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 2 and spoke to Him, saying, “Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?”
3 But He answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me: 4 The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men?”
5 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.” 7 So they answered that they did not know where it was from.
8 And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” Luke 20: 1-8 NKJV
Luke 20: 1-8 What Authority
…17When they saw Him, they worshiped Him, but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,… Matthew 28: 17-19
Preached the gospel - The gospel was and is the not so popular message to humanity, that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Humans are created beings, and the right of their loyalty, worship, obedience, belongs to the One Who created them. God is the eternal Being, one Being, that is three persons, individual, yet of the same eternal essence and Holy nature, existing in perfect community with one another, needing nothing, completely self sufficient. We, as created beings, are dependent upon God to make us, the world, and universe we live in. Since God is eternal, He is infinite, and since He is holy, He is infinitely, eternally so. We are made in His image, and should therefore reflect that holiness, His glory. When our parents sinned in the garden they offended an eternal Being, their Maker, and in order for God, by nature, to be esteemed as just and to keep His Holiness intact, He must judge this disobedience, which is sin, which stems from the original sin of pride. The gospel also tells us that the wages of sin is death, and so we may summize from this, being that all have sinned, that this is what justice owes us, death, eternal separation from God's good communion, to become the object of His eternal wrath. So why aren't we dead? Why does humanity still persist, and continue to sin? Well, everyone dies physically, and death is a result of the fall, as are our fallen natures that continue to defy God, and in delusion lift up ourselves as the arbiters of truth and good. The Scripture gives us the answer for why mankind is still alive, and it even offers forgiveness for sin while leaving intact the Holiness of God. It says:
15that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. 16For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.… John 3: 15-17
…31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4: 31-32
…21In the same way, he sprinkled with blood the tabernacle and all the vessels used in worship. 22According to the law, in fact, nearly everything must be purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. 23So it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.… Hebrews 9: 21-23
So in the sacrifice of Christ, the God/Man, the infinite Holiness and justice of God is satiated for all those who believe in Jesus. God and man come together in one Being, Who lives the life that God demanded, and Who dies the death deserved by those who are being saved. There is no injustice in God, and so Christ's perfect life and His death on the cross reveal the crowning attribute of God's holiness intact upon the attribute of His love.
…4because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me. 6In burnt offerings and sin offerings You took no delight.… Hebrews 10: 4-6
By what authority are You doing these things - Hmmm, well, by what authority did the prophets do things? Kings tried to silence them, even murdering some, yet their words lived. By what authority did Jesus heal the sick, raise the dead, feed the multitudes? If God is sovereign and it is beyond men to do or order such things by the words of their mouths, then what has made it possible for Jesus to give the blind sight and make the lame walk? They are mad about His upbraiding them in the temple court, but also, if you come riding in on a donkey, accepting the praise of the crowd, you are more than suggesting that You are the King, the Messiah, so by whose authority?
Tell us (command in the aorist imperative - Do this now! Don't delay!) by what authority (exousia) You are doing these things - This entire chapter is about authority (exousia). And notice who raises the question - those who were assigned "authority" over the Temple complex. To what do these things refer? Most agree that from the immediate context (Lk 19:45-48+) these things refer to His cleansing of the Temple and expulsion of the corrupt merchants which would have significantly impacted the income of the religious leaders who were skimming off the top. These things (note it is plural supporting more than just the Temple cleansing) would also obviously refer to the enthusiastic reception of Jesus' triumphal entry and the crowd acknowledging Him as Messiah and King (Lk 19:38+). What is sad is that Jesus had in effect told them by what authority He had cleansed the Temple and His authority was the Word of God quoting Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11 in Luke 19:46+! Perhaps these religious leaders did not hear Him state His basis for the cleansing. More likely is they did not want to hear it for although they pontificated and spoke the Scriptures, they did not live the Scriptures, once again showing that they were hypocrites of the highest order! This was about their pocket book not their "hymn book" (so to speak)!
The reaction of the religious leaders to their loss of revenue stream reminds me of Paul in Philippi when he cast out a "spirit of divination" of a slave girl who was bringing her masters much profit by fortunetelling (Acts 16:16+). This act incited the ire of her masters and the pagan crowd who beat Paul and Silas and had them thrown in prison (Acts 16:19-24+).
Stevenson comments "Jesus has not been ordained by any reputable denomination. He has no seminary degrees hanging on His wall. He goes by not title such as "reverend" or "rabbi." So what gives Him the right to overturn money changers’ tables or to drive out animals being bought and sold? What gives Him the right to stop the "business as usual" within the Temple?"
