27 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, 28 and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” 31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet. 33 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.”
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
The whole Jewish leadership came to Jesus and asked Him by what authority He was doing what He was doing (overturning the tables and teaching in the temple). Jesus asks them a question in return that would help them with an answer to their own question if they were willing to answer it honestly. He asks where John the Baptist’s authority to baptise came from, was it from heaven or from man. They immediately recognise the dilemma they face. If they answer that it is from heaven, then why did they not believe him. It was John the Baptist who prophesied that Jesus would come after him, One far more worthy and One who would baptise with the Holy Spirit. If they answered that John’s baptism was from man, then they would lose favour with the people who believed that John was a prophet. They declined to answer saying, “we do not know.” Because of that, Jesus refused to continue the debate and give them anything to use against Him in their quest to kill Him.
Often we have conflict on how to act because we’re not truly prepared to take God’s word as it is. We don’t really want God to mean what He has said. We’re secretly hooping for some loophole that gives us an out to act like we want to. In what area do you need to just do what God has told you to do?