Matthew 21:23-27, The Authority of Jesus Questioned

 ²³ Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

 ²⁴ Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ²⁵ John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

   They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”

 ²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

   Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

“What gives you the right?” If the Chief Priests and elders only knew who they were speaking with…

We ask it…or at least think it all the time. Often with justification, often not. The question surely comes from our own sense of privilege and importance. We imply that we are arbiters of who has which rights. Otherwise we wouldn’t ask…or think…the question.

So, my wife can suggest I stay out of the refrigerator and I can suggest she not “borrow” my tools. That’s the easy part. We know who we’re talking with in each case.

It’s a little trickier at outside the home. Deciding who has the right to move the coffee-maker can be difficult. Who gets to occupy which desk is more so.

I was working in an office with no window. My storage room had a window. I switched offices. I’m the chief. I can do it. Well, maybe not. A facility manager came to my new office and asked my who gave me authority to make the switch. I told her I was my own authority…I was the chief of the service.

Wrong answer…Bob Dylan said “you’ve got to serve somebody”. I guess, for me, it’s the facility manager. Although, I found out getting forgiveness is easier than getting permission.

When we begin to think this way with Jesus, we might want to stop and remember who we’re talking with. We could avoid the multiple choice test and save a lot of embarrassment.

Live boldly out there today…