Luke 20:1-8 comments: by what authority?

20:1 ¶  And it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon him with the elders, 2  And spake unto him, saying, Tell us, by what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority? 3  And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me: 4  The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? 5  And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then believed ye him not? 6  But and if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet. 7  And they answered, that they could not tell whence it was. 8  And Jesus said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

Jesus uses the popularity of John the Baptist here in this encounter with the chief priests, scribes, and elders. It is a masterful argument in its simplicity as He deals with this interruption before continuing to teach the people. By asking the question Jesus places them in a difficult position where either way they answer the question works against their agenda.

The authorities saying that they do not know the origin of John’s authority to say what he said underscores the political nature of their ways of thinking. If a Pharisee, scribe, or elder admitted that what John the Baptist said and did was from God they would be ostracized from their peers. If they said it was not from God they would face a riot. There was really no way out that their conniving minds could find.

The condition of a person’s heart determines whether they are willing to hear the truth. Modern Christians, especially conservative and traditional ones, often try to employ argument on behalf of Christ to try to win someone over. And yet, people do not come to Christ by argument. They come to Christ by a changed heart. There are people who practice a religion whose god is so weak he needs them to kill non-believers for him. He has no power over reality because he is an invention of a crazed psychopath’s imagination. There are people who believe that there are only secular, political answers to the questions of life and they are not just atheists in not seeing evidence for God’s existence and sovereignty but they are anti-theists in that they display a religious zeal to keep others from believing what they don’t believe.

Jesus did not acknowledge any authority over Him by these religious leaders who came upon him, violently and suddenly, demanding an answer, by giving them one. Later, He will do the same in denying Herod’s authority over Him in any respect by remaining silent in the face of Herod’s questions.

You should understand that when confronted by the two types of people I mentioned just a moment ago, among others, that there are people who attempt to dominate by demanding from you an answer that they will not hear, that they have already eliminated as a possibility from their mind. Do not argue with them. There are those among their ranks, very few admittedly, who will see the logic and beauty of Christ’s Gospel because of the testimony of your life in the way you live and in your ability and willingness to publish the Gospel, the working of the Holy Spirit in their spiritual heart, and their previously unrealized willingness to receive the Gospel. But, you will not win them by arguing with them. In doing so you only give them power. It is similar to when someone teaches self-defense they teach a person to not let themselves become engaged in a conversation with a stranger because just talking with a person intent on doing one harm gives them power and an advantage.

There are several times when Jesus denies some group’s authority over Him by asking a question and not arguing but simply stating a fact and walking away or simply refusing to answer at all and remaining silent as prophesied in Psalms 38 & 39 and Isaiah 53. Two examples will suffice, I think.

First, later in Luke with Herod in a passage showing that the enemies of Christ may hate each other for other reasons but will put aside their enmity in their hatred of Him, and you for trusting in Him.

Luke 23:6  When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man were a Galilaean. 7  And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time. 8  And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him. 9  Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing. 10  And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him. 11  And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate. 12  And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves.

The second is coming up regarding money. There is no argument, simply a question and a statement, neither of which were answerable by Christ’s enemies. Just imagine for yourself an unanswerable question you can ask when confronted. For instance, an atheist or agnostic, which is an atheist who is hedging his bets, says there is no God. You ask, “well, if there is no God then why is there something rather than nothing? Things don’t create themselves.”