Surely you can understand what their problem was. The day before, Jesus entered the city with considerable fanfare,   riding on a donkey like he was some big deal, and crowds shouted he was the Son of David, spreading coats and branches in his path so the dust of the road would not touch his feet. If that wasn’t enough, he headed straight into the Temple and went berserk, turning over the tables and kiosks of the merchants selling religious ware and exchanging foreign currency at exorbitant rates. In a fury from heaven, Jesus shouted the ancient scripture of how they had made this holy place of prayer into a sanctuary for thieves.

No surprise here. Jesus just would not make friends, work with, or make it easier for the religious leaders to do their job. His challenges were open threats, and this pretty much sealed the deal. The next day, they confronted him right in the middle of his teaching. This was going to be a showdown for sure, and they went right to the core of the issue.

Question Authority

“By whose authority did you drive out the merchants from the Temple? Who gave you such authority?” Ok, given the drama of the day before, it was a good question. On the other hand, it also was opened ended, the kind of thing that could go anywhere, including backfiring on themselves. Legal experts will tell you don’t cross-examine with questions when you don’t know the answer that will be given. Big mistake here, guys.

First, let it also be said that they indicated they were upset about how he disrupted the operations of the Temple. Even so, Jesus had also healed the blind that day. What they didn’t note or ask about was where he got the power to do that. Shouldn’t that have spoken volumes, giving them pause for consideration? Not at all.

Question Control

You can understand what their problem was. The chief priests controlled Temple life, the center of their worship with God. But that control did not come as it used to, from the blessing of God who had gathered and called them to lead and serve. These days, the chief priest was appointed by the Roman government.

Huh? A religious position was a political appointment?

Yep, and with it went a measure of land and wealth, aside from prestige and power. Jesus’ disruptive display wouldn’t sit well with their superiors, and they needed to squash it right now. Passover, the highest holy day of the Jews, was only a few days away. Jerusalem would be teeming with the faithful making their pilgrimage to the Temple. If the Romans saw the priests were losing their grip on the people, things would not go well very fast.

Question Influence

You can understand what their problem was. People were excited about this guy, not about them. Even children were shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David,” without parental restraint. The other leaders, the ones who were allowed some voice in the Temple and synagogues, had their places due to affirmation of the populace. With the people all excited instead about this teacher/healer, they were losing their power as well. This guy had to be stopped, and it may as well happen where everyone could see it for themselves. Now was the time.

Question on Condition

So, Hey Jesus, on whose say so are you making all this trouble?

Jesus doesn’t shrink away at all. He accepts the question on one condition, basically throwing it back in their laps. “I’ll tell you who gave me the authority to do these things if you answer one question: Did John’s baptism come from heaven or was it merely human?”

Shrewd, Jesus, oh so shrewd. If they say John the Baptist preached and baptized by the power and inspiration of God, then the next question would be why did you reject him (or by extension, Jesus)? It would highlight what everyone knew anyway, that is, for whom these religious leaders were really working. But if they said JTB was acting on his own, oh my, the crowds would really make them pay for that.

Yep, caught between politics and the populace, they were in a tight place. The only answer they could muster was, “We don’t know.”

Question Faith and Belief

Now, you really can understand what their problem was. Their own question challenged the source of faith. Do you believe or claim to believe what you say you do because it smooths the way, gives your life at least a semblance of morality to be called upon when the appearance of taking the higher road is advantageous? Or do your convictions really rest with confidence due to beliefs that have been long examined and weighed in openness to who God is and what God says regardless of how it aligns with your own perspectives of what a higher power should be or do for you?

Even if you don’t subscribe to either position, by default this is your answer: You simply take it on your own authority. Or maybe instead, you refuse to make the stand with your own, “I don’t know.” As it is, agnosticism is not an avenue that Jesus will concede.

Question in Story

Jesus probes the issue with a parable. A man with two sons asked them to work in his vineyard. One son said he wouldn’t but later changed his mind and went anyway. The other son agreed to work, but never showed up on the job. Simple story followed by a simple question: “Which of the two was obeying his father?”

We all know actions speak louder than words. The son who did as asked by his father was the obedient one. Good enough answer. Yet once again, Jesus stabs deep to reveal who his criticizers really were. “I assure you, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do.” Get the full impact of this now: Jesus said this right in the Temple! Actions speak louder than words, but these words were thunderous in how they called out the priests right on their home field.

John had preached repentance; the priests hammered people for not keeping 613 laws. Jesus ate with and associated with despised agents of the Roman IRS and offered restoration to women of the night; the Temple police were hypocrites, judging and profiting by the systemic oppressions of the day. Jesus healed, reversed and restored persons to what God created them to be; the religious elite only wanted to preserve what served them.

Question of Integrity

Yeah, you can understand what their problem was. Some claim authority by virtue of position. That’s all these Jewish leaders had going for them. But real authority, that which effectively influences and leads, is based on a correspondence between who one is and what one does. It links itself by words and deeds, proclamation and firm policy, promises and follow-through. It is honesty and truth that has been tested, proved and lived out. Authority holds the bar high in its standard but allows that those who have missed the mark can come back later and serve in recognition of the request made upon them.

Question Requires Response

You can understand what their problem was. Ultimately, we give answer to the question of where Jesus got his authority. A choice as to who Jesus was then and now still stands. “I don’t know” is never an acceptable answer.

Jesus won’t concede that.

Matthew 21:23-32

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