23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?” They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. (Matthew 21:23-27)
Here we see that the Lord Jesus was teaching in the temple, and the chief priests and elders of the people came to him and asked him, “By what authority are you doing these things?” What does “these things” here refer to? We have talked about the Lord Jesus cleansing the temple earlier, and it is obvious that this is what they were talking about. The Lord Jesus did not directly answer their questions, but asked them, “John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?” The Lord Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. If they answered that John’s baptism came from heaven, then the Lord Jesus’ authority came from heaven. They did not dare to say that John’s baptism was of human origin, because they were afraid of the people. The people believed that John was a prophet.
Earlier we saw that the Lord Jesus performed many miracles, but the Pharisees did not believe. Right after the Lord Jesus performed a miracle, they asked the Lord Jesus to show them a sign from heaven. The chief priests and the elders of the people mentioned here must know that the Lord Jesus performed many miracles, but they still did not believe. Even if the Lord Jesus answered them directly, they would not believe. They did not believe that he was the Messiah, the Savior who came to save the world. I hope more people will believe in the Lord Jesus, be baptized and born again, be saved, accept Jesus as the Lord and Savior, do God’s will, and walk on the path to the kingdom of heaven.
May God bless you and your family!
