Red Letter Bible Study--Matthew 21:23-27 (The authority of Jesus challenged)

 Matthew 21:23-27; Mark 11:27-33; Luke 20:1-8

Jesus is teaching in the temple in Jerusalem.  From the time He gets there, the chief priests and elders start questioning Him.  They are asking Him what gives Him the right to teach and who gives Him the right to teach.  So, Jesus turns the question on them by making them confess who they think John the Baptist was and who gave him the authority to do what he did.  As they think through and discuss among themselves the question, they realize that Jesus has set a trap for them.  If they say John's authority came from heaven, then they will be admitting that they have been speaking against a prophet sent by God.  If they say John's authority was just as any other man, the crowd will turn on them, maybe even stone them, because John was still highly regarded.  So they take the coward's way out and say they don't know.  Jesus says then He will not be telling where His authority comes from.  

It seems as if Jesus is giving the religious leaders a taste of their own medicine!  But Jesus does not have a sinister motive like they do when they question Him. The chief priests and elders actually DO have authority to teach in the temple.   They are more familiar with the Old Testament than anyone around, and Jesus has avoided their traps so many times by quoting scripture to them.  So, He's inviting them to think through what they know.  He's forcing them to speak an answer, reconciling what the Old Testament taught about a "voice crying in the wilderness" and the life of John the Baptist.  The men could not give a straight answer without ruining their reputations and risking their lives.  So, instead of facing the truth, they claimed ignorance.  Jesus says if they, of all people, won't admit the truth right in front of them, then He's not going to spend His time convincing them that He's the Promised One.  

According to Luke, Jesus was not only teaching the Scriptures, He was preaching the gospel.  The word for that is where we get the word "evangelize".  Jesus is tying the Old and New Testaments together right in front of their eyes, and they were pretending to be blind to it.  These verses challenge me to think through what I've learned and am learning.  I don't want to be one who CAN'T see the truth because I WON'T see the truth.  I'm thankful for the truth of His Word.