Jesus spoke these words in the treasury, as he taught in the temple. Yet no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
Parallel Translations
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Jesus spoke these words in the treasury, as he taught in the temple. Yet no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
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Then sayde Iesus agayne vnto them. I goo my waye and ye shall seke me and shall dye in youre synnes. Whyther I goo thyther can ye not come.
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These wordes spake Iesus in the treasurie, as hee taught in the Temple, and no man layde handes on him: for his houre was not yet come.
Cross-references (12)
Passages linked to John 8:20 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- John 7:30 They sought therefore to take him; but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.
- Mark 12:41 Jesus sat down opposite the treasury, and saw how the multitude cast money into the treasury. Many who were rich cast in much.
- John 7:8 You go up to the feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, because my time is not yet fulfilled.”
- Matthew 27:6 The chief priests took the pieces of silver, and said, “It’s not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is the price of blood.”
- Mark 12:43 He called his disciples to himself, and said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, this poor widow gave more than all those who are giving into the treasury,
- John 7:44 Some of them would have arrested him, but no one laid hands on him.
- 1 Chronicles 9:26 for the four chief gatekeepers, who were Levites, were in an office of trust, and were over the rooms and over the treasuries in God’s house.
- Luke 13:31-33 On that same day, some Pharisees came, saying to him, “Get out of here, and go away, for Herod wants to kill you.” He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I complete my mission. Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, for it can’t be that a prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem.’
- Luke 20:19 The chief priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on him that very hour, but they feared the people—for they knew he had spoken this parable against them.
- John 8:59 Therefore they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus was hidden, and went out of the temple, having gone through the middle of them, and so passed by.
- John 10:39 They sought again to seize him, and he went out of their hand.
- John 11:9-10 Jesus answered, “Aren’t there twelve hours of daylight? If a man walks in the day, he doesn’t stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if a man walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light isn’t in him.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 20. These words spoke Jesus in the treasury. The…
20. These words spoke Jesus in the treasury. The treasury was a part of the temple where the sacred offerings were laid up. It was a much frequented place, and hence we infer that this sermon was delivered by Christ amidst a large assembly of men, so that the people had less excuse. The Evangelist likewise holds out to us the astonishing power of God in this respect, that they were constrained to endure Christ openly teaching in the temple, though but lately they sought to seize him, and put him to death. For since they held an undisputed sway in the temple, so that they ruled there with the fierceness of tyrants, they might have banished Christ from it by a single word. And when he ventured to take upon himself the office of a teacher, why do they not instantly lay violent hands on him? We see then that God caused men to hear him, and guarded him by his protection, so that those savage beasts did not touch him, though they had their throats opened to swallow him. The Evangelist again mentions his hour, that we may learn that it is not by the will of men, but by the will of God, that we live and die.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain We live and die at the pleasure of God…
We live and die at the pleasure of God and not of men: Therefore this one thing remaineth that we go forward constantly in our vocation.
This was some place appointed for the gathering of the offerings.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 20 These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as…
20 These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come.
Ver. 20. For his hour was not yet come] And they could neither hasten it nor prevent it. No man hath power over the life of another. "My times are in thine hand," saith David. {See Trapp on "Joh 7:44"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The treasury was a public place in the temple;…
The treasury was a public place in the temple; concerning which, See Poole on "Mat 27:6", See Poole on "Mar 12:41", See Poole on "Mar 12:43" and See Poole on "Luk 21:1". Christ taught sometimes in one part of the temple, sometimes in another: but that no man should lay hold on him, considering the search made for him in the beginning of the feast, and their sending messengers to take him, as we read Joh 7:32, and the affront he had given to the scribes and Pharisees, of which we read in the beginning of this chapter, was very miraculous; nor can any account be given of it besides what is here given, viz. that his
hour was not yet come; which was the reason we heard given before in the same case, Joh 7:30. Men shall be able to do nothing against Christ, or any that belong unto him, till the time cometh that God hath set in his wise and eternal thoughts.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Then said the Jews, will he kill himself?.... Which…
Then said the Jews, will he kill himself?.... Which was not only a wicked, but a foolish consequence, drawn from his words: for it by no means followed, because he was going away, and whither they could not come, that therefore he must destroy himself; this seems to be what they would have been glad he would have done, and suggested the thought that he might do it, in which they imitated Satan, Mat 4:6, under whose influence they now apparently were, and hoped that he would, which would at once extricate them out of their difficulties on his account:
because he sayeth, whither I go ye cannot come: this is no reason at all; for had Christ's meaning been, as they blasphemously intimate, they might have destroyed themselves too, and have gone after him.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 20. The treasury] Lightfoot observes, from the rabbins,…
Verse 20. The treasury] Lightfoot observes, from the rabbins, that the treasury was in what was called the court of the women-that there were thirteen chests in it; in the thirteenth only the women were permitted to put their offerings. Probably the other twelve were placed there in reference to the twelve tribes; each perhaps inscribed with the name of one of Jacob's twelve sons.
