May 29 2025

Thursday May 29

Luke 20:1-8 – They Should Have Known

1 Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him 2 and spoke to Him, saying, "Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?". 3 But He answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me: 4 The baptism of John--was it from heaven or from men?" 5 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?' 6 But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet." 7 So they answered that they did not know where it was from. 8 And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

In Luke 20 we are looking at what happen in Passion Week, the Jewish Passover.  At this point in this chapter, we're on Tuesday. Remember on Sunday, Jesus comes riding into Jerusalem triumphantly; they receive Him as the King, shouting, "Hosanna in the Highest." Then, on Monday, He cleanses the temple and goes back to Bethany. He comes again on Tuesday and is confronted by the chief priests, elders, and scribes. They ask Him the question: "By what authority are you doing these things?" 

What authority did He have to cleanse the temple, and what authority did He have to be teaching? Who made Him a rabbi? Where did He get his credentials? What seminary did He go to? Of course, Jesus didn’t go to any seminary, and basically they are rejecting Him. They’re threatened by Him. He’s disrupting their religious and political power. And their profits, as they have been in charge of the merchants selling things in the temple area called the Gentiles’ Court. They should have known who Jesus was!

So, when Jesus is asked, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority?” He has already told them on many occasions that His authority came from the Father. But He answered and said to them, “I will also ask you one thing, and answer me: The baptism of John, was it from heaven or from men?” In other words, who gave John the Baptist the authority to be baptizing people and calling them to repent of their sins? They got in a little huddle and reasoned among themselves, put their heads together, and said, “Now, how are we going to answer him?” They said amongst themselves, “If we say from heaven, he will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say from men, all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.” So, they answered that they did not know where it was from. Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Amazingly, Jesus turns the tables on them. By answering them with a question, by giving a parable (vv. 9-16), and then offering a prophecy (vv. 17-18), He reveals the sins of the nation of Israel. Their main sin right now is that they are rejecting their own Messiah. Jesus takes them back to John the Baptist for two reasons. First, John had pointed to Jesus and introduced Him to the nation, so their rejection of John was actually a rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ. They should have recognized who Jesus was based on the message and presentation of John that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Second, it is a spiritual principle that if we disobey truth we already know, God cannot reveal new truth to us (see John 7:14-17). Why answer their question when they had refused to submit to John's message?

Remember something else and this is so important. We go back to the Old Testament to Exodus 12, where the Passover lamb had to be set aside for ten days to ensure it was without spot and without blemish. It had to be thoroughly checked before it was slaughtered for the sacrifice, for the blood to be applied to the doorpost and lintel. Picture Jesus as that Lamb of God who has come to take away the sin of the world. Jesus is now being examined by these people during these three days of Passover week. He’s being questioned: “Who are you? Where do you get your authority?” This fits so well because Jesus is now going to be rejected, slaughtered, and crucified because he is going to take away the sin of the world.

Now it was the religious leaders who were in the dilemma! No matter what answer they gave, they were in trouble, so they decided to "play dumb" and not answer at all. They were deceitful in asking the question and dishonest in the way they avoided answering it. Even if Jesus had given them an answer, their hearts were not prepared to receive it. If they had disobeyed God's message given by John the Baptist (Luke 7:24-30), they would disobey the message given by God's Son.

They should have already known who Jesus was and received His message! And so should we!

God bless!