‘What authority have you?’ ‘Who gave you authority?’
In this episode from Mark’s Gospel, we are in Jerusalem with Jesus and the disciples, during the last week of his public ministry. Jesus has thrown out those who were trading in the Temple, in the court of the Gentiles, and he has been teaching there.
I take my place beside the disciples and I can hear my own heart beat, my mouth is dry and fear creeps into my stomach. The very word ‘authority’ places me beside all those who are ‘out of order,’ stepping into areas where they have no right to be, lacking in documentation and credibility, in some way I have entered a place where I have no right to be.
The Authorities
These are important people, in their splendor and their purity. They question Jesus but they are not seeking answers. They assume the authority as their own. We, who stand beside the Lord, we are trespassers in the domain of the authorities. I tremble. I know what authorities can do with those who present a challenge to them. They have their own police, we could all be ‘disappeared’ and no one would know our story.
They are not seeking answers. They can see what authority Jesus has. And the source of His authority seeps into their awareness, from the echoes of the words the witnesses heard, so long ago: ‘You are my son, my beloved one. I delight in you,’ and a dove flies over the Temple.
These people are the chief priests, the scribes and the elders. They have everything under their control. They are not distracted by echoes, or birds, or stories about a river baptism. We who stand beside the Lord here do not dare to breath. The cold hand of fear grips and chills us now, as we face the coming days.
Question to Authority
Then, as we stand speechless, Jesus speaks, and he takes them in mind to that riverside:
‘John’s baptism: did it come from heaven or from man? Answer me that.’
For a moment the truth shines out. They are confounded – if not convinced. They cannot deny that John’s baptism was ‘of heaven,’ and they cannot deny what the witnesses saw and heard when Jesus was baptized by John. They cannot deny that Jesus is the Son of God to those who are drawn to him here, those who have lived close to Him, heard His teaching, watched and obeyed and grown to love Him.
True Authority
We can breathe again now. Our strong opponents are silenced – at least for now. Will I remember where true authority is, and know that, whatever happens, I am safe in Christ? I know I may tremble in the face of persecution but I also know Who the disciples saw and heard and touched, and I also know that fear left them when the Advocate, the Helper he promised them, came to them at Pentecost.
We have also been gifted Lord. Your Comforter and Strengthener has brought us close to you and we can shine out from your abiding, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
