A QUESTION OF AUTHORITY (Mark 11:27-33)
INTRODUCTION:
This morning, we have the beginning of the final confrontation between the Lord Jesus Christ and the religious leaders. This final clash begins on Wednesday of Passion Week and ends in the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus on Friday. This conflict runs through the end of chapter 12. As we have gone through the book of Mark we have seen the religious leaders’ hatred of Jesus grow. They hated Him for pointing out their hypocrisy and for speaking out against their legalistic works righteousness. But the confrontation in today’s passage was not brought on by what Jesus said, but what He had did the day before when He had cleansed the temple by driving out the merchants and their animals and overturning the tables of the money changers. The commercialization of the court of the Gentiles by the high priests Annas and Caiaphas symbolized the corrupt Jewish religion and this is what ignited this conflict when Jesus came into the temple on Wednesday. They wanted to know by what authority and who had given Him this authority to do the things that He had done. For three and half years Jesus had clearly shown that His authority was from God, and He also said this repeatedly. Jesus had demonstrated this authority in the miracles He performed and His complete authority over the demonic realm. Even though Jesus Christ had infinite and absolute authority, it was always exercised in perfect agreement with the will of the Father. This truth is seen in the fact that Jesus never sought permission from the Jewish authorities for His teaching and actions, this enraged the religious leaders because Jesus did not treat them and their religious positions with the respect that they thought they deserved. This eventually led to their bringing about His execution at the hands of the Romans. Their hearts were hardened; they were children of Satan and apostate enemies of God. This clash between Jesus and the religious leaders is the climax of three years of animosity on their part. Let’s pray and then get into our passage of Scripture for this morning.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles to Mark 11:27-33, our passage for this morning, this will bring us to the end of chapter 11. Please, if you are able, stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word and follow along as I read.
Mark 11:27-33,
“They came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to Him, and began saying to Him, ‘By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?’ And Jesus said to them, ‘I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me.’ They began reasoning among themselves, saying, ‘If we say, “From heaven,” He will say, “Then why did you not believe him?” But shall we say, “From men”?’—they were afraid of the people, for everyone considered John to have been a real prophet. Answering Jesus, they said, ‘We do not know.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Nor will I tell you by what authority I do these things.’ ” (Mark 11:27–33, NASB95)[1]
A CONFRONTATION (Mark 11:27-28)
After the lesson on prayer that He had taught His disciples that morning when they discovered the withered fig tree that Jesus had cursed, they continued into Jerusalem. Once there, they made their way into the temple courts. Mark tells us that Jesus began walking in the temple. Remember the temple grounds were a vast complex of courtyards and buildings. As Jesus walked around among the crowds of people, in typical rabbinic fashion He was teaching them and preaching the gospel. The Lord Jesus occupied the center stage in the temple courtyard. It was His classroom, His pulpit on this Wednesday morning. It was God’s temple for one final day; where the truth would dominate in the place of lies and hypocrisy.
As He taught and preached the Gospel He certainly began with the bad news that no one is righteous, not even one. The works righteousness taught by the religious leaders would not make one right with God, no effort by man could make one righteous. All are sinners, and He must have reminded them that the payment for sin is death, which would have included warnings about the certainty of divine judgment and eternal hell, then He would have spoken of the compassion and mercy and grace of God, that all who came to Him in repentance believing that God would forgive their sins, believing with hope that they could be reconciled to God and be brought into His kingdom of salvation, eternal life, and the hope of heaven because they believed God’s promise to send a deliverer. Jesus surely told them that He was that deliverer but would have also told them the cost of following Him wholeheartedly. Surely He warned them of the persecution and suffering those who chose to be identified with Him would face. All that Jesus taught that Wednesday morning would have included everything pertaining to the good news of salvation.
Christ’s powerful and authoritative preaching both alarmed and enraged the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders. This group that approached Jesus was a delegation selected from the Sanhedrin, which was a group of 70 chief priests, elders, and scribes that made up the governing body of Israel. Even though these three different groups disagreed on many matters pertaining to the Law, they all agreed that Jesus must be eliminated.
