03/10/2018 - AUTHORITY WE RECEIVE FROM JESUS

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And they said to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority to do these things?” Mark 11:28

After having cursed the fig tree and talked about forgiveness, Jesus and the disciples went to Jerusalem where He decided to walk through the temple.  As always, He knew what he was doing and at lease would leave us some instructions.  If we remain in Christ, He will reveal to us the reasons through which the Father takes us to some place, where we meet evil people or are confronted by them concerning our faith and our works.  In Christ we are more than victorious!

Noticing the presence of Jesus, the chief priests, scribes and elders of the people approached Him to surprise Him with a malicious question.  But how could a finite and sinful man possibly corner and trick the Creator? The Lord lacks no wisdom or power.  He knows even the intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).  Only a weak mind cannot perceive this!

They started the interrogation questioning Jesus about the authority with which He performed notorious marvels, which they knew not that came from Above. It is always wise and good to beware, to escape the deceptions and lies of the devil.  The enemy comes surreptitiously to catch us.  However, having the assistance from the Holy Spirit, speaking with authority he certainly will be demoralized. Neither devil nor man will ever defeat our God.

Regardless of the answer Jesus gave, it would be distorted and used to condemn Him.  In their small little hearts they even smiled thinking that their plan was infallible.  The Master could have answered in a thousand ways, but they would have taken forever to understand; after all, they were talking to the Omniscient.  Respecting the small mindedness of human thought, the Lord conditioned His presentation with questioning.

He questioned where had John’s baptism come from.  The Savior said He would only answer if they said what they thought about this.  Now they were the ones who were in a corner. In spite of the question being simples, since they were deceivers, they would not say what they were thinking.  They were afraid to say that baptism came from men, because the people thought that John was a prophet.  On the other hand, if they said that it was from Heaven, Christ could ask them then why had they not believed.

Without thinking or reflecting, those men said that  they did not know.  Having said this, they departed from the Master.  The person who fights for religion acts like this: even if they see God heal a thousand paralytics, they will find an excuse to not give glory to Him.  They had then a chance to progress, however, they did not take it.

Those men would not admit to divine sovereignty over them.  The Master’s answer revealed that they had lied during the entire time.  Jesus said: Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things (Mark 11:33). Why do some people dare to harden their minds? They left the presence of Jesus ashamed and embarrassed, but they could have been saved. Mercy!

In Christ, with Love,

R. R. Soares