Notice that this is the first of a series of questions calculated to trip up Jesus. In this case, if Jesus stated that He was teaching and preaching based on His own authority, these evil men could say He was in effect out of His mind, acting like a meglomaniac! On the other hand if Jesus said He was acting on the authority of God, they would accuse Him of blaspheming God. So it looks good for these tricksters who now think they have Jesus boxed into a corner! - Precept Austin
…17The reason the Father loves Me is that I lay down My life in order to take it up again. 18No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from My Father.” 19Again there was division among the Jews because of Jesus’ message.… John 10: 17-19
I also will ask you one thing - A very gentle and measured approach, considering Who He is, and also that He knows their hearts are seeking anything but the truth. He has ministered in their lands for three years now. It is easy to know what He is about, for He has spoken it in front of large crowds for quite some time. He has also performed many miracles as they are well aware, even accusing Him of doing this by the power of Satan.
…5Act wisely toward outsiders, redeeming the time. 6Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. 7Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a beloved brother, a faithful minister, and a fellow servant in the Lord.… Colossians 4: 5-7
vs. 4 The baptism of John, was it from heaven or from men - Was John, who recognized Jesus, baptized Jesus, pointed to Jesus, a prophet or not? John came preaching repentance from sin, his baptism being an outward confession of people that they needed to be cleansed.
5The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6There came a man who was sent from God. His name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify about the Light, so that through him everyone might believe.… John 1: 5-7
1“Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple— the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight— see, He is coming,” says the LORD of Hosts. 2But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.… Malachi 3: 1-2
…9As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Do not tell anyone about this vision until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” 10 The disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 11Jesus replied, “Elijah does indeed come, and he will restore all things.…
…12But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him whatever they wished. In the same way, the Son of Man will suffer at their hands.” 13Then the disciples understood that He was speaking to them about John the Baptist. Matthew 17: 9-13
If we say from heaven - They can't even tell the truth. Let's see, what should we say, what's our best move considering the crowd around us? We don't want to say, "from heaven", because then we will have to answer for why we are unrepentant and why we did not accept that Jesus was the One for whom John prepared the way, as the prophets foretold 700 and 400 years before him. That will just nullify our question to Him about authority. If John was a true prophet then we are guilty of not listening to him. And there is an aspect of Jesus' procession towards the cross that we often overlook, and it is this crowd. His legend has grown for three years now. There is no one in history, not even Moses, Elijah and Elisha combined that has demonstrated more unique and superhuman power than Christ. The signs, the prophecies, the miracles, all demonstrate an otherliness that is undeniable, yet after all that, these silly questions and scheming from the Jewish leaders.
From men, all the people will stone us - This is that aspect that goes without consideration, this crowd. They have witnessed a lot, heard a lot, and the significance of them greeting Him with palm fronds as He rides in on a donkey, that was acknowledgement of Him as King. It is a legitimate fear of the Scribes and Pharisees, because the people believed John to be the first prophet to have appeared with a ministry like this after 400 years of silence. If he was right in telling people to repent and in pointing to Christ, then this is the King of kings, and for them to deny Christ is to be traitorous towards the Promised One of God. They would be traitors to their own people as well, but here's a problem I have with them as leaders, and this is only one, but it is significant. If you really believe John to be a charlatan and you are the spiritual leaders of these people, then tell the truth. Just like so many today that make up their own god, their own Christ, they care more about the favor of the crowd than the eternal destiny of the crowd. They need you to like them too much for them ever to be able to love you, and so they are no true shepherds. Jesus is stepping up to show the way, He is going to die for some of these who will reject Him, mistreat Him, and condemn Him to the death that they actually deserve.
38nor does His word abide in you, because you do not believe the One He sent. 39You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me, 40yet you refuse to come to Me to have life.… John 5: 38-40
Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things - They thought they were slick, but it's so much worse than that. He is not going to answer them, not going to try to convince them any further. They have the testimony of the prophets, and they have Jesus' whole life, that which was described as growing in favor with God and man, and then the testimony of John the Baptist, and Jesus' own miraculous ministry of these last three years. That's it, He's done with this part, and now they will see that which was spoken by Isaiah be fulfilled, their betrayal, His unjust trial, and His crucifixion. This is judgment.
…12He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success. 13He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning. 14They encounter darkness by day and grope at noon as in the night.… Job 5: 12-14
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