But, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the Christ? — the crowd wonders aloud: Jesus is teaching openly ('boldly,' parrēsia, with freedom of speech), yet the authorities do nothing to stop him. They ask whether perhaps the rulers have concluded he is the Messiah. The question is ironic: the crowd suspects the authorities might believe what they themselves are uncertain about. This irony drives toward the revelation that the rulers do know something about Jesus's claim to Messiahship—enough to want him dead.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

Publish a note on this verse