This delegation came to Jesus in a desperate attempt to silence Him before He further discredited them in the eyes of the people. They did not want the frauds that they truly were exposed to the people. They came to Him “and began saying to Him, ‘By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?’ ” (Mark 11:28, NASB95)[2] This question was not asked out of curiosity; it was an attack. The Jewish religious leaders were in a tight spot. On the one hand, this delegation represented all the chief priests, and scribes, and elders of the people and they were trying to destroy Jesus. But they could not find anything that they could do, for all the people were hanging on every word that Jesus spoke. They were furious in their hatred of Jesus, but paralyzed as to any action against Jesus because His teaching had captivated the people.
This group refused to give up on their plan to trap Jesus into discrediting Himself publicly. They were hoping that when He did so the people would turn away from Him making way for their murderous intent. Knowing in the past that Jesus had claimed His authority came directly from God; by asking this question they assumed He would make this claim again. When He did they would accuse Him of blasphemy and call for His execution. In all reality, it was not Jesus but this group that were the blasphemers.
A DILEMMA (Mark 11:29-33a)
Jesus knew they were trying to trap Him, and His response evaded their clumsy attempt to catch Him in His words. His response in turned trapped them in an inescapable dilemma. “And Jesus said to them, ‘I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things.’ ” (Mark 11:29, NASB95)[3] This response by Jesus would not have been considered rude or evasive, rather this was an accepted rabbinic practice, designed to force the questioner to consider the issue at a deeper level. Again, Jesus’ question exposed their hypocrisy because they already knew that He claimed His authority came from God. They had not asked to understand and gain knowledge, instead they were trying to get Him to repeat the claim publicly, so they could accuse Him of blasphemy.
The Lord Jesus’ counter question, “Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me.” (Mark 11:30, NASB95)[4] This put this delegation into a quandary that they had not anticipated. You might say that they were now stuck between a rock and a hard place. John the Baptist was the extremely popular forerunner of the Messiah, the greatest prophet who had ever lived up until his time. He was chosen by God and ministered in the wilderness, on the banks of the Jordan, preaching repentance in preparation for the Messiah. The people had flocked out to see him and hear him preach by the hundreds of thousands, and thousands of them had been baptized by him. The phrase “baptism of John” extends to include his entire ministry; his preaching, his teaching, his calling of the people to preparedness and repentance, his baptisms, and most importantly, his declaration that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus’ question challenged these religious leaders to declare whether they believed John’s ministry was from God or if it was of human origin.
This challenge by the Lord Jesus turned the tables on the Lord’s attackers and put them in an impossible dilemma. They withdrew temporarily and began reasoning among themselves, or looking at their options, hoping to find a way out of this dilemma and save face at the same time. They reasoned that if they said, “From heaven,” they would have no answer for the next question Jesus would certainly ask, “Then why did you not believe him?” Not only could they not answer that question, but they also did not want to put their seal of approval on one whom they did not believe to be a true prophet especially with the way John denounced some of their religious leaders. In Matthew 3:7-10 we read about this, “But when he [John the Baptist] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, “We have Abraham for our father”; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Matthew 3:7–10, NASB95)[5] Because of this they could not say, “from heaven;” but at the same time they could not say “from men,” because “they were afraid of the people, for everyone considered John to have been a real prophet.” (Mark 11:32, NASB95)[6] To deny the popular view that John was a true prophet would have had severe—possibly even fatal—consequences. In the parallel passage in Luke 20 in verse 6 it says, “But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” (Luke 20:6, NASB95)[7] To reject a true prophet of God was the same as rejecting and blaspheming God Himself.
Since these were the only two alternatives that could be the answer and neither of them were acceptable to the religious delegation, their reply to Jesus was, “We do not know.” (Mark 11:33a, NASB95)[8] This answer of ignorance must have been difficult for these proud, egotistical experts to deliver to Jesus. They viewed themselves as the unrivaled experts in theological matters and wisdom in debate and Jesus had humiliated them again by turning their own trap on them.
