They came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to Him, and began saying to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?”
And Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me.”
They began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ But shall we say, ‘From men’?” — they were afraid of the people, for everyone considered John to have been a real prophet.
Answering Jesus, they *said, “We do not know.” And Jesus *said to them, “Nor will I tell you by what authority I do these things. Mark 11:27-33
The hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders was about to be on full display. They were confronted by the ultimate question… who or what is the ultimate authority in my life? If it is truly God, then I must accept His Son whom He has sent. They were unwilling. And so they tried to resist him and test by sending Him the full arsenal of Jewish religious thought: Pharisees, Saduccees, Scribes and Lawyers. All were confounded by Jesus.
Who or what is the maximum authority in my life? Can I really say ‘Jesus is my Lord’ and mean it?
God, what a reminder today of how wonderful Jesus is. Accepting Him as my Lord and Savior changed everything in my life, thinking, perspective and destiny. Oh I pray that many will come to that same place. As this day begins exploring the ancient city of Beijing, show me how You are working in these wonderful people. Please give me the opportunity to love someone in Jesus’ name.
