Matthew 21:23-25 NIV
Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. "By what authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you this authority?"
Jesus replied, "I will ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John's baptism - where did is come from? Was it from heaven, or from men?"
They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, 'from heaven,' he will ask, 'Then why didn't you believe him?' But if we say, 'From men,' we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.
So they answer Jesus, "We don't know."
Then he said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things."
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What was the point of putting off the chief priests like Jesus did? I do not think that Jesus was afraid to put himself in a dilemma. (If He said from God, they would accuse him of blasphemy and try to stone Him).
Instead, Jesus uses the same type of questioning on those who would use it on him. Because of their unwillingness to be honest with their answer, to say that John was a prophet and they were wrong not to believe John, or to say that John was of men and stand up for what they believed was truth, the priests waffled and said "we don't know." They had their ideas, but instead backed out of the debate rather than be proven false. Not worthy of a direct answer, because they gave none themselves, Jesus does not disclose his authority directly to them.
Jesus said later (after His resurrection) to His disciples, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me."
Copyright, Mark Metcalfe, 1992 August, 2003 April
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Created: March 23, 1999
Updated: April 9, 2003