A CONDEMNATION (Mark 11:33b)
There was nothing more they could say, Jesus had reduced this delegation from the Sanhedrin to silence as they stood humiliated before Him. Jesus ended the discussion with a condemnation of them. “And Jesus said to them, ‘Nor will I tell you by what authority I do these things.’ ” (Mark 11:33, NASB95)[9] He was through communicating with them. After three and a half years of teaching and performing miracles to verify His claims, the Lord had provided ample proof that He was the Messiah, as John had proclaimed. No further evidence or information would be given. They had rejected the Light, and for them the light had gone out. Jesus would not cast pearls before swine.
There is a limit to God’s patience as I have told you before. Those who persistently and hard-heartedly reject the light of the gospel will eventually be abandon by God to judicial darkness. Before the flood of Noah’s day God said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” (Genesis 6:3, NASB95)[10] When the exiles returned to Israel from Babylon in a prayer recorded in Nehemiah 9:30 they confessed this concerning their ancestors, “You bore with them for many years, And admonished them by Your Spirit through Your prophets, Yet they would not give ear. Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.” (Nehemiah 9:30, NASB95)[11] The prophet Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 63:10, “But they rebelled And grieved His Holy Spirit; Therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them.” (Isaiah 63:10, NASB95)[12] The prophet Jeremiah spoke these words of God to Israel when they strayed from Him, “For I solemnly warned your fathers in the day that I brought them up from the land of Egypt, even to this day, warning persistently, saying, ‘Listen to My voice…’ Therefore thus says the Lord, ‘Behold I am bringing disaster on them which they will not be able to escape; though they will cry to Me, yet I will not listen to them.’ ” (Jeremiah 11:7, 11, NASB95)[13] Then in Luke 19:41-42 we read, “When He [Jesus] approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, ‘If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes.’ ” (Luke 19:41–42, NASB95)[14] But that was not the end, the merciful, grace-filled saving message of the gospel would still be extended to the people of Israel, and thousands would be saved of the Day of Pentecost and beyond. But for the hard-hearted religious leaders, the door of opportunity was shut. The point that Jesus was trying to make to these hard-hearted religious leaders was that they knew where His authority came from, and they refused to embrace the truth. “Answering Jesus, they said, ‘We do not know.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Nor will I tell you by what authority I do these things.’ ” (Mark 11:33, NASB95)[15]
CONCLUSION:
Jesus clearly displayed that as the Messiah, as God’s Son He possessed unique authority to say and do what He wanted to do, and it was always in line with God’s will. Jesus delegated this authority to His apostles. In Luke 9:1 we read, “And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases.” (Luke 9:1, NASB95)[16] The apostles having that authority delegated to them by Jesus spoke the same truth with boldness and wielded the same power that Jesus did.
There were elements of that authority that was given only to the apostles to authenticate their message. Those elements were signs, wonders, and miracles. The authority to proclaim the truth of the gospel and the truth of God’s Word has been passed down to all Christians. Paul wrote these words to Titus, “These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.” (Titus 2:15, NASB95)[17] Even though Titus was not an apostle, he was still commanded to proclaim sound doctrine with all authority. Believers may confidently proclaim the truth of God’s Word with authority.
When we consider this lost, fallen, and sinful world that we live in, the most important thing that we can give them is truth, the truth of God’s Word. The bad news and then the good news. The only way people can hear this truth is through believers, who are the instruments which God has chosen to indwell with His Spirit and to whom He has entrusted His Word. Paul wrote in Romans 10:14, “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14, NASB95)[18] The authority has been delegated to us to boldly proclaim the Gospel of truth to the world.
The Lord Jesus Christ also promised eternal authority to those in His future, glorious kingdom. He says to the church of Thyatira in Revelation 2:26, “‘He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations;” (Revelation 2:26, NASB95)[19] The glorious truth and reality is that all authority in heaven and on earth belongs to the Father, He gives it to the Son, and the Son will delegate it to believers in the future.
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[11]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[12]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[13]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[14]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[15]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[16]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[17]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[18]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[19]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.