New Testament · Gospel

Luke 20:26

Authority Questioned

And they were unable to trap Him in His words before the people. And amazed at His answer, they fell silent. Luke 20:26 · Berean Standard Bible
What It Means

Luke 20:26, in plain English

They can't trap Him. They're actually amazed by His answer and fall completely silent. Their best shot missed by a mile.

Why it's here

Every attempt to corner Jesus only demonstrates how much wiser He is. They brought their best question and got an answer that's been quoted for two thousand years.

Who's speaking

Luke describes the total defeat of the spies' strategy and their stunned silence.

Where it sits in the story

Silence. That's all that's left after Jesus answers. The trap is in pieces, the spies are speechless, and Jesus' answer will echo through history forever.

A Closer Look

The scholarly reading

The spies are unable to trap Jesus before the people and are amazed (thaumasantes) at His answer, falling silent. The failed entrapment becomes an unintended testimony to Jesus' wisdom.

Language and setting

The combination of public failure and genuine amazement suggests Jesus' answer transcended their categories. Their silence (esigēsan) represents both defeat and involuntary admiration.

Voice

Luke narrates the complete failure of the entrapment and the spies' awed silence.

Significance

The trap collapses. The spies came to catch Jesus in His words and instead are caught by His wisdom. Their silence is the sound of a failed scheme meeting a superior mind.

In context

Luke 20:24–28

24“Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?”

25So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

26And they were unable to trap Him in His words before the people. And amazed at His answer, they fell silent.

27Then some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to question Him.

28“Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man is to marry his brother’s widow and raise up offspring for him.

Read all of Luke 20 — The religious leaders challenge Jesus' authority. He answers with a parable about murderous tenants that leaves them furious and afraid.

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