23Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, "By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?"
24But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: 25The baptism of John -- where was it from? From heaven or from men?"
And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, "From heaven,' He will say to us, "Why then did you not believe him?' 26But if we say, "From men,' we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet." 27So they answered Jesus and said, "We do not know."
And He said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
Here are the chief priests and elders of the people. I believe they are the keepers of the temple. This is their territory. And along comes Jesus who completely disrupts their way of doing things, heals people without the required sacrificial offerings, teaches things that go against the law
they adhere to, and discredits many of their teachings. They would have a tough time simply throwing Him out, as the people who came to the temple to hear Him would have objected. But if the people listening to Jesus were lead to believe that Jesus had no authority to do what He did, maybe the people would aid them in their cause. So they ask Jesus, “By what authority are You doing these things and who gave You this authority?”
Did they really want to know where Jesus got the authority? Jesus had never explained to anyone where He got His authority. But those who understood from where His authority came, discovered it on their own. They came to realize it without being told. Neither would Jesus tell them, unless they came to realize it on their own.
Jesus knew their hearts. He asked them a question of John’s baptism. In Matthew 3:11, John said “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance”. Jesus asked them where the baptism was from, heaven or men? The chief priests refused to answer the question. Actually, I don’t think Jesus asked this question because He felt they must first understand John before they could understand Jesus. If you look closely at how they responded, you will see that they did not even consider what they believed. Instead, they debated about what people’s reactions would be to whatever answer they give. They would not, could not, simply answer with what they believed. Jesus asked them a question to which they should have been able to answer what they believed. If they could not answer what they believed in that question, they would not be able to understand the answer to the question of Jesus’ authority, which would also require them to consider what they really believed.
Doing this daily Bible study has been very good for me. There are many things I had read before, and heard explained to me. But going through this on my own, has forced me to make decisions of what I really believe. Sometimes it would be easier for someone to tell me what the right answer ought to be so I could just parrot it back. But when it comes to the question of where Jesus’ authority comes from, it can only come from what you believe in your heart.
God speaks to all of us. What we can and should believe will come to us from within. Listen for it rather than watch what other’s responses and reactions are. The chief priests were so tied up in what people’s reactions would be that they totally lost focus of what they really believed.