Jesus Uses John’s Experience Even After He is Dead.

And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority? And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet. And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things. Matthew 21:23-7

Steps: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 12

One last comment on John the Baptist before we get back to the life of Jesus. Shortly before the death of Jesus, Jesus uses the experience of John one more time. John gets to tell his testimony one more time even though he is dead. Jesus is preaching in the temple in Jerusalem and the Jewish leaders ask Him by what authority does He do and teach the things that He does? Jesus tells them that He will answer their question if they will testify about whether the Baptism of John was of heaven or of men. The leadership knew that if they answered in the affirmative then Jesus would claim the authority of heaven. If they said that the Baptism of John was of men then the people would turn on them. So they decided to take a neutral position and deny their responsibility of being able to recognize the movings of God on the hearts of men. Then Jesus told them that He would not answer their question but would continue to do the work that His Father had sent Him to do.

Prayer for Today: God, it is amazing to think of how many times Jesus avoided the entrapments of men. Help us to see truth and to know how to handle these difficult questions. Help us to find the ways, and the words, to give honor and praise to Your holy name. Help us to grasp the significance of seemingly simple question in the recovery experience of people and to learn how to answer them like Jesus would do if He were here on Earth today. Thank You for Your willingness to continue to sponsor us.