One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.” He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?” And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know where it came from. And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” (Luke 20:1-8) Let’s take a quick note of the setting here: Jesus is teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel. The people, who as we see throughout Luke and the other gospels, had been pretty well starved of solid teaching from the Law and Prophets and instead strived to live up to the man-made traditions that the chief priests and scribes and elders had taught them to observe. The words of Jesus as He taught with authority were life giving to a spiritually starved people and in comes the chief priests, scribes, and elders to demand that Jesus tell them by what authority He was doing things. They were so worked up with their own issue with Jesus, especially in light of the fact that He had just driven out those who sold within the temple, that they couldn’t see past the nose of their own faces to be aware of the good teaching that was going on inside the temple and the good it was bringing to the hearers. It would appear that pride was the ultimate driving motivation of those chief priests, scribes, and elders in that moment. The Wise Response Jesus, from a young age, had increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man (Luke 2:52), and this was just one of the many ways in which He demonstrated that wisdom in rough situations like these. Jesus could have engaged with the men as they rudely interrupted His teaching in the temple, but He chose to ask them a question, that if they answered correctly would have given them the answer to their demands and led them to the message of the gospel. The problem between the chief priests, scribes, and elders came when they didn’t seek to answer the question in truth, but to attempt to work out an answer in a way that would simply get them what they wanted. The sad part is, the very first part of their discussion would have led them to truth had they not hardened their hearts in their pride. If We Say Jesus asked them about the baptism of John, which was that of repentance and the start of receiving the message of the gospel. As they discussed it, there really were only two options to answer – from heaven or from man. But they said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” They had the answer, it was from heaven, and even the people were convinced of the truth that John was a prophet of God, but they were so blinded by their pride which led to the refusal to accept truth, that the question meant to guide to truth ended up being perceived as a riddle of sorts in their minds. Here’s the kicker though, they were forced to humbly admit they didn’t know where it came from, yet if they had chosen to humble themselves, they could have received the truth. Nonetheless, the interaction seems to have been a quick conversation that Jesus then segways into a parable, which we’ll dig into next week. What Will You Say? But right now, we are faced with some uncomfortable parts when we seek to apply this to our lives and to learn from this interaction the chief priests, scribes, and elders had with Jesus. How do we approach Jesus when how we’ve perceived something is upsetting to us? I don’t think any followers of Jesus are necessarily asking Jesus what authority He has, but we just might ask or think that about one of His followers as they operate in the gifts He’s given or the callings He’s placed them in. If we’re finding this happening, we have to be careful not to approach things in our pride, or we just might end up making demands and untruthful claims, which if it’s against one of God’s servants is ultimately against God Himself. If we can enter situations with that unfortunate truth in our minds that we are naturally prideful and self-seeking, then we can be watchful to deny ourselves, humble ourselves, and truly listen and seek truth as it comes, instead of twisting what we hear to fit our self-seeking agenda that our pride has created for us. These are hard things that the Lord wants to break down in us and smoothen out those hard, destructive edges that snag everything on them. So ask yourself ...
