Jesus’ Authority Challenged

As Jesus walks in the temple courts, the leaders ask who authorized him, and he answers with a question about John’s baptism that they will not answer.

A²⁷fter their return to Jerusalem, Jesus was walking in the temple courts, and the chief priests, scribes, and elders came up to Him. ²⁸“By what authority are You doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave You the authority to do them?” ²⁹“I will ask you one question,” Jesus replied, “and if you answer Me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ³⁰John’s baptism — was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me!” ³¹They deliberated among themselves what they should answer: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will ask, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ³²But if we say, ‘From men’...” they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John truly was a prophet. ³³So they answered, “We do not know.”