Verse 27
And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there came to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders; and they said unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? or who gave thee this authority to do these things?
THE QUESTION OF JESUS' AUTHORITY
This confrontation with the religious apparatus in the Jewish capital actually concerned the second cleansing of the temple, which had just occurred; and their motives were inspired by the hope of finding some pretext for condemnation.
By what authority ... Their question was indeed a proper one. In a sense, this is as important a question as may ever be raised regarding the life and ministry of the Son of God. The fact that the questioners themselves supposed that Jesus had no authority, and knowing that he had none from THEM, does not diminish the importance of the question, had it been asked in sincerity, there is no reason to suppose that Jesus would have refused an answer, but their vicious motives precluded such a thing.
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