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23 When Jesus returned to the Temple and began teaching, the leading priests and elders came up to him. They demanded, "By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?" 24 "I’ll tell you by what authority I do these things if you answer one question," Jesus replied. 25 "Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?" They talked it over among themselves. "If we say it was from heaven, he will ask us why we didn’t believe John. 26 But if we say it was merely human, we’ll be mobbed because the people believe John was a prophet." 27 So they finally replied, "We don’t know." And Jesus responded, "Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things." ~ Matthew 21:23-27
Today, we continue our study of Matthew 21 where the Lord Jesus and His disciples have entered Jerusalem for the last week of His earthly life. It was now Wednesday of the Passion Week. The Lord Jesus was in Jerusalem fully aware that He would be crucified on the cross of Calvary. Amazingly, the disciples were so far convinced by the idea that He was about to set up a political kingdom on earth that they had yet to comprehend God's eternal plan. They had no idea God had to deal a final blow to sin before He could truly save mankind.
In v.23 of today's passage we read, "When Jesus returned to the Temple and began teaching, the leading priests and elders came up to him. They demanded, 'By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?'"
Here, the Lord Jesus, yet again, encountered the Jewish religious leaders at the Temple in Jerusalem. The religious leaders wanted to know by what authority the Lord Jesus taught as He did. The Greek word that is translated "authority" in this text is used three times. It means "the right to do something." To have all authority, then, is to have all power and all right to do everything and anything one wills to do. The religious leaders appeared to be the consummate learners when they asked their questions. Yet, their questions were motivated by insincere goals. They didn't want the truth, all they desired was to get rid of the Lord Jesus because He disrupted their lives as they knew them. Sadly, they came close to entering heaven, but their rejection of the Lord Jesus sent them directly to hell.
The Jewish religious leaders didn't understand the Lord Jesus was His own authority. He had to be because He was and is God. Since He was and is THE authority, He overcame sin and death. He could not be our Savior without being God. As God He defeated sin and death through His shed blood on the cross. He healed the sick and He raised the dead and He cast demons out of the possessed. And He did these things without ever seeking permission from any human authority. This outraged the Jewish religious leaders.
In v.24-26 of today's passage we read, "24 I’ll tell you by what authority I do these things if you answer one question," Jesus replied. 25 "Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?" They talked it over among themselves. "If we say it was from heaven, he will ask us why we didn’t believe John. 26 But if we say it was merely human, we’ll be mobbed because the people believe John was a prophet."
To their question the Lord Jesus responded with a question. When He asked the religious leaders by what authority John the Baptist baptized the people, He disarmed them. It is quite significant the Lord Jesus asked about the baptism of John and not his ministry. You see, the baptism of John was something that had never been done before in Israel. John baptized repenters, yet he was not of the religious order. And, that is why the religious leaders did not believe John's message because they were not willing to repent. In fact, they saw no need for repentance.
The religious leaders were deceitful in asking their question of the Lord Jesus. They were dishonest in the way they avoided answering His. In fact, they were so steeped in deception, they could not receive or tell the truth. So, they didn't answer the question asked by the Lord Jesus. They self indicted themselves by being unwilling to answer His question. Through self-deception they were fixed in their unbelief. Allegiance to Christ will always put us in the position to shirk being cowards, and when we do, we will grow in our authority regarding His message and the platform by which we speak.
In v.27 of today's passage we read, "So they finally replied, 'We don’t know.' And Jesus responded, 'Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things.'"
Pushed along by their cowardice disposition and narrow-minded ignorance, the religious leaders answered, "We don’t know." In response to their lack of an answer, the Lord Jesus did not grant them more revelation which could have led them to repentance. This is the way truth is garnered by those who are committed to the eternal qualities of honesty, humility and obedience. The truth is committed by God to the poor in spirit.
The religious leaders had missed the point of God's Word. The Bible is meant to be like a pane of glass, designed for us to look through it and see God. When we come to the Bible, we must come looking for Him. The problem is most want to analyze the Bible to the point that they do not see God through it. This does not facilitate a personal relationship with God. In fact, when God asks of us a question He is doing us a great favor. You see it is in the context of the exchange that personal relationship can take place.
The religious leaders of Israel ended up analyzing the window and subsequently they became etched and they missed God. The Bible is not first a blueprint for Christian living but a revelation book of the Lord Jesus who is the answer to all our questions and longings.There are times when we treat God as if He exists for us rather than us for Him. The reason we need God to call the shots in our lives is that He knows how to run our lives better than we do. We are wise to seek God and His wisdom regarding our everyday decisions. Therein, we experience personal relationship with the God of all creation.
