1. The Stunning Wisdom Of Jesus

2. Mark 11:27-32 And they came again to Jerusalem
Mark 11: And 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 they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

3. Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man. Answer me
Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet. So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

4. And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple

5. Luke 20: One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.”

6. For one day, this was His temple
For one day, this was His temple. For one day it belonged to Him, it was His classroom, His pulpit, it was God’s house for one day and for one day the truth would ring in the courtyards of that temple where it had not rung for hundreds of years.
- John MacArthur

7. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him

8. By what authority are you doing these things
who gave you this authority to do them?
answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things
“Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

9. Mark 1: And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.

10. John 1: But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God
John 5: And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man
John 10: No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.

11. Their contest with Jesus was essentially an authority struggle
Their contest with Jesus was essentially an authority struggle. For he challenged their authority while at the same time possessing himself an authority that they manifestly lacked. So they felt threatened by Jesus. He undermined their prestige, their hold over the people, their own self-confidence and self-respect, while leaving his intact – John Stott

12. Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.”

13.  Acts 10: You yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed:  how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.  And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.

14. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree,  but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.

15. Mark 1: In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

16. In the voice from heaven, God addresses Jesus as his unique Son, the object of his elective love. In this expression of unqualified divine approval there is recognition of Jesus’ competence to fulfill the messianic task for which he has been set apart – William Lane

17. And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet. So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.”

18. And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”