Matthew 21:23-27 Jesus' Authority

When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, "By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?" Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.  The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?" And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, 'Then why did you not believe him?' But if we say, 'From men,' we fear the people; for they all regard John as a prophet." And answering Jesus, they said, "We do not know." He also said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. [Matthew 21:23‭-‬27 NASB]

When the chief priests and elders came to Jesus, their minds were not on spiritual matters. They were expecting Him to say, "It is My own authority." Then they could discredit Him. Or they may have been looking for a name, such as, "Nicodemus gave me authority." So they could tear down the authority.

Jesus immediately turned the conversation from earthly to spiritual when He asked them about John the Baptist. The priests were consummate politicians. Unwilling to express their own opinions, they debated which answer to give, based on the reaction of the people.

At first glance, this seems like an evasion on Jesus' part. In reality, He answered them by the nature of His question. He identified with John the Baptist, so the strong implication is that Jesus is operating under the same authority as John the Baptist. His authority came from heaven, which is to say, from God.

The question of Jesus' authority is still being challenged today in one form or another.

Some people, who are in complete denial, say that Jesus didn't even exist, and the whole gospel story is nothing more than a myth, or a morality story. This is in spite of the fact that the weight of historical data proves them wrong. Jesus was no myth. He lived and He died. The question is; what do you believe about Him?

Others say that Jesus existed, but was nothing more than a teacher and spiritual leader, no different than Buddha. They would answer Jesus' question by saying that His authority came from men. Without followers, he would have been just another spiritual seeker who lived and died in obscurity.

For those of us who put our faith in Him, He is the Son of God, come to earth with all of heaven's authority. He not only lived and died, but He rose again on the third day. By His death on the cross, He paid the penalty for all of our sins, so that we can be forgiven and ushered into the kingdom of God.

When we read Jesus' words in the Bible, we need to remember that this is not a man offering his point of view, this is God in the flesh, speaking truth.

Jesus said some things that are hard to hear, "But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. “If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also." [Matthew 5:39-40 NASB]

It is not an option to say, "Sorry, but I'm just not in that place." This is GOD talking. Get in that place.

You can question my authority all you want. But Jesus' authority is indisputable.