⁴⁷ And He ^(A)was teaching daily in the temple. But ^(B)the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him,

¹⁸ And ^(A)the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because ^(B)all the people were astonished at His teaching.

⁵⁵ In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me.

Jesus’ Authority Questioned^(A)

²⁷ Then they came again to Jerusalem. ^(B)And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him. ²⁸ And they said to Him, “By what ^(C)authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority to do these things?”

²⁹ But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things: ³⁰ The ^(D)baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me.”

³¹ And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ³² But if we say, ‘From men’ ”—they feared the people, for ^(E)all counted John to have been a prophet indeed. ³³ So they answered and said to Jesus, “We do not know.”

And Jesus answered and said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

^37 (A)And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but ^(B)at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet. ³⁸ Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.

²⁰ Jesus answered him, ^(A)“I spoke openly to the world. I always taught ^(B)in synagogues and ^(C)in the temple, where ^[a]the Jews always meet, and in secret I have said nothing.

⁵³ Then, from that day on, they plotted to ^(A)put Him to death. ^54 (B)Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called ^(C)Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples.

^55 (D)And the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to ^(E)purify themselves. ^56 (F)Then they sought Jesus, and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, “What do you think—that He will not come to the feast?” ⁵⁷ Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, that they might ^(G)seize Him.

^39 (A)Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.

Abraham’s Seed and Satan’s

³⁷ “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but ^(A)you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. ^38 (B)I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have ^[a]seen with your father.”

³⁹ They answered and said to Him, ^(C)“Abraham is our father.”

Jesus said to them, ^(D)“If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. ^40 (E)But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth ^(F)which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this.