Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 11:29
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.
29. And Jesus answered ] They doubtless hoped that He would have claimed Divine authority, and then they would have had matter for accusation against Him, but He answered their question by another.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 29. See Clarke on Mr 11:27.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
See Poole on “Mat 21:24“, and following verses to Mat 21:27, where are the same passages opened.
A prophet here, Mar 11:32, signifieth, one extraordinarily inspired and sent of God to reveal his will, so as his baptism must needs be from heaven. This reputation John it seems universally had, so as to have denied his baptism to have been from heaven, had been to have exposed themselves to the mockings, if not the rage, of the people, which they were loath to do. If they had said,
From heaven, they had accused themselves for not believing him, Joh 7:48. This makes them choose rather to make themselves doubtful in the case, and giveth our Saviour a fitting occasion to deny them satisfaction as to what they asked of him.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And Jesus answered and said unto them,…. Being not in the least intimidated by such a body of men:
I will also ask of you one question; or “one word”, or “one thing”;
, here answers to the Hebrew word , which signifies both “word” and “thing”:
and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things; [See comments on Mt 21:24].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
1) “And Jesus answered and said unto them,” (ho de lesous eipen autois) ”Then Jesus responded to them,” to the whole colluding, conniving committee of religious chameleon demagogues of priests, scribes, and elders, who sought His life, Mar 11:18; Luk 19:47.
2) ”I will also ask of you one question,” (eperoteso humas hena logon) “I too will ask you just one word,” one question, if you please, if this question of yours is ”fair play,” if you are sincere in wanting to know both the abstract and specific answer to your question.
3) ”And answer me,” (kai apokrithete moil “And you all give me your mature judgement,” or answer, no quibble or dodge, please, Luk 20:1.
4) ”And I will tell you,” (kai ero humin) “And(then) I will tell or disclose to you all,” in just as abstract, concrete, or specific a manner, Mat 21:24.
5) “By what authority I do these things.” (en poia eksousia tauta poio) “In or by what administrative authority I do these things that I do,” including cleansing the temple area of sellers of pigeons, doves, tables, and money-changers, etc., Mat 7:29; Joh 3:35; Joh 5:22; Joh 5:27; Joh 5:30.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
‘And Jesus said to them, “I will ask of you one thing (Greek – ‘word’), 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.” ’ .
Jesus knew what they were up to and His reply was subtle. All knew that He had been associated with John the Baptiser. Thus if John, who had acknowledged Him, was from God, He was from God. And His question deflected the emphasis from His own claims to the claims of another, to one of whose credentials the crowds had no doubt and who had proved it by martyrdom. But if they declared John and his work to be from God (‘heaven’ was a euphemism for God), they would be validating His own claims, and He could go on to point out what John had said about Him. And if they did not they would be discredited before the crowds. The very question was an indirect demand for recognition that He was sent from God.
‘The baptism of John.’ Even more subtle. They were surrounded by people who had been baptised by John, who would not be pleased to have their cherished baptism called in question, and it would remind many that Jesus and His disciples had baptised alongside them.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The effective counter-question of Jesus:
v. 29. 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.
v. 30. The baptism of John, was it from heaven or of men? Answer Me.
v. 31. And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven, He will say, Why, then, did ye not believe him?
v. 32. But if we shall say, Of men, they feared the people; for all men counted John that he was a prophet indeed.
v. 33. 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. Jesus was perfectly willing to give them an account of Himself and of all His actions in the Temple, under one condition. He had one single matter concerning which He desired information from them. If they would answer Him about that, He would be glad to tell them by what authority He was performing His miracles, teaching the people and purging the Temple. The question that Jesus proposed proved a dilemma to the Jewish chiefs: Whether the work of John the Baptist, specifically his baptizing, was done by orders from heaven, from God, or on his own responsibility. This was a poser for them. For, as they reasoned themselves in their perplexity, if they should say: From heaven, then the obvious retort would be: For what reason, then, did you refuse him belief? On the other hand: But, suppose we say, from men? This they also did not dare to answer, for they were afraid of the multitude, for all of the common people sincerely held that John was a prophet. In either direction there lay trouble for them, and so they preferred not to answer; whereupon Jesus informed them that He also would not answer their challenge. Their conscience told them that, if even the baptism of John was from heaven, then the ministry of Jesus with His wonderful miracles and powerful preaching must surely have authority from God. Thus unbelief is objectionable even from the standpoint of mere moral reasoning. The unbelievers cannot deny the power of the Word, but refuse to bow to the truth of it. And so, when driven to bay, they make use of lies, evasions, and excuses.
Summary. Jesus makes His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, performs the miracle of the fig-tree, purges the Temple, explains to His disciples the lesson of the dead tree, and answers the challenge of the Jewish authorities concerning His right to do these things.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
29 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.
Ver. 29. See Trapp on “ Mat 21:24 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
29. ] In , the preposition does not signify in addition , as Fritz., but merely indicates the direction of the question.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mar 11:29 . The grammatical structure of this sentence, compared with that in Mat 21:24 , is crude instead of . It is colloquial grammar, the easy-going grammar of popular conversation. , vide at Mat 21:24 .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
I will also ask, &c. Note the use of the Figure of speech Anteisagoge (App-6), answering one question by asking another.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
29.] In , the preposition does not signify in addition, as Fritz., but merely indicates the direction of the question.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
I will: Isa 52:13, Mat 21:24, Luk 20:3-8
question: or, thing
Reciprocal: Psa 22:7 – shake
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Essentially Jesus asked these leaders if they believed God was behind John’s ministry. John had taught that God was behind Jesus’ ministry. If the critics said they believed God was behind John’s ministry, they would have had to agree that God was behind Jesus’ ministry. Jesus challenged them to respond. "Answer me" (Mar 11:30) is unique in Mark and reflects Jesus superiority to these men.
"As on the earlier question of Sabbath observance (Mar 2:23 to Mar 3:6), the counterquestion [sic] implies that Jesus stands not under the Sanhedrin but over it. His counterquestion demonstrates the authority about which he is questioned." [Note: Edwards, p. 226.]