Again they came to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him and said, "By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?" Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me." They argued with one another, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?' But shall we say, 'Of human origin'?"- they were afraid of the crowd, for all regarded John as truly a prophet. So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things."
“By what authority are you doing these things?” The chief priests, elders, and scribes ask Jesus about his authority again, wanting to trick him. The tensions are building as the religious leaders become more threatened by Jesus’ teaching. They want him out of the way because he is gaining a following and people are beginning to believe in him.
Most of the questions from the leaders in this passage are about authority. They ask how Jesus has authority to do the teaching, healing, and casting out demons that he is doing. By asking the question the leaders attempt to defame Jesus, and cause the his followers to become skeptical. As believers, we know his power is of God. However, if Jesus were to answer, he would risk committing blasphemy according to their standards.
Jesus tells the leaders that if they will answer one question, he will tell them where his authority comes from. If they don’t, he will not answer them. Jesus presents them with a catch-22 situation in his question about the baptism of John. The leaders opt not to answer. Therefore, Jesus doesn’t reveal to them the source of his authority. This buys him a bit more time to carry out his mission.
The call that I hear today is have faith. Those of faith know Jesus’ authority comes from God. Mark’s audience would realize that. The encounter with the religious authorities is a victory for Jesus and makes the leaders appear weak. By pleading ignorance, the leaders give Jesus a silent affirmation. If we hold onto the faith, we are not able to be tricked by those who would rather we not believe in Jesus because it doesn’t suit their agenda.
No comments:
Post a Comment