The Authority of Jesus Questioned

Scripture

Matthew 21:23-27
Mark 11:27-33
Luke 20:1-8

Commentary

On numerous occasions the Jewish leaders tried to trap Jesus by getting Him to say something that would divide His followers.  In this instance they are expecting Jesus to respond that His power comes from God so that they might accuse Him of blasphemy and get the people riled up.

Instead of answering their question directly, Jesus answers their question with another question.  He turns the tables and puts the elders in the same position they put Him in.  If they answered that John's baptism was from God then they are guilty of not listening to one of God's prophets.  If they publicly deny that John was a prophet, the people were likely to turn against them.

Because they do not answer Jesus' question, Jesus does not directly answer theirs.  Jesus did not need to answer their question however because they already knew how He would answer.  This is not a case of Jesus withholding information from people who were genuinely interested in what Jesus did.