By What Authority? “By what authority are you doing these things?” (Mk 11:28) ask the chief priests, scribes and elders in the temple.
What are “these things” that Jesus is being questioned about? Well, it is actually quite a bit! In Mark’s gospel we read that on the proceeding day Jesus dramatically cleansed the temple. He over turned money changing tables and drove out vendors selling sacrificial animals for temple worship. On the day before the temple cleansing Jesus had triumphantly entered Jerusalem and allowed the crowd to hail Him as the coming Messiah, the new David.
So yes, from the perspective of the temple authorities Jesus had a lot to answer for.
Man’s Perspective and God’s
From a purely human perspective the exasperation, anger, even rage of the temple authorities can be appreciated. After all, since the time of Moses they were the ones entrusted with proper order in the temple and the interpretation of scripture.
The thing is, Jesus had never presented Himself as operating from a human perspective. Over and over, He has stated that all of His actions, including His miracles, have been a reflection of God’s will. Furthermore, as the Son of God, He was perfectly attuned to His Father’s will.
Consider the telling response of the chief priests to Jesus’ counter question, “I shall ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.” (Mk 11:29)
The chief priests did not endorse the ministry of John the Baptist. In fact, John had gone out into the desert and far from the temple to preach and baptize. Even though he lacked human approval, John’s ministry had clearly resulted in a spiritual revival. He was obviously a prophet of God. However, if the chief priests admitted as much, then John’s claim of Jesus as the Messiah would also have to be believed.
The Mystery of Human Freedom
The chief priests – subtle, intelligent and educated – were clearly aware of the dilemma they faced in rejecting Jesus. Even when Jesus addresses them directly in the parable of the vineyard, inviting them to finally accept the Son of the vineyard owner, they refuse. They simply believed they had too much comfort and status riding on maintenance of the status quo.
How is it that the human heart, created for God and restless until resting in God, can refuse the offer of His love and mercy? Only God knows the full answer but we can understand that even though God’s grace is always being presented to us, we still need to make the free choice to say yes.
Although the specific goods of the world that we sometimes place above God have changed, the struggle we face today is the same one faced by the chief priests two thousand years ago. Are we willing to replace our pride and desires with God’s will for our life?
