Chapter
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Verse
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54

Luke 11:53
ESV As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things,
NIV When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions,
NASB When He left that place, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to interrogate Him about many subjects,
CSB When he left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to oppose him fiercely and to cross-examine him about many things;
NLT As Jesus was leaving, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees became hostile and tried to provoke him with many questions.
KJV And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things:
NKJV And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things,

What does Luke 11:53 mean?

Luke 11:53–54 gives the capstone to Luke 11:14–54. Luke has carefully curated stories from Jesus' ministry that show why the Jewish religious leaders call for His crucifixion. They claim His power came from Satan despite His victories over evil (Luke 11:14–15). They deny Jesus' representation of God, though Gentiles from long ago recognized godly authority with far less proof (Luke 11:29–32). They refuse to reveal Jesus is the Messiah so the people may live in the light of truth (Luke 11:33–36, 52). They value looking holy over being holy (Luke 11:37–44). And they betray the witness of the Old Testament prophets who gave God's words about the Messiah (Luke 11:45–51).

Now, the Pharisees and the experts in the Mosaic law double their efforts trying to get Jesus to incriminate Himself. He has already healed on the Sabbath (Luke 6:6–11), eaten with sinners (Luke 5:27–32), and flaunted their extra-biblical requirements (Luke 11:37–38). To prove He is guilty of a capital offense they need to hear Him blaspheme God or Moses. To justify His execution to the Romans, they must prove He threatens a religious structure like the temple, that He is teaching a new religion not authorized by the Roman government, or that Jesus plans to revolt against the Romans. In a pinch, they might drive Him to say something that will turn the crowd into a violent mob.

Even joined with the Sadducees, the Pharisees will find this an impossible task (Luke 20). In the end, they resort to lying and intentionally misunderstanding His prophecy of His crucifixion to mean He intends to destroy the temple (Mark 14:53–64). Pilate, however, knows they're just jealous (Mark 15:10).
Expand
Expand
Expand
What is the Gospel?
Download the app:
BibleRef.com is part of Got Questions Ministries

For answers to your Bible questions, please visit