Matthew 21:23-27

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Authority Challenged

²³When He entered the temple area, the ^[a]chief priests and elders of the people came to Him as He was teaching and said, “By what [kind of] authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority [to exercise this power]?”^(A) ²⁴Jesus replied to them, “I will also ask you a question, and if you tell Me the answer, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵The baptism of John—from where did it come? From heaven [that is, ordained by God] or from men?” And they began debating among themselves [considering the implications of their answer], saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe John?’ ²⁶But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the [response of the] crowd; for they all regard John as a prophet.” ²⁷So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what [kind of] authority I do these things.”

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Footnotes

Matthew 21:23 I.e. the official delegation from the Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court.

Mark 11:27-33

Amplified Bible

Jesus’ Authority Questioned

²⁷They came again to Jerusalem. And as Jesus was walking in the [courts and porches of the] temple, the ^[a]chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him,^(A) ²⁸and began saying to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?” ²⁹Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰Was the baptism of John [the Baptist] from heaven [that is, ordained by God] or from men? Answer Me.” ³¹They began discussing it with each other, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ ³²But ^[b]shall we say, ‘From men?’” —they were afraid [to answer because] of the crowd, for everyone considered John to have been a real prophet. ³³So they replied to Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”