By what Authority? Mark 11:27-33.
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 a 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.”
Dear Saints,
It was now the Tuesday of the Passion Week. This was to prove to be a long day for Jesus, with arguments and lessons along the way.
Challenge (v. 27-28). The chief priests and the scribes did not see eye to eye. The priests were more concerned about the temple and its rituals and were allied to the Sadducees, while the scribes were more concerned about the law and were allied to the Pharisees. The elders were most likely a group of Pharisees and Sadducees, the two groups that formed the bulk of the Sanhedrin – the Jewish supreme council. All these people that could hardly agree on anything had found a common enemy in Jesus. They questioned Jesus’ authority to evict the traders from the temple courts the day before.
Counter Challenge (v. 29-30). The answer to their question was obvious, but Jesus took a different approach. He decided to address the deeper question – their unbelief. This was the common thread that held all of them together. What they had done with John showed that theirs was a trend and that Jesus was not the problem. So Jesus challenges them about John – was he from God or was he motivated by self-interest?
Conundrum (v. 31-32). Jesus had put his opponents in a bind. An affirmative answer would expose them as frauds who had rejected a man they knew to be a prophet of God. The opposite would go against popular public opinion, and they could not afford to have the people against them.
Conclusion (v. 33). They chose the safety of feigned ignorance. From their discussion, it is obvious that they are interested, not in the truth, but in their own standing before the people. Jesus makes good his promise and refuses to answer their question. We saw earlier that unbelief is a choice (6:1-6). It cannot be cured with information, because the facts were evident in both John’s and Jesus’ case, but the leaders chose to reject what was obvious to everyone. What is your excuse for not obeying the truth? Be careful, lest you be harboring unbelief in your heart.
Your Loving Pastor Chris.