Submitting To The Authority Of Jesus

The chief priests and elders once came to Jesus and asked him, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?” (Matthew 21:23). It was not likely that these “religious” folks were as interested in the truth of the answer as they were in the difficulties it would present for Jesus to answer their questions. Jesus could have answered their question in one of two ways.

He could have said that He had no authority, and by such an admission, they would have silenced Him. Or He could claim heaven as the source of His authority and in that case they would have accused Him again of blasphemy. So Jesus chose a different approach that got to the heart of the problem — He would predicate his answer upon a confession to be extracted from them which would indicate where their real interest lay. He retorted with a question similar to the one they asked Him:

“The baptism of John, where was it from? From heaven or from men?” (Matthew 21:25).

They could not answer Jesus’ question, for one answer would bring them into conflict with themselves, while the other answer would bring them into conflict with the people, (Matthew 21:25-26). Their refusal to answer indicated their lack of integrity and proved their question to be facetious.

The reason that Jesus did not answer their question, was not that He was unable to do so, but rather indicated His infinite wisdom in being able to handle the ulterior motives of men. Jesus had the right to command and expect obedience — and He still possesses such absolute authority today. Our Lord stated: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18).

Dear reader, it is to that authority which each of us must be willing to submit, if Jesus is to be our king.

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets