Lesson 4261

(Lesson 4261)(09-30-23) Mark 11:27-33

    “ And 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, And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things? And 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. The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me. And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him? But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed. And 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.”

    In today’s quote, after being asked by who’s authority He preached, Jesus challenged the scribes and elders of the Jews to first verify their belief, or non-belief, in the teachings of John the Baptist or in, as Jesus described it, his “baptism”. Was John’s message from God or was it merely John’s own idea. They could not answer, and therefore, Jesus refused to answer them.

    There is another lesson that should be taken from the quote. That being the fact that the “baptism” of John, as it is often referred to in the New Testament, is NOT, necessarily, just the physical act of immersion in water. The phrase “the baptism of John” also is a referrence to the message that John brough from God.

    It is important to remember that we should determine the intent of that phrase by the context within which it is applied in the scriptures.~

NOTE: I will explain that difference further in future lessons wherein the difference in intent of that phrase can alter the intent of the entire lesson.