Word Live - Daily Scripture

Prepare

Follow the leader. But what leader and on whose authority? Still yourself and seek. Mark 11:27–33 ‘They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?”’

Mark 11:27-33

The Authority of Jesus Questioned  27 They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. 28 "By what authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you authority to do this?"     29 Jesus replied, "I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 30 John's baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!"     31 They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Then why didn't you believe him?' 32 But if we say, 'Of human origin' . . . ." (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)     33 So they answered Jesus, "We don't know."        Jesus said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things."

Main point: On the spot

Whose authority? Something has to be said. Jesus has not been in Jerusalem long but his actions cannot be ignored any longer. Of course the question in verse 28 is not designed to get information. What the priests want is for Jesus to say something incriminating so that they can turn the people against him. God’s or man’s? In fact, it is the priests’ own authority that is at stake. Jesus’ authority has been plain for all to see from the beginning. The people have recognised it in his teaching (see 1:22) and in his healing (2:10). Here was something new, quite different from anything they had seen in their leaders before. But as those leaders try to seize the initiative, again Jesus turns the question round to expose the hollowness of their position. Leave it to God! Often we can feel that we are put on the spot when we are asked questions about our faith, some of which are obviously hostile. There is not always a ‘right answer’ that will convince everyone of the truth of the gospel. Be prepared to say what you believe, and then leave the result in God’s hands! Jane Cornish

Prayer points

‘Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone’ (Colossians 4:6). Difficult questions? How will you respond if people ask about your faith today? ● Pray through your day, thinking about those with whom you might speak. Use the words of Colossians 4:6 as a prayer, thinking about: conversations with family, friends, work meetings, telephone conversations, emails. ● Pray that God will give you the words you need. ● Ask God to help you to rely on him as you speak – leave the results with him.

Deeper study: Divide and conquer

A completely new start We are right back in the heart of things – walking with Jesus in the temple courts. By stopping the sacrificial procedures and in the dramatic parable of cursing the fig tree, Jesus had indicated that the whole temple approach was doomed. With its wealthy priests, its meticulous but ultimately self-serving scribes, and its insistence on controlling access to God by ensuring regular sacrifice, the temple was now under God’s judgement. The King had arrived to restore mercy and justice for all – including, it would seem, the Gentiles! The temple mountain itself, Mount Zion, was going to go though tumultuous experiences (see vs 22–24). The trappers trapped All this was not lost on the priests and scribes – neither the message nor the implications for them. Jesus’ action was a direct challenge to their authority. It was important to trap Jesus, to trip him up and so to expose the incipient heresy that he was acting for God. Then removing him would become possible, in spite of his popularity with the crowds. Unfortunately for them, Jesus saw through their question and returned it with interest. The priests could not answer Jesus’ question about John’s authority as they wanted to because of Jesus’ popularity with the crowd. In admitting ‘We don’t know’ they were in effect saying that they were not properly equipped to handle issues of divine authorisation. They preferred their own comfort and popular approval before the divine truth. Dangers of compromise So do most of us, at least some of the time. More worrying is the recognition that in compromising we may have lost our ability to discern God’s ways and the moral strength to obey. Both in personal decisions and in the varied relations between the Christian community and the political states in which we live, this cutting encounter offers us an example to follow. David Spriggs

Jeremy Paxman meets his match!

Go for it! We are now very ‘suspicious’ people. We may not know that it’s called ‘post-modernity’, but the philosophical atmosphere in which we live has alerted us all to the sense that everybody is biased, and often we add ‘for their own ends’.  So most of the time we’re glad for clever people who are rigorous in putting awkward questions to people with authority, power and money – we’re sure they have something to hide! And after ‘Watergate’ and endless other scandals, why shouldn’t we be? Jesus found himself surrounded by a whole bunch of inquisitors! They went for the jugular. They wanted to know what authority he claimed for his outrageous actions (disturbing the profit-making temple system was the one at the top of their minds). Avoiding the question? But Jesus was really wise. He put the question back to them – who gave John the Baptist his authority? The inquisitors dare not answer, so Jesus did not need to either.  Yet this was more than a politician with good interview techniques. In a more profound way Jesus did give them the answer. The reason they could not answer was they were frightened of the people (democracy), and yet could not break free of their prejudices and say ‘God’. If they had faced this truth, then they might have been ready to believe Jesus was from God. Avoiding his authority? Actually, Jesus hasn’t lost his authority today either – we need to check that we haven’t been trapped by our own ‘suspicious’ age. It’s easy to use the cultural milieu to refuse to accept Jesus’ way ourselves.  We can become clever at avoiding the claims of Jesus – on our money, our attitudes to others, our commitment to sharing his good news with our friends, what we watch on TV or films and indeed our refusal to submit to authority. Watch yourself today! David Spriggs

Bible in a year

Read the Bible in a year. Today's readings are: Numbers 26,27 Acts 22