It seems that our Lord sometimes sat in this court to teach the people. See Mr 12:41, &c.
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His hour was not yet come.] The time was not arrived, in which he had determined to give himself up into the hands of his crucifiers.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Joh 8:20. These words spake Jesus in the treasury…
Joh 8:20. These words spake Jesus in the treasury — Which was a certain part of the women’s court, where the chests were placed for receiving the offerings of those who came to worship; and consequently was a place of great concourse. And no man laid hands on him — Though he so plainly intimated that God was his Father, and charged the Jews with being ignorant of him, while they boasted that he was in a peculiar sense their God; yet, their spirits were kept under such a powerful, though secret restraint, that no one seized him; which was the more wonderful, as it was a place much frequented by his greatest enemies, and from which it would not have been easy for him to have escaped without a miracle; for his hour was not yet come — In which he was, by divine permission, to be delivered into the hands of these wicked men.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain The treasury - See the notes at Mat 21:12.
The treasury - See the notes at Mat 21:12.
His hour was not yet come - The time for him to die had not yet arrived, and God restrained them, and kept his life. This proves that God has power over wicked men to control them, and to make them accomplish his own purposes.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain These words spake Jesus in the treasury--a division, so…
These words spake Jesus in the treasury--a division, so called, of the fore court of the temple, part of the court of the women [JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, 19.6.2, &c.], which may confirm the genuineness of Joh 8:2-11, as the place where the woman was brought.
no man laid hands on him, &c.--(See on Joh 7:30). In the dialogue that follows, the conflict waxes sharper on both sides, till rising to its climax, they take up stones to stone him.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 20. The treasury—In the court of the women. See…
20. The treasury—In the court of the women. See note on Mar_12:41.
Hour… not… come—See note on Joh_2:4. The hour of his submission to death at their hands. Jewish rage could not go beyond the fixed bounds. When they rejected Jesus, it was not his misfortune so truly as theirs.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 20. in the treasury] At the treasury is an…
20. in the treasury] At the treasury is an admissible and in one respect safer translation. It is not certain that there was a separate building called the treasury; and if there was, it is not probable that Christ would be able to address the multitude there. But the thirteen brazen chests, into which people put their offerings for the temple and other charitable objects, stood in the Court of the Women (see on Mar_12:41), and these chests seem to have been called ‘the treasury.’ The point seems to be that in so public and frequented a place as this did He say all this, and yet no man laid hands on Him (see on Joh_7:30). Moreover the Hall Gazith, where the Sanhedrin mot, was close to the Court of the Women; so that He was teaching close to His enemies’ head quarters.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (20) These words spake Jesus in the treasury.—Comp. Notes…
(20) These words spake Jesus in the treasury.—Comp. Notes on Mar_12:41 and Luk_21:1. From the passage it is clear that the word “treasury” was applied to the brazen trumpet-shaped chests placed in the court of the women for the reception of alms. There were thirteen of them, and each bore an inscription showing to what purpose the alms placed in it would be devoted. Here the word is apparently used of the place itself in which the chests were deposited, or the preposition must be taken as including the immediate neighbourhood. This notice of place is interesting in many ways. The court of the women was one of the most public places in the Temple area. He taught, then, openly and fearlessly. The chamber in which the Sanhedrin held their session was between the court of the women and that of the men. They had on that very day been assembled to take counsel against Him (Joh_7:45-52). This gives point to the words which follow, “and no man laid hands on Him, for His hour was not yet come.” The court of the women, moreover, was the spot where the great candelabra stood. (See Note on Joh_8:12.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 20-30. (3) Further controversy with different groups, ending…
Vers. 20-30. (3) Further controversy with different groups, ending in partial admission of his claims by some.
