And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was
walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to
him, and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or
who gave you this authority to do them?” Jesus said to them, “I will ask you
one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these
things. Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” And they
discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why
then did you not believe him?’ But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid
of the people, for they all held that John really was aa prophet. So they
answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell
you by what authority I do these things.” (Mark 11:27-33 ESV).
They were not searching for
understanding. They were making a hostile inquiry, seeking to undermine Jesus.
Earlier in this chapter we read that they were “looking for a way to kill him”
(v. 18)—so we know they were not looking to be enlightened, and Jesus knew that
too.
Even so, their question is a good one to
ask, as long as we are not hostile and we really want to know: “Jesus, how do
you have the authority to do what you are doing and to teach what you are
teaching?”
In a world where there are so many
different teachings and authorities, it can be hard to know which way is right
or true. We need to know why we should listen to Jesus and follow him. And
Jesus gladly shows us the way. He is not threatened by our honestly seeking
understanding. Jesus invites us to see that he is the Son of God and that he
has divine authority to heal and forgive. He also has authority to lay down his
life for our sake, and to take it up again (cf. John 10:17-18).
Jesus has done all this for our
salvation, and this is the most important truth to know!
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