last journey to Jerusalem has been described.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Luk 19:47-48 . , daily, as in Luk 11:3 . , priests and scribes, Sadducees and Pharisees, lax and strict, united against the Man who had nothing in common with either. : added as a kind of afterthought = the socially important people who, though laymen, agreed with the professionals in their dislike of Jesus.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Luk 19:47-48
47And He was teaching daily in the temple; but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people were trying to destroy Him, 48and they could not find anything that they might do, for all the people were hanging on to every word He said.
Luk 19:47 “He was teaching daily in the temple” This is a periphrastic imperfect. Jesus taught regularly in public during this last week of His life. Part of the Temple area was dedicated to teaching. It was known as the Portico of Solomon and it surrounded the Court of the Women, therefore, all visitors to the Temple (Jewish men and women, as well as Gentiles) could hear Him.
Luk 19:48 This verse is the culmination of the hostility which began in Luk 6:11; Luk 11:53-54. It is quite sad, the leaders refused to listen to Jesus because they were threatened by His popularity. However, His popularity never lasted because the crowd heard the call to total commitment and service that was required and they were unwilling to pay the cost. The leaders wanted a different gospel and the people an easier gospel!
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
taught = was (or continued) teaching.
daily = day by day: i.e. on each of these last six days. Compare Luk 20:1. See App-156.
chief priests = high priests.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
47, 48.] A general description of His employment during these last days, the particulars of which follow. It is rightly however placed at the end of a chapter, for it forms a close to the long section wherein the last journey to Jerusalem has been described.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
[47. , teaching) This was in the greatest degree becoming in the King.-V. g.- , day by day) What a gracious visitation! [Luk 19:44.]-V. g.]-Luk 19:48. ) , For his life is hung upon-suspended on [Engl. Vers. bound up in]-the life of this lad, Gen 44:30. The assiduity of the people obstructed the approach of His enemies to Him.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
taught: Luk 21:37, Luk 21:38, Mat 21:23, Mar 11:27-33, Joh 18:20
the chief priests: Mat 26:3, Mat 26:4, Mar 11:18, Mar 12:12, Mar 14:1, Joh 7:19, Joh 7:44, Joh 8:37-40, Joh 10:39, Joh 11:53-57
Reciprocal: Neh 8:13 – the second Psa 37:32 – watcheth Jer 26:2 – Stand Hag 2:7 – I will fill Mal 3:1 – and Mar 12:35 – while Mar 14:49 – was Luk 20:1 – that Luk 20:14 – let Luk 20:19 – the same Luk 22:2 – General Joh 7:14 – the temple Joh 7:30 – they Joh 12:19 – Perceive Act 4:21 – how
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
7
He taught daily, also the chief of the leaders sought to destroy him. The connection between these statements is not revealed here. We know, however, it was because Jesus rebuked them for their hypocrisy.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Luk 19:47-48. OUR LORDS CLOSING LABORS IN THE TEMPLE.
Daily (comp. chap. Luk 21:37). On Monday and Tuesday. On the last named day, He solemnly and formally took leave of the temple; see on Mat 24:1.
The chief men of the people. The worldly aristocracy in distinction from the common people. There were Sadducees as well as priests and scribes among His opponents.
And they could not find, etc. This perplexity had begun some time before (Joh 7:30-53), but was now reaching its height.
For the people. Comp. Mar 12:37.
All hung upon him, listening. The E.V. omits the striking figure of the original. The attitude of the people was an obstacle to the hostile rulers. But malicious craft found its opportunity in a few short days. Luke here, as often elsewhere, gives a sketch of events afterwards narrated in detail.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
3. A synopsis of Jesus’ teaching in the temple 19:47-48 (cf. Mark 11:18)
Luke stressed the rejection and hostility of the Jewish leaders toward Jesus as He taught daily in the temple courtyards. The common people, however, were very receptive to His instruction. This contrast between popular acceptance and official opposition has characterized Luke’s narrative. The writer evidently included it to show his readers that average people with no vested interests at stake have always been open to the gospel (cf. Luk 1:68; Luk 1:77; Luk 2:10; Luk 2:31-32).
This paragraph is also introductory to what follows. It introduces Jesus’ teaching ministry to His disciples in Jerusalem, as Luk 4:14-15 introduced His ministry in Galilee.