The Authority of Jesus Challenged

20 (A)One day, (B)as Jesus[a] was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, (C)the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him, “Tell us (D)by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.” He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, was the baptism of John (E)from heaven or from man?” And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, (F)‘Why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was (G)a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know where it came from. And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 20:1 Greek he

The Authority of Jesus Questioned(A)

20 One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts(B) and proclaiming the good news,(C) the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?”(D)

He replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me: John’s baptism(E)—was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people(F) will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”(G)

So they answered, “We don’t know where it was from.”

Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

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