By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority to do these things?

Then they came again to Jerusalem.  And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him.  And they said to Him, "By what authority are You doing these things?  And who gave You this authority to do these things?"  But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?  Answer Me."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men' " -- they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed.  So they answered and said to Jesus, "We do not know."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

Then He began to speak to them in parables:  "A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower.  And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers.  And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.  And again he sent another; and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some.  Therefore still having one son, he also sent him to them last, saying, 'They will respect my son.'  But those vinedressers said among themselves, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'  So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do?  He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others.  Have you not even read this Scripture:

'The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the LORD's doing,
And it is marvelous in our eyes'? "

And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them.  So they left Him and went away.

- Mark 11:27-12:12

 Yesterday we read that, the day after Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry.  And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it.  When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.  In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again."  And His disciples heard it.  So they came to Jerusalem.  Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple.  Then He taught, saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it a 'den of thieves.'  And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching.  When evening had come, He went out of the city.  Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.  And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look!  The fig tree which You cursed has withered away."  So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God.  For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.  Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.   And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.  But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses."

Then they came again to Jerusalem.  And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him.  And they said to Him, "By what authority are You doing these things?  And who gave You this authority to do these things?"  But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?  Answer Me."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men' " -- they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed.  So they answered and said to Jesus, "We do not know."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."  Here is the important question for the religious authorities, the one that they have asked Christ numerous times already -- but it is especially pertinent here in Jerusalem, the day after Jesus has cleansed the temple (see yesterday's reading, above):  "By what authority are You doing these things?  And who gave You this authority to do these things?"   Everything hinges, for them, on questions of this authority.  My study bible remarks that since Christ is not a Levitical priest, the chief priests, scribes, and elders challenge His authority to cleanse the temple.  It notes that as He is careful not to reveal Himself to scoffers, Jesus stumps them with a different question of His own, about the baptism of John the Baptist.  Both Jesus' question and the one posed by the religious leaders command the same answer -- therefore it would lead a person to confess that Christ has come from heaven, and His authority derives from there.  It's interesting for us to note how the religious leaders fear the people, as John was widely revered as a holy man.  Let us contrast John's fearless criticism of King Herod and his unlawful marriage to Herodias with the behavior here of the religious leaders, who are afraid of the people.  My study bible suggests that by not answering the chief priests, scribes, and elders directly, Christ teaches us not to answer people who come asking about holy things with a malicious intent.

Then He began to speak to them in parables:  "A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower.  And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers.  And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.  And again he sent another; and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some.  Therefore still having one son, he also sent him to them last, saying, 'They will respect my son.'  But those vinedressers said among themselves, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'  So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do?  He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others."  My study bible explains that in this parable, the man represents God the Father, and the vineyard refers to God's people.  The vinedressers are those leaders who are entrusted to care for the people.  Each servant who is sent by the owner stands for an Old Testament prophet who comes to call people back to God, and the son refers to Christ Himself.  When the Son is killed and cast out of the vineyard, interpretation understands this on at least two levels:  first, that Jesus was killed outside of Jerusalem (at Golgotha, which was at that time outside the city walls), and second, that He was crucified by foreign soldiers, and not by those of His own vineyard.  The others who later receive the vineyard are the Gentiles, brought from all over the world into the Church.

Have you not even read this Scripture:  'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.  This was the LORD's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? "  And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them.  So they left Him and went away.  The stone is Christ, and the text clearly tells us that the leaders have understood that He has spoken the parable of the vinedressers against them -- and so does the crowd, whom they fear.

Questions about authority have been all-important throughout Christ's ministry.  They have been most important to those "in authority."  How does Jesus have the right to speak with authority when He teaches (as in this reading)?  How does He have the authority to cleanse the temple (see yesterday's reading, above)?   Where does He get this authority that the people recognize when they received Him into Jerusalem waving branches, and chanting the verses fit for the coming of God's promised Kingdom (in this reading)?   Jesus answers this question in His own roundabout way, with a question about John the Baptist.  John, known to the multitude as holy man and prophet, and considered by the Church to be the last and greatest of the Old Testament-style prophets, clearly is considered authoritative not by declaration of religious authorities, but rather through the work of God in the world, through the Holy Spirit.  And this authority is recognized among the people.  How were the Old Testament prophets recognized?  Where did their authority come from?  Those false prophets who served the kings had a kind of formal "authority," but the prophets to whom Jesus refers as "servants" in the parable of the wicked vinedressers received no formal authority, but were later recognized as prophets.  They spoke the truth to kings, as did John, and for the most part received the kind of fate which John received as well.  Matthew and Luke report Jesus' lament over Jerusalem:  "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing" (Matthew 23:37, Luke 13:34).   In the eyes of the Gospels, it is of such relevance to us that "no prophet is accepted in his own country" that this saying by Jesus appears in all four (Matthew 13:57, Mark 6:4, Luke 4:24, John 4:44).  Indeed, in the Church, saints -- who often embody prophetic action, among other gifts -- are seldom, if ever, formally recognized in their own lifetimes.  So the question of authority becomes tinged with an even greater importance than we might consider even from reading this passage.  On His way to Crucifixion, when Jesus prophesies to the women of Jerusalem regarding the devastation to come, He asks, "For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?"  In other words, the cost of abandoning or spurning the authority that comes "from heaven" may be much higher than we can calculate, if we have given ourselves over to that which does not know God's love (in this case, the Roman army in the Siege of Jerusalem, carried away in the frenzy of war and the seeking of gold and other loot).  Ultimately, we are told, all authority comes from God (Romans 13:1).  As Christians, we are members of a Kingdom, given the gift of grace, the help of the Holy Spirit, and the indwelling of the Trinity.  And as those who declare ourselves a part of this faith, we cannot afford to misunderstand where authority comes from, to have an apprehension of the solemnity of our own consciousness of God's work in us and in the world, including the presence of that Kingdom.  We must be aware of questions of authority, and especially of that ultimate resolution.  It still holds for us to follow solemnly Christ's teaching of "greatest commandments" -- to love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, and to love neighbor as oneself (Matthew 22:35–40, Mark 12:28–34, Luke 10:27).   For this is what it means to truly understand "authority" and where it comes from, and we must, as faithful, retain our own healthy reverence for such authority and keep it uppermost in our hearts, minds, souls -- as Christ teaches us to do.  Without this awareness, how will we recognize God's work in the world, even when others don't?  Will we simply follow the rules, making outward appearance of piety -- or whatever code of conduct or social construct deemed for the moment, "correct"?  Our faith is supposed to mean something, lead somewhere, teach us discernment.  For we follow Christ who taught us that we are to remain alert to the end, and to endure in our awareness and consciousness of what we are to be about.  We are to be those "good servants" who are always prepared for our Master's return, for it is ultimately His authority which we serve.