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Mark 11:27-33
In Mark 11:27-33 (NKJV) the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Jesus and asked Him, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority to do these things?” They knew that none of them had given Jesus proper rabbinical teachings as was the accustomed way of the time; for a rabbi to pick a pupil to take under his wing and prepare them for ministry, so they were curious as to who it was that taught Jesus all that He had known. But in Mark 11:29-30 Jesus answered in a way that put their own faith to the test as He requests of the chief priests, that scribes, and the elders, “I will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things: The baptism of John – was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me.” But they could not as they knew that by their answer – either way – they would put themselves in an undesirable position with either their own faith in God or risk of being mobbed by the people as they considered John the Baptist a man of God (Mark 11:31-33). So Jesus likewise did not answer their question.
This is an example of what may happen if we put Jesus/God to the test.
The unsaid intentions of the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders may very well have been an attempt to accuse Jesus of blasphemy if He indicated that His authority came from God His Father in heaven. But it was not time for Jesus to be tried and sentenced to death, for He has not finished His work given Him by His heavenly Father.
When Jesus calls us to Him through His Holy Spirit that works in us today, we have a tendency to defend ourselves to Him and question His authority as the earthly nature strives to hold us in check, not to allow us to be convicted that would lead to repentance and salvation in
Christ, claiming defeat once again for the devil’s, to be, broken grasp on our lives. As we question the authority of Jesus working in our lives, we are expressing the same virtues as did Lucifer in his campaign against God for authority. The Bible teaches us in John 1:12-13 (NKJV), “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” And in 1 John 5:4-5 we learn, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” Put your faith in Jesus today and He will help you overcome the world.
Dear LORD,
Please help us to realize and understand that it is not through our own strength that we overcome this world, but that through our faith in Jesus. Please lead us all to the cross of Christ Jesus that sets us free and gives life eternal. In Jesus name I pray, amen.