These words an expression which emphasized the foregoing interview, and shut it off from the following contextspake he (Jesus) in the treasury, as he taught in the temple courts. The gazofulakion (Mar_12:41 Luk_20:1) may be the chamber in which the thirteen chests, with trumpet like orifices for the reception of alms, were erected. If so, it was in the "court of the women," or the place of public assembly most abundantly frequented by the multitude, and beyond which the women could not penetrate into the "court of the priests." Edersheim disputes Westcott"s suggestion, that the gazith, or session house of the Sanhedrin, was close by, and that the language of Jesus was within earshot of them. This chamber, gazith, was in the southeast corner of the "court of the priests," and therefore far away from the treasure chamber. Supposing that the word gazofulakion was the treasury itself the en tw may point to the neighbourhood of the sacred enclosure. The reference shows that the locality even of the discourse had made profound impression on one of the disciples, and implies great publicity and imminent peril from these bold avowals. The clause added by the evangelist, And no man seized him; because his hour was not yet come, is a phrase repeated frequently, and one which delays, by a strange refrain, the tragic consummation (see Introduction, 5 (4)). Here it shows that some further attempt was made to lay violent hands on him, which for the moment failed. Seeing that avowals of his Divine nature wrought to a frenzy the passions of soma of his hearers, and finally led to his condemnation for a capital offence, the evangelist again and again shows that the Lord who made these claims on his trial, as given in the synoptists had frequently reiterated them at peril of his life. The language of the high priest shows how bitterly the ecclesiastical authorities resented this assumption. The Fourth Gospel makes the synoptic account of this matter more intelligible by showing us that it was not an isolated occurrence.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain These words spake Jesus in the Treasury
Joh_8:20
These words spake Jesus in the Treasury
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The Treasury
From Mar_12:41 and Luk_21:1 it is clear that this word was applied to the brazen trumpet-shaped chests placed in the Court of the Women for the reception of alms.
There were thirteen of them, and each bore an inscription showing to what purpose the alms placed in it would be devoted. Here the word is apparently used of the place itself, in which the chests were deposited. This notice is interesting in many ways. The Court of the Women was one of the most public places in the Temple area. Christ taught there openly and fearlessly. The chamber in which the Sanhedrim held their session was between the Court of the Women and that of the Men. They had on that or the previous day been assembled to take counsel against Him (chap. 7:45-52). This gives point to the words which here follow. (Archdeacon Watkins.)
No man laid hands on Him; for His hour was not yet come
Divine Providence
I. EXERTS A RESTRAINING POWER ON WICKED MEN. No man, etc. Why? Jewish rage was almost at its height; the Sanhedrims lacked neither disposition, muscular power, nor public cooperation. It was because His hour was not yet come. There was a mysterious power holding them back, an invisible hand restraining them. In relation to this restraining power of Gods moral government of the world, note
1. It is not always a matter of consciousness. Sometimes, it may be, men feel that they are reined in, some mysterious power preventing them from doing what they desire. History presents us with monsters that have felt themselves like caged lions. But as a rule the restraining force is so subtle, so delicate, that men are unconscious of it.
2. It interferes not with human freedom. A man is not free from the guilt of a wrong act because he has not the power or the opportunity to embody it. The guilt is in the desire, the volition. As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. At first sight it seems morally absurd that God should restrain a man from committing a crime, and yet hold him guilty for it. The solution is here: the crime is in the wish.
3. It is an incalculable advantage to the race. What was in the Alexanders, the Caligulas, the Napoleons, the Lauds, and the Bonners, is for the most part in every unregenerate soul. Were there no restraining hand upon depraved hearts, all social decency, order, peace, and enjoyment would be at an end. The world would be a Pandemonium. We rejoice that He who reigns in the ocean and keeps it within bounds, holds in the passions and impulses of the depraved soul. The kings heart is in the hand of the Lord, etc.
II. HAS SETTLED PERIODS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF EVENTS. For His hour was not yet come. Christ recognized that there was a particular hour or crisis for everything He had to do. There was an hour for the commence, merit of His miracles, for His baptism, for His death. His death was the hour of hours. Father, the hour has come. God has appointed scenes in space and in duration for all things that occur in His vast dominion. Nothing He allows to be done in one scene that is intended to occur in another, nothing in one season that is fixed for another. To everything there is a season. Every orb that rolls through immensity has a point it is bound to reach, and an hour; it is never behind its time. So it is not only in the epochs and eras of human history, but in all the events of individual life. Mans decrees and purposes often fail from the fickleness of his own mind, from his want of foresight, and from his want of power. It is altogether otherwise with the designs of the Almighty. When His set time for working comes, not all the power in the universe can stay His hand. When we first look abroad, indeed, upon the busy field of human affairs, and observe the numerous actors, all moving, planning, arranging, we may be tempted for the moment to imagine that destiny itself is in their hands. But when we have looked a little longer and have seen all their schemes deranged, and a result emerging the very opposite, it may be, we begin to discover that there is a power out of sight mightier than all--One whose purposes are from everlasting to everlasting, whose counsel shall stand, and who will do all His pleasure. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 20. These words spake Jesus in the treasury. Of…
20. These words spake Jesus in the treasury. Of the temple. See notes on Mark 12:41 and Luke 21:1.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 8:20 The Treasury was located in the section of…
8:20 The Treasury was located in the section of the Temple called the Court of the Women. Jesus often taught there so that both men and women could hear him (Mark 12:41). • his time: See notes on John 2:4; 12:23.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.