“They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the Temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders came to Him. “By what authority are You doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you the authority to do this?” (Mark 11:27-28 NIV)
This whole exchange between Jesus and the Temple elders sits uncomfortably with us. We see the expiring leadership of God’s earthly Kingdom try to entrap the Savior with their line of questioning. The more I study the gospels, the more I realize the chief priests, scribes and elders argued like the Romans rather than engaging God’s people with empathy an wisdom as priests. We can identify the occupying nation’s cultural influence on a tribe that was designed to remain set apart for God’s use. We can scratch our heads over that, even grieve the malicious nature of their questioning, but I think there’s another encouraging truth that stands out in this text.
Jesus can handle our questions. Even while we’re poised against Him, He welcomes the interruption and eagerly engages in our inquiry. What’s more, He leverages our questions to grow our understanding of Him, at least He tries. A lot depends on the responsiveness of our heart.
“Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer Me and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John’s baptism – was it from heaven or of human origin? Tell Me.” (Mark 11:29 NIV)
The elders asked a question that only Jesus could answer and He turned around and put the ball back in their court: ready to lead them into a deeper discussion about the things of God if only they would cooperate.
“They discussed it among themselves and said “If we say ‘from heaven’, He will ask ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say ‘of human origin…’ (they feared the people, for everyone knew that John was really a prophet.)” (Mark 11:31-32 NIV)
You know these Pharisees had an opinion on John the Baptist. He was long ago beheaded, but they had surely published an official position paper on his baptismal ministry. Maybe they were divided, or may they were too afraid to speak the truth about John’s divine origins – for sure they weren’t forthcoming.
“So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.” (Mark 11:33 NIV)
They answered Jesus’ question as orators, not as priests. They cover their true response and consequently stonewalled the conversation. Their lack of courage in honesty shuts down the discussion entirely.
I can’t help but wonder how it might have gone if they’d simply said “Well, at first we thought he was a fraud, but now we’re beginning to question that initial conclusion.” What if they had opened up the door of discussion just a teensy bit bigger, what if they had been brave enough to be vulnerable about the vast storehouse of unknowns that we all carry? Consider the conversation they could have had! Envision the growth that might had taken place! We mature a great deal more quickly when we are brave enough to say “I may have been wrong.”
We can learn a lot from this exchange:
- Jesus always has time for our questions.
- His conversations with us are opportunities for growth.
- Honesty and cooperation are essential for maximum impact in our God-conversations.
Lord, it’s hard for us to be transparent. Ever since the Garden, we hear You coming near and we run for cover. We see with the Pharisees how they missed their opportunity to participate in something Kingdom. It makes me wonder what we have we missed within our own stories because we were too busy hiding our truth? We recognize our tendency to argue and deflect, and realize just how little ground that gains in the Kingdom. Forgive us. Fix us. Put a new heart in us: one that is willing to lay bare before You. Help us take responsibility fo our incorrect conclusions and our resistance to the truth. Give us courage to stay in the conversation and remain vulnerable when You ask the hard questions. We want to grow in our understanding of You. Amen.