Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 21:24
And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things.
24. I also will ask you one thing ] This form of argument was usual. The question of the Elders was really an attack. Jesus meets that attack by a counter-question which presented equal difficulties in three ways whether they said from heaven or of men, or left it unanswered. To say from heaven was equivalent to acknowledging Jesus as Christ, to say from men was to incur the hostility of the people, to be silent was to resign their pretensions as spiritual chiefs of the nation.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 24. I also will ask you one thing] Our Lord was certainly under no obligation to answer their question: he had already given them such proofs of his Divine mission as could not possibly be exceeded, in the miracles which he wrought before their eyes, and before all Judea; and, as they would not credit him on this evidence, it would have been in vain to have expected their acknowledgment of him on any profession he would make.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
We have the same without any considerable alteration Mar 11:27-33. Luke also records the same history, Luk 20:1-8, with no considerable difference, only he thus prefaceth to it: And it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon him with the elders: which makes it plain, that their question principally related to our Saviours preaching. It should seem, they had a law prohibiting any to preach in the temple without authority from the chief priests and elders. If any one think this was not an apposite answer to the question propounded to him,
1. They ought to consider, that our Saviour did truly judge they deserved no answer, for his works had testified of him that he acted by a Divine power; he should not need tell them so, in so many words.
2. In very deed there was a direct answer couched in this question of our Saviour. I pray, saith he, by what authority did John preach and baptize? They could not say, By a human authority, for they knew he was not licensed by their masters: it must follow that he acted by virtue of an extraordinary Divine mission.
So do I, saith our Saviour, and have given you a greater proof of it than ever John Baptist did. But our Lord well knew that the Pharisees had a greater reverence for John the Baptist than for him, and that many of the people had a great opinion of John, indeed greater than of him; our Saviour coming eating and drinking, as he expresses it, that is, being of a more free and sociable conversation, which did not so please the Pharisaical morose, and supercilious humour: he therefore chooseth to teach them by a question, in which, as soon as they could resolve themselves, they might know by what authority he did what he did. Besides, by the baptism of John, mentioned in our Saviours question, is not to be understood only his administration of baptism, but his doctrine, and indeed the whole of his ministry; for as his baptism is called the baptism of repentance, so the Pharisees here argue, that if they should say, From heaven, he would say, Why then did ye not believe him? Which must be understood of his doctrine. A great part of Johns doctrine was, that the Messiah was come, that Christ was he; Joh 1:29, he pointed to him and said, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world; which had they believed, they would never have come to him with so silly a question. The Pharisees therefore rightly judged how they would be ensnared, if they said Johns baptism and doctrine was from God, for then a Divine faith was due to his words, and they must have owned Christ to be the Messiah. But why did not they say, Of men? The text saith, they feared the people. Those who will not fear God, shall have something to fear sordidly and slavishly. The people all owning John as a prophet, a man that had an extraordinary mission from God, and commission to reveal the mind and will of God, would have cried shame upon them had they disparaged him, as one that spake of his own head. They say,
We cannot tell. Herein they lied. Our Saviour replies,
Neither do I tell you, & c. Not, I cannot tell you, but I do not tell you: I will tell you no more than what John hath long since told you, and what, if you will, you and all men may know by my miracles.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
24. And Jesus answered and said untothem, I also will ask you one thing, &c.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Jesus answered and said unto them,…. Not by replying directly to their question, but by putting another question to them, whereby he escaped the snare he saw they laid for him:
I also will ask you one thing, word, or question,
which if ye tell me; honestly, and plainly answer to it,
I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: which was putting the thing upon such a foot, and in such a form, as they could not well object to; for Christ promises, that if they would return a plain answer to the question he had to put to them, and which was no unreasonable, nor impertinent one, he would thoroughly satisfy them in this point; and expressly declare his commission and authority, what it was, and from whence he had it. The question is as follows:
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
One question ( ). Literally “one word” or “a word.” The answer to Christ’s word will give the answer to their query. The only human ecclesiastical authority that Jesus had came from John.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
(24) I also will ask you one thing.The question is met by another question. As One who taught as having authority, and not as the scribes (Mat. 7:29), He challenges their right to interrogate Him on the ground of precedent. Had they exercised that right in the case of the Baptist, and if so, with what result? If they had left his claim unquestioned, or if they had shrunk from confessing the result of their inquiry, they had virtually abdicated their office, and had no right, in logical consistency, to exercise it, as by fits and starts, in the case of another teacher.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
a ‘And Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one question, which if you tell me, I will similarly tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, from where was its origin? From heaven or from men?”
