Mark 11:27-3327And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders, 28And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things? 29And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me. 31And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him? 32But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed. 33And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things. (Mark 11:27‑33).
WHEN Jesus visited the temple, a short time before His crucifixion; He found that God’s “house of prayer’ had been made “a den of thieves;” and He at once began to exercise His divine power and authority, casting out those who bought and sold, upsetting the tables of the money changers, and the seats of those who sold doves. When He had done this He left the temple, and went to Bethany to spend the night. In the morning he returned again to the temple, where He had to meet the wrath of the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders. They were very angry because He had upset their arrangements in the temple, and they had been seeking how they might destroy Him. So when He was walking in the temple, they came to Him and asked, “By what authority doest Thou these things? and who gave Thee this authority to do these things?”
Now these were not honest questions. They challenged His authority because they were angry, and wished to destroy Him. And so He did not answer their questions, but put a question to them which revealed the dishonesty of their hearts. He said to them: “I will also ask of you one question, and answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things: the baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? Answer Me.”
Now John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus, and God had sent him to baptize, to prepare a people for baptize, to Jesus. And so his baptism was from heaven. But these wicked men knew that if they said it was from heaven, He would ask why they did not believe him. On the other hand they did not dare to say John’s baptism was of men, because they feared the people, “for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed.” What, then, should they say? If they said, “from heaven,” they would convict themselves; if they said, “of men,” they would have trouble with the people. They did not wish either of these things, so they virtually told a lie, and said “We cannot tell.” This laid bare the utter dishonesty of their hearts, and exposed their hopeless condition morally. So Jesus said to them, “Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.” He would give them no satisfaction, but left them to ponder over the dishonesty of their own hearts. God desires “truth in the inward parts.” Ps. 51:6.
ML 04/03/1903