Bible Strands
Luke 23:35
The people stood watching, and the rulers sneered at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The crowd and the ruling authorities stand at the crucifixion site, addressing Jesus directly while He hangs on the cross. The rulers challenge Him to demonstrate His messianic identity by rescuing Himself from the cross.
The words — ἐξεμυκτὴριζον (exemuktērizon) means "were deriding" or "sneering," capturing the rulers' contemptuous tone as they issue their conditional challenge.
The thread — The rulers' demand that He save Himself echoes the taunts in Psalm 22:17, where observers stare and gloat over the afflicted one. The title "Chosen One" links back to Isaiah 42:1, which identifies the upheld Servant, and anticipates 1 Peter 2:4's description of the rejected yet precious stone.
Why it lands — The text records a public challenge that demands proof of divine authority through self-preservation, yet the narrative leaves the condition unmet. A reader must confront the tension between a visible rescue and the actual course of the crucifixion.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God.
Cross-references
- Psalms 22:17 I can count all my bones; they stare and gloat over me.
- Isaiah 42:1 “Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations.
- 1 Peter 2:4 As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight,
- Matthew 12:18 “Here is My Servant, whom I have chosen, My beloved, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will proclaim justice to the nations.
- Mark 15:29 And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,
- Psalms 22:6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.
- Isaiah 53:3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.
- Luke 16:14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all of this and were scoffing at Jesus.
- Matthew 27:38 Two robbers were crucified with Him, one on His right and the other on His left.
- Genesis 37:19 “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to one another.