To be fully HUMAN — A Daily Reflection

 

 

Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. "By what authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you this authority?"

   Jesus replied, "I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.  John’s baptism - where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or from men?"

   They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’  But if we say, ‘From men’ - we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet."

   So they answered Jesus, "We don’t know."
   Then he said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

 

Don’t you love the way Jesus messed with the chief priests’ and the elders’ heads?  Here these guys were - excuse me, these powerful men - ready to trap Jesus once again.  They were absolutely sure they had Him this time.  Here He was, this nobody from Nazareth , this uneducated, unemployed carpenter, teaching the people in the Temple .  Who did He think He was?  He had no credentials.  He didn’t graduate from seminary.  He didn’t come from a good family.  He certainly didn’t come from a respectable town.  Who gave Him the authority to come to the great temple in Jerusalem and teach?  The chief priests and elders were going to put Him in His place.  They would show Him up to be a fool in front of the people.  And that would shut Him up.

 

But their plan backfired.  Jesus presented them with a question, rather than answering theirs.  He asked by whose authority John had baptized.  The priests and elders were stuck between a rock and a hard place.  If they said, "God", then Jesus would ask why they hadn’t believed what John had said.  If they said, "Man", the people would turn against them, because the people believed that John was a prophet.  So the priests and elders found themselves neatly painted into a corner, with no way out.  And they betrayed themselves for the fools they really were.

 

People today are no different from the chief priests and elders.  They look for outward appearances.  They look for credentials, for degrees, for earthly signs that someone has the authority to teach or to act or to speak up for Jesus Christ.  But the point is that you and I have authority - through Jesus - to speak and act for Him… no matter what our educational level is… no matter where we live or who we hang out with or where we work… no matter what we look like or how well we speak or what kind of clothes we wear or how big our bank account is or what kind of car we drive… God has given us authority through Jesus Christ to speak and act in His behalf.  Our authority doesn’t come from man.  It comes from God.  How much are you exercising your authority?