Published April 15, 2014 by in
Luke 20:1-8
On one of the days while He was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders confronted Him, 2 and they spoke, saying to Him, “Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?” 3 Jesus answered and said to them, “I will also ask you a question, and you tell Me: 4 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?” 5 They reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” 7 So they answered that they did not know where it came from. 8 And Jesus said to them, “Nor will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
A number of events happened on Tuesday and Wednesday of the last week of Jesus’ earthly human life. The writer of John emphasizes the last week of Jesus’ life by devoting more than 46% of the book to the explanation of the events that happened during that week. That week is the pivotal point in human history from a biblical and faith-filled understanding of the life of Jesus. An innocent death and a resurrection of life are essential to comprehending the mission and the man who was and is God’s son.
One of those events centers around the questions of the chief priests and scribes who questioned by whose authority Jesus did the things that He did. Jesus avoided this question with a question of His own that day, but the question of authority will be answered this week! The resurrection of Jesus will establish His authority as the Son of God; it will validate both His teachings and His actions on earth.
Sometimes we ponder and struggle with some of Jesus’ teachings as well… Fortunately for us, we have the perspective of a a post-resurrection witness and the witness of the Spirit who convinces us that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God! Any questions about the authority of Jesus…?
Blessings,
Doug