Jesus replies by diverting the question away from Himself. He does not want the crowds to think that He has no answer. So He asks them to explain to Him the origin of John’s baptism. Was it from Heaven or from men? This was not a diversionary tactic. Replying by a counter-question was a typically Rabbinic way of proceeding, and their reply would in fact be vital to His answer, for John was one who above all had pointed to His authority, and had testified of Him (see Joh 5:30-37). Yet His question was cleverly worded, for both He and they knew that they were surrounded by people in the Temple courtyard who had been baptised by John and held that baptism as sacred. Such people would not take kindly to anyone who depreciated it, especially in their present state of religious fervour and excitement at the festival. Furthermore, by referring to ‘the baptism of John’ Jesus was not just asking their opinion about John’s baptism, His question included their opinion on all the preaching that lay behind it.
This method of dealing with a question by a question was a regular Rabbinic method of arguing, and usually the question had an obvious answer. And that was the problem in this case. For this question did have an obvious answer and the crowds knew what it was. Almost as one man they believed fervently that John was a prophet, and they were still even now appalled at the treatment that had been meted out to him. Indeed his reputation would have increased with his death. They did not blame these leaders for that. That lay squarely on the shoulders of Herod. But if these leaders gave a negative answer now it would be seen as their aligning themselves with Herod. And that could have caused all kinds of trouble. And yet the problem for the leaders was that it was the negative answer that they wanted to give.
Mat 21:25-26 ‘And they reasoned with themselves, saying, “If we shall say, ‘From Heaven’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him? But if we shall say, ‘From men’, we fear the crowd, for all hold John as a prophet.”
The leaders recognised that they were trapped. They dared not say that John’s baptism was not from Heaven (from God), for the crowds around them held John to be a genuine prophet, and believed firmly in his baptism. They believed that God had spoken to them through John. Were these leaders to deny John’s authority as being from Heaven, and say that it was simply ‘from men’, they would immediately lose their own authority in the eyes of the crowd, and might even be attacked by the more fervent amongst them, which could lead to anything. Yet if they did say that his authority was from Heaven Jesus would ask why they had not then believed him, for the attitude of the leaders towards John had in fact, on the whole, been one of stubborn disbelief. The only other alternative was to say that they ‘did not know’. But that would be to lose all right to act as judges with regard to Jesus’ authority. It would ignominiously expose them to the crowds as being incapable of making such judgments on their own admission.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The answer:
v. 24. And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell Me, I in likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things.
v. 25. The baptism of John, whence was it, from heaven or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven, He will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?
v. 26. But if we shall say, Of men, we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.
v. 27. And they answered Jesus and said, We cannot tell. And He said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things. Christ’s method of answering question with question again proved effective. He wanted information regarding only one thing. If the answer to this question would be forthcoming, He would be pleased to give them the account they desired. But His question placed them in a dilemma, by what authority John the Baptist had performed the work. of his ministry, and especially his baptizing. They considered the matter very carefully among themselves, they carefully weighed a possible answer which would not compromise them. But there was only this alternative: In one case they invited a censure of Christ, in the other, the hatred of the people. If John had divine authority for his baptism, there was no excuse for their opposition to him, for their refusal to believe. If, on the other hand, they should dare to express their belief that John had no divine authority, the hatred of the people could easily have made it more than unpleasant for them. And so they preferred to give no answer, thereby absolving Jesus from the necessity of answering their question. There was a distinct reproof in the answer of Jesus. If they had to admit that John had divine authority, how much more did the teaching and the miracles of Jesus argue for His being sent by God. Unbelief is immoral. The unbelievers cannot deny the evidence of Scripture, but do not want to accept the truth; and therefore lies, evasion, and excuses are their only weapons.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mat 21:24 f. Jesus prudently frustrates their design by proposing in reply a puzzling question, which, in the circumstances, they did not know how to answer.
