By: Dale Weckbacher
Mark 11:27-28
And
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, 28 and
they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who
gave you this authority to do them?”
(ESV)
The divisiveness in the world today is on display, enhanced
by the constant coverage through 24-hour news, the internet, and social
media. As these diverse platforms of
media compete for the attention of news consumers, they have the temptation to
either break a story without thoroughly checking its accuracy or even making up
a story to fit a narrative that will attract viewers, listeners, or readers. It is important for news consumers to check
their sources by measuring them up against a reliable standard. This blog offers links to either the sources
or scripture that supports the positions taken precisely for this reason. Unfortunately, this is often not the case in
news media today with it often representing the opinions of the journalist with
little or no substantive backing for statements made.
When Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, it was
not just the people praising Him that took notice, but also the chief priests,
scribes, and Pharisees. These religious
leaders thrived on the power and fame of their positions with Jesus warning his
followers about their thirst for power and fame (Mark
12:38; Luke 20:46). Jesus’
confrontation with these individuals in Mark
11:27-33 is just another attempt to trap Jesus into making a statement they
could use to accuse Him of blasphemy.
However, Jesus' response is a question, a question the power and fame-hungry
people could not answer. Had the chief
priests, scribes, and elders answered Jesus’ question they would have risked,
1)
Violating the first commandment (Exodus
20:2-3) – The text of this post does not let us know if the high priests,
scribes of elders believed Jesus was the Messiah or even God himself but they
knew what Jesus had said about himself (John
8:12; 10:22-30; 14:9). They knew
Jesus believed he was God, that He had performed many miracles, and based upon
the reaction of people as Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem, had a great
following. The followers in the crowd believed
Jesus was Messiah with many believing this would be the time Messiah would
establish His kingdom on earth. Granted
Messiah will establish His kingdom on earth, but he first had to die for the
sins of humanity in fulfillment of Genesis
3:15. However, the chief priests,
scribes and elders feared a revolt in the Temple if they would have denied John’s
ministry comes from God. Those believing
Jesus was God in the flesh would have viewed this confession by their religious
leaders as a denial of God in violation of the First Commandment. Instead of finding an accusation of blasphemy
for Jesus, the mob would have had reason to accuse their religious leaders of
blasphemy.
2)
Losing their fame and the power they held over people
(Mark
11:31-32; Matthew 21:25-26) – The priesthood in the time of Jesus was less
a religious position and more of a political position with the priests
exercising power over the people that saw them as their representatives before
God. However, after seeing the throng
praising God during Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem these religious
leaders felt threatened by Jesus. Their
questioning of Jesus’ authority represents an attempt to show the people he was
not someone special, but Jesus' question placed them in a corner. If they were to answer Jesus’ question as
John’s baptism coming from man, they would have been telling the crowd John was
nothing special. However, it was John
the Baptist that prepared them for Jesus’ coming and the first to proclaim who
Jesus was, the lamb of God who takes the sin of the world (John
1:29). These people have seen Jesus
heal the sick, cast out demons, and raise the dead. In their minds, Jesus was special and worthy
of praise as evidenced by their praise as Jesus entered Jerusalem.
Even though the crowd praised Jesus as He entered Jerusalem,
they did not fully understand the proclamation of John the Baptist and instead
were looking for Jesus to march into the governor's palace and remove their
oppressors. Instead, they should have
realized that it is Passover and Jesus, the Lamb of God is about to be the
ultimate sacrifice for their sins (Mark
10:32-34; Romans 5:8). However, this
lamb will not remain in the grave but rise from the dead as a demonstration of
His conquest of sin and death (Romans
8:2). The correct answer to the
question asked by the chief priests, scribes, and elders is John’s baptism is
of God, pointing to forgiveness of sin and eternal life through belief in Jesus
as savior (John
3:16). I invite those reading this
that have not already sought forgiveness of sin by accepting Jesus as their
savior to pray with me now,
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans
3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans
6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my
sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1
John 1:9). I believe you died, spent
three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord
of my life.
Congratulations on making the best decision anyone can make,
the decision to have a restored relationship with the creator lost in the
Garden of Eden. Like any relationship, a
relationship with God thrives as we get to know more about Each other. Since Jesus already knows everything about us,
we are the ones that need to find out more about God. We do this by studying what God has to say to
us through the study of His Word, the Bible, and talking to him regularly in
prayer. It is also important to find a
church or Bible study where you can be with others who believe in Jesus as
their savior so they can teach you and pray with you. May God bless everyone reading this
post.
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