Lesson 5273

 (Lesson 5273)(07-14-26) 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.” 

 

    Today’s quote relates that when the leaders of the Jews challenged Jesus's authority to teach, He countered by asking them whether the message John preached came from heaven or was it made up by John himself? Because the leaders feared the crowd's reaction they refused to answer prompting Jesus to also refuse to explain the source of His own authority. Note that, in this context, the phrase, “the baptism of John”, referred to the entire, life-altering message John preached to prepare people for the coming of the Messiah and had nothing to do with a water ritual. ~