Was it from heaven or from men?

 

 Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him and spoke to Him, saying, "Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things?  Or who is he who gave You this authority?"  But He answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?"  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,' all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet."   So they answered that they did not know where it was from.  And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

 

- Luke 20:1–8 

 

Yesterday we read that as Jesus drew near Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes.  For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."  Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  And He was teaching daily in the temple.  But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.

 

  Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him and spoke to Him, saying, "Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things?  Or who is he who gave You this authority?"  But He answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?"  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,' all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet."   So they answered that they did not know where it was from.  And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."  The chief priests, the scribes, and the elders ask Jesus, "Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things?"  My study Bible comments that by these things they are referring to Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem as Messiah (Luke 19:35-38), the cleansing of the temple (see yesterday's reading, above), and also His preaching, which verse 1 of today's reading tells us He was doing in the temple.  The elders confront Jesus as it was the duty of the priestly descendants of Levi to manage the temple.  And here is the question of authority.  My study Bible comments that while Christ was descended from Judah (Luke 3:33), He is also the High Priest "according to the order of Melchizedek" (Psalm 110:4), which is a priestly line far greater than that of Levi, as Christ's authority is from the Father.

Authority seems to be a central question which these "authority figures" are insistent upon.  After all, it is their authority that often seems to be called into question by Jesus, as repeatedly He does things like healing on the Sabbath, which the authorities declared was a violation of the Sabbath rule.  In reality, their pronunciation that He was violating the Sabbath was an over-reaction and exaggeration of the prohibitions of the Sabbath, as necessity or saving life or healing was permissible.  The question of the authority of these individuals is not about how the temple was established or even the Law given by Moses.  At issue with these authorities is their overt legalism, a strictness applied simply out of the zeal of authoritative position.  Moreover, we are to understand Christ's identity in this question as well.  He is the High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek, and His authority -- like John the Baptist's to baptize -- clearly comes from holiness.  That is, "from heaven," as He phrases His question to them.  Jesus is clearly justified in terms of authority by virtue of His identity as the Christ, but there seems to be a deeper reality at work here that we are called to note.  Why are these people's hearts so hard that they cannot see the blameless violation as intrinsically good when a person is healed?  Is their authority more important to them than the well-being of the people for whom they are meant to be spiritual guardians?  The Gospel has offered us Christ as the Physician, His gospel message as that which heals on all levels.  By contrast, we see demonic activity as harmful to human beings, destructive to life -- even as some of these religious leaders have gone so far as to accuse Jesus of casting out demons (exorcism) by the power of the ruler of demons (see this reading).  This story invites us to understand what is healing and what is not, and to consider the aims of our faith in terms of God's real desires for human beings.  The Law was given to Moses with those same purposes and aims, but the religious leaders understand their own power and authority as a priority over these deeper purposes of God, and remain blind to the One who is in front of them out of those same priorities.  Christ's preaching is meant to draw people back to God, to understand the truth that is in front them.  He has referred to Himself as the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets (see Matthew 5:17; Luke 16:17, 24:44).  The question here is one of higher authority, which these guardians of the faith have failed to recognize.  As with all else in the Gospels, it remains a lesson for us today, in terms of our hearts dedicated to the love of God, and the humility to follow where God leads -- even when we fail to understand God's always surprising and eye-opening path.