Mark 11:27-33, CEB - Jesus and his disciples entered Jerusalem again. As Jesus was walking around the temple, the chief priests, legal experts, and elders came to him. They asked, “What kind of authority do you have for doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?”
Jesus said to them, “I have a question for you. Give me
an answer, then I’ll tell you what kind of authority I have to do these things.
Was John’s baptism of heavenly or of
human origin? Answer me.”
They argued among themselves, “If we say, ‘It’s of
heavenly origin,’ he’ll say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ But we can’t say, ‘It’s of earthly origin.’”
They said this because they were afraid of the crowd, because they all thought
John was a prophet. They answered Jesus,
“We don’t know.”
Jesus replied, “Neither will I tell you what kind of
authority I have to do these things.”
Jesus
and His disciples come back to the temple to do some teaching and are met by
the religious leaders who are looking for a way to discredit Him. His influence has become a threat to their
own. So they ask a question, not because
they want a real answer, but because the question will stir up the crowd no
matter how Jesus answers it. Even if
Jesus simply refuses to answer, He will appear to the crowd as evasive. This would undermine His authority as
well. Instead of answering or refusing
to answer, Jesus offers a deal. If the
leaders can answer His question, then He will answer theirs. The fun part about this is that the question Jesus
asks is the same kind of question as the one posed to Him. The leaders’ credibility will be undermined no
matter how they answer. The huddled
discussion they have elaborates on why this is the case. They realize they have been beaten at their
own game, so they relent by saying, “we don’t know.”
This is
the beginning of a very intense conflict that will play out throughout the next
chapter of Mark between Jesus and these leaders. Of course, the eventual result is Jesus
hanging on a Roman cross. However, the
issues raised by these conflicts are essentially important. After all, it is important to answer, “by
what authority” Jesus conducts His ministry. And if we are paying close
attention, Jesus’s non-answer is a brilliant answer to the authority
question. Mark, is trying to point this
out in his account. By asking the leaders
about the baptism offered by John, Jesus is, in effect, answering the authority
question. Great irony is discovered when
we realize that the leaders own “strategy meeting” points out why. Jesus’s authority is confirmed when John
baptizes Him. As Jeus comes up out of
the water, the voice of God proclaims from heaven, “You are my Son, whom I
dearly love.” (Mark 1:11) If these
religious leaders (the same group that will condemn Him to death in just a few
days) admit that John’s baptism was of heavenly origin, then they would also answer
their own question about Jesus’s authority.
The leaders care nothing about that; they care only that Jesus’s
authority has come to challenge their own and they will not have it.
As I
have said at least a couple times before in our journey through Mark’s gospel,
we more properly hear the message Mark wants us to hear when we put ourselves
in the place of the religious leaders.
Instead of making them the villains who we could never be like, we would
do well to ask ourselves how Jesus’s authority impinges upon our own.
Question: If Jesus is
indeed Messiah and Lord of all, what claim or authority does He have on our
lives?
Prayer: Lord Jesus,
we admit that is hard to submit to Your authority sometimes, because in doing
so, we have to let go of our own authority and power. Where we are blind to this, point it out for
us. Where we are too stubborn to relent, make us humble. You are God and we are not. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray
for religious leaders at the highest levels of authority today (Bishops,
District Superintendents, etc)
Song: Stubborn –
Michael English
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