CVIII.
IN REPLY TO THE QUESTIONS AS TO HIS AUTHORITY,
JESUS GIVES THE THIRD GREAT GROUP OF PARABLES.
(In the Court of the Temple. Tuesday, April 4, A. D. 30.)
Subdivision A.
INTRODUCTION
aMATT. XXI. 23-27; bMARK
XI. 27-33; cLUKE XX. 1-8.
c1 And it came to pass,
on one of the days, bthey [Jesus and the disciples] come
again to Jerusalem: a23 And
when he was come into the temple, band as he was walking in
the temple [The large outer court of the temple, known as the court
of the Gentiles, was thronged during the feasts, and was no doubt the part
selected by Jesus and his apostles when they taught or preached in the
temple. We thrice find them on that side of it where Solomon's porch was
located--John x. 23; Acts iii. 11; v. 23], cas he
was teaching the people and preaching the gospel [viz.: "the time is
fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye"--Mark i. 15],
there came upon him {bcome aunto him} bthe
chief priests and the scribes, and {cwith} the elders; {aof
the people} [the Sanhedrin (see p.
415). This committee of that august tribunal came in formal state and
with a great show of authority, hoping to make it apparent to the people
that Jesus was an unauthorized, self-appointed meddler in matters over
which they had exclusive control.]
c2 and they spake, b28 and they said
{csaying} unto him Tell us: By what authority doest thou these
things? aand {cor} who is he that gave thee this
authority? bto do these things? [To regulate and control
the affairs of the temple belonged unquestionably and exclusively to the
priests and Levites. Knowing that Jesus had no authority from [586] any
priest or any scribe, they boldly challenged his right to cleanse the temple
or to teach in it, feeling sure that to defend himself he would be forced
to publicly declare himself as the Messiah and thus to give them the matter
for accusation which they had long sought--John x. 24.]
a24 And Jesus answered and said unto them, cI also
will ask you a {aone} question, which if ye tell me, band
answer me, aI likewise will tell you by what authority I do
these things.
25 The baptism of John, whence was it? bWas it from heaven,
or from men? answer me. [The question which Jesus asked was intimately
and inseparably connected with the question which they had asked. Jesus,
of course, did not derive his authority from John the Baptist, but John
had testified plainly to the Messiahship of Jesus, and had, in no uncertain
terms, designated Jesus as immeasurably greater than himself. Now, if the
Pharisees admitted that John was a heaven-sent messenger or witness (of
which fact his baptism was propounded as a test, since it was a religious
ordinance introduced on his authority), then John had already answered
the Sanhedrin that Jesus derived his authority from his Messiahship, and
hence, all that the Sanhedrin had to do to satisfy their minds was simply
to believe John. But if, on the other hand, the Pharisees rejected
John's pretensions and claims as a heaven-sent messenger in the face of
the almost universal popular conviction, then what was there for Jesus
to present his claims to so blind, bigoted, and unreasoning a body?]
31 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven;
he will say, aunto us, Why then did ye not believe him?
[When he testified to the Messiahship of Jesus (John i. 7, 15, 34; iii.
26-36; x. 40-42). The Sanhedrin could not admit that the messenger was
heaven-sent and yet deny his testimony.]
26 But if we shall {bshould we} say, From men-- call
the people will stone us: awe fear the multitude; for all hold
John as a prophet. cfor they are persuaded that John was a prophet.
bthey feared the people: for all verily held John to be a prophet.
33 And they answered [587] Jesus cthat
they knew not whence it was. aand said, {bsay,}
We know not. [It should be noted in their consultation there was no
effort either to ascertain or to speak the truth. The question as to whether
John really was or was not a prophet was in no sense the subject of their
investigation. They were merely deciding what to say. They were seeking
for the most expedient answer, and as neither truthful answer was expedient,
they resolved to falsely deny any knowledge of the case. Men of such brazen
dishonesty could not be dealt with openly and fairly as could sincere seekers
after truth.] And Jesus, aalso
said {bsaith} unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority
I do these things. [Their spoken lie was, "We know not," but their
inward and true answer was, "We will not tell," and Jesus answered the
suppressed truth saying, "Neither tell I." How readily the subtle minds
of the Jewish people would justify Jesus in thus declining to submit the
question of his authority to judges who at that very moment publicly confessed
their inability to even hazard an opinion, much less render a decision,
as to the authority of John the Baptist, who claims were in popular estimation
so obvious. It was plain that however well these men might judge human
credentials, the divine testimonials of a prophet or of the Messiah were
above their carnal sphere. Thus Jesus put his enemies to confusion in the
first of man conflicts of that perilous Tuesday. But we may well imagine
that they were rendered more bitter by the evidence of a wisdom so much
beyond any which they possessed.]
[FFG 586-588]
