Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things

 

 Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, "By what authority are You doing these things?  And who gave You this authority?"  But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things:  The baptism of John -- where was it from?  From heaven or from men?"  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men,' we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet."  So they answered Jesus and said, "We do not know."  And He said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.  

 

"But what do you think?  A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, 'Son, go, work today in my vineyard.'  He answered and said, 'I will not,' but afterward he regretted it and went.  Then he came to the second and said likewise.  And he answered and said, 'I go, sir,'  but he did not go.  Which if the two did the will of his father?"  They said to Him, "The first."  Jesus said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.  For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him."

 

- Matthew 21:23-32 

 

Yesterday we read that, after Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem,  He went into the temple of God and drove out all 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 said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be a called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.   But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant and said to Him, "Do You hear what these are saying?"  And Jesus said to them, "Yes.  Have you never read,   'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'?"  Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.  Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry.  And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again."  Immediately the fig tree withered away.  And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither away so soon?"  So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done.  And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." 

 

  Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, "By what authority are You doing these things?  And who gave You this authority?"  But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things:  The baptism of John -- where was it from?  From heaven or from men?"  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men,' we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet."  So they answered Jesus and said, "We do not know."  And He said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."  My study Bible explains that as Christ is not a Levitical priest, and therefore has no formal institutional authority in the temple, the chief priests and the elders challenge His authority to cleanse the temple.  Jesus is careful not to reveal His Messianic identity to scoffers, and so He confounds them with a different question with John.  Both the elders' question and Christ's question back to them require the same answer, and therefore would lead a person to confess that Jesus has come from heaven.  By not answering them directly, my study Bible notes, Christ teaches us not to answer people who come asking about holy things with a malicious intent.

"But what do you think?  A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, 'Son, go, work today in my vineyard.'  He answered and said, 'I will not,' but afterward he regretted it and went.  Then he came to the second and said likewise.  And he answered and said, 'I go, sir,'  but he did not go.  Which if the two did the will of his father?"  They said to Him, "The first."  Jesus said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.  For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him."   My study Bible notes that using their own principles, the elders convict themselves in their answer to Christ's parable.  

So, once again we come to the question of authority.  This question of what is authority, or who is authoritative, continues to come up in Christ's ministry.  It is a question that most concerns the religious authorities, for as far as they are concerned the administration and regulation of the practices of the temple and of the faith belong to them.  It is in this context that Jesus asks them the question, regarding John the Baptist and his ministry:  "The baptism of John -- where was it from?  From heaven or from men?"  John the Baptist was during his lifetime considered a holy man and greatly revered among the population.  We remember that John died while he was imprisoned in Herod Antipas' palace, as Herod's wife wanted him beheaded.  John the Baptist had criticized their marriage as unlawful.  John's widespread reputation for holiness was such that his opinion meant a great deal to the common people; hence Herod's imprisonment of John and his wife, Herodias', desire to have John beheaded.  In the context of Jesus' time and place, authority is indeed significant, or perhaps we might say it is everything.  The rulers in the temple hold their places because they hold authority according to the law and practices established by Moses and subsequent tradition.  Herod holds his place because of the authority given by Rome, just as Pilate does.  So the question of authority becomes one that invests every decision, and seemingly every turn of Christ's ministry.  Christ is even rejected in His hometown of Nazareth because the neighbors believe they already "know" Him and are both astonished and indignant that He suddenly has knowledge and speaks with an authority they themselves do not acknowledge.  For some reason, this is the place we continually find as a stumbling block in the Gospels.  Where is Jesus' authority?  Where does it come from?   In Luke's Gospel, the people express their astonishment at a kind of authority that comes seemingly out of nowhere:  "For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out" (Luke 4:36), and let us not forget that it is, indeed, a type of authority Jesus wields that commands the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.  Right in the beginning of Christ's ministry at Capernaum, Mark tells us that the people "were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes" (Mark 1:22).  Jesus speaks on His own authority, not quoting from a famous rabbi or a historical opinion, as do the scribes.  The unclean spirits periodically cry out to Jesus, indicating a recognition of status and authority and power:  "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!" (Mark 1:24).  So much so, that He commands them not to speak, so as not to reveal His identity.  In today's reading, it is those in leadership who wish to silence and be rid of Him who demand to know by what authority He cleansed the temple, and who exactly gave Him that authority.  But neither will He reveal His identity directly to them; and instead, He asks them about the authority of John, which they are afraid to answer.  We're left to ponder that truth works with authority despite the fact that there are those who vehemently do not wish to recognize it as such.  Truth has its own way of acting and playing itself out, working its way among us -- and we might say this is because truth itself, particularly where justice is concerned, is rooted in spiritual reality.  Jesus tells us, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6)  affirming this for us.  If Truth is therefore a Person -- and a divine Person -- then how are we to think of it?  We must consider that truth is a more powerful concept than we can understand on purely material or worldly terms.  And therein we come to the question of authority.  When worldly institutions or powers do not affirm the authority of truth, then how do we turn to that truth?  How can we recognize Christ's authority?  The popular recognition of St. John the Baptist as a holy person is something that informs us today regarding sainthood in the Church.  Saints are not saints because they are declared so, but first are in some sense organically understood as the effects of their lives are felt in the lives and communities of those around themselves.  As such, the people recognize John, and so these religious authorities fear to answer Jesus' question.  When Jesus will warn of false prophets to come, He speaks of a dynamic that also teaches us about recognizing saints, "By their fruits you will know them" (Matthew 7:15-20).  So that we may ponder this question of authority, this demand to know by what authority Christ heals, or cleanses the temple, or does any of the things we've read about in His ministry, let us consider what the fruits of that ministry tell us of His authority.  What would they communicate to you?  And how is it that these religious leaders cannot perceive the authority behind His ministry?  How is it that these men, experts in the Scripture and the history of Judaism, do not know that authority themselves?   Christ's answer, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things," would seem to speak to that failure.