] a single word, a single question ; not more. The subject of the question itself is admirably chosen, seeing that the work of reform in which Jesus was engaged had a necessary connection with that of John; both would stand and fall together.
] whence did it proceed? The following alternative is explanatory: was it from God , who had commissioned John, or from men , so that he baptized simply on his own authority or that of his fellow-mortals? The latter was out of the question, if John was a prophet (Mat 21:26 ). Comp., further, Act 5:39 .
. ] they deliberated by themselves , privately , i.e. with each other , during a brief pause for private consultation, before giving their decision, which was intimated in the subsequent . in this instance also denotes reflection combined with mutual consultation . Comp. Mat 16:7 ; Mar 8:16 ; Luk 20:14 .
] , Euthymius Zigabenus.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
24 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things.
Ver. 24. I also will ask you one thing ] Our Saviour could have answered them roundly, that what he did he did by the will and appointment of his heavenly Father. But because he had avouched that so often, and they believed him not, therefore he took another course. We must be ready to render a reason of our faith; but then it must be the time when we see it will be to some good purpose; as if otherwise, forbear, or untie one knot with another, as Christ here doth, nodum nodo dissipat. (Aret.)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Mat 21:24 . esus replies by an embarrassing counter-question as to the ministry of the Baptist. , hardly: one question for your many (Beng.) rather: a question, or thing, one and the same ( cf. for in this sense Gen 41:25-26 ; 1Co 3:8 ; 1Co 11:5 ), an analogous question as we should say; one answer would do for theirs and for His.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
thing = question. Greek. logos = word, or matter.
if. The condition being quite dependent on a contingency. App-118.
I in like wise = I also. Note the Figure of speech Anteisagoge. App-6.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Mat 21:24. , but Jesus answered, etc.) A suitable mode of answering those who tempted Him.- , …, I will also ask you, etc.) Thus also in ch. Mat 22:41. Mosheim rightly observes, Those expositors are mistaken, who imagine that Christ had no other object in this question than to silence His adversaries.-Oration on Christ the only model for the imitation of Theologians, p. 17.-, one) and that too connected with your own question; one, after you have asked Me so many things, both now and heretofore. John the Baptist, though without a human call, could be and was a prophet; therefore also Jesus. If they had acknowledged the baptism of His forerunner, they would have acknowledged the authority of Christ; but since they did not acknowledge John (see Mat 21:32), they could not believe in Jesus. Nor did they deserve that any further communications should be thrown away by Him on their pride and unbelief. To him that hath is given; from him that hath not is taken away.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
I also: Mat 10:16, Pro 26:4, Pro 26:5, Luk 6:9, Col 4:6
Reciprocal: Dan 2:45 – thou sawest Mat 11:9 – A prophet Mar 11:29 – I will
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1:24
Jesus never evaded any proper question that was asked of him. However, rather than directly accuse them of insincerity he chose to expose them by a counter inquiry. He promised to answer their question if they would do likewise to his.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 21:24. I also, etc. Our Lord places His authority and that of John together. If they were incompetent to decide in the one case, they were in the other. The opportunity to decide aright was given them, but they refused it.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
21:24 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you {l} one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things.
(l) One thing, that is to say, I will ask you one thing first before I answer your questions.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Jesus responded to their question with one of His own. This was common rabbinic debate technique (cf. Mat 15:3; Mat 22:20). [Note: Plummer, p. 293.] By referring to John’s baptism Jesus meant everything associated with his baptism, his whole message and ministry. Since John was Jesus’ forerunner the leaders’ response to John’s ministry would answer their own question about Jesus’ authority. If they said John’s ministry was from heaven they would have had to acknowledge that Jesus’ received His authority from God, since that is what John announced. [Note: Allen, pp. 225-26.] If they said John’s ministry was from men, lacking divine authentication, they knew the people would rise up against them because the people regarded John as a prophet from God. The leaders’ refused to commit themselves knowing that whatever they said would have bad consequences for them. They wanted to avoid losing face.
Any honest seeker among the leaders would have understood and accepted Jesus’ answer to the leaders’ question. However most of the leaders simply wanted to get rid of Jesus having previously rejected Him. Jesus pointed out with His question that their rejection of Him grew out of an earlier rejection of John.