LUKE 20:1–8
He replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me, John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or from men?”
(Luke 20:3–4).
After He cleansed the temple, Jesus took His place as teacher. One day while He was teaching, a group of priests, teachers, and elders confronted Him. They wanted to know by what authority Jesus had thrown out the animal sellers and money changers, and by what authority He was making Himself a teacher in the temple.
They asked this question in front of the people in order to discredit Jesus. They figured that no matter what Jesus answered, He would lose. He could not say that He had been given this authority by the officials of the synagogue or the Sanhedrin, because He had not been ordained by any of them and was not recognized by them as an official within Judaism. If He said He had no authority to do these things, He would discredit Himself as a maverick. If He said He was doing these things on His own authority, He could be charged with blasphemous presumption.
Jesus answered their question with a question. He asked whether John’s baptism was from heaven or from men. This put them on the horns of a similar dilemma. John had been very popular with the crowd, and while the temple leaders had not liked him, there was no way they could answer this question. If they answered that John’s baptism had been appointed by God, then Jesus would ask them why they did not believe John’s testimony concerning Him. On the other hand, if they said John’s baptism was not from God, then they would have to face the rage of the crowd. They chose not to answer.
They had sought to embarrass Jesus, but Jesus dismissed them by saying He would not answer their question. In a way, though, Jesus had answered them. It was at His baptism that Jesus received His official anointing from the Father and was invested with the office of Messiah. By pointing to John’s baptism, Jesus pointed to the source of His authority: God Himself.
CORAM DEO
Jeremiah 25–26
2 Timothy 3
One important area of Christ’s authority is ethics. Is there some area of your personal ethics (as with those of the Sanhedrin) which is chafing under the authority of Christ? If so, don’t delay. Take steps this week to bring this matter into submission to the Savior.
For further study: 1 Peter 3:13–18; tape #B57INT.82/83
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