Devotions
Rev Gav
Riddle
Matthew 21.23–27
When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?’ Jesus said to them, ‘I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?’ And they argued with one another, ‘If we say, “From heaven”, he will say to us, “Why then did you not believe him?” But if we say, “Of human origin”, we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.’ So they answered Jesus, ‘We do not know.’ And he said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
Reflect
The gospels record Jesus asking over 300 questions, many of which were challenging, and asking questions was used by rabbis to prompt their listeners to engage in critical thinking.
The chief priests and elders asked Jesus by what authority he was conducting his ministry, and Jesus responded with a riddle for them to answer, but me, being interested in trivial details, wants to know why he asked in this way, and also the answer to their question!
Firstly, we need to understand that the religious leaders were not asking because they really wanted to know the truth. It was a trap. If Jesus said from ‘heaven’ (i.e. God) then he would, in their eyes, be guilty of blasphemy, and if he said, from ‘himself’ then he would be accused of being a fraud. Therefore, Jesus asked them the same question about John the Baptist and this put them in a pickle and exposed their own question for what it was. The religious leaders refused to answer and Jesus did the same!
But what is the answer to their question? From where was Jesus’ authority? Was it from heaven or from himself? The answer is, of course, both, because Jesus was and is God and had the full authority of heaven bestowed upon him.
Everyone who has ever heard of Jesus has to ask of themselves the same question and most conclude that he was nothing more than a ‘great teacher’; however he claimed, through words and his actions, to be God. The author C.S.Lewis wrote famously that Jesus did not leave open to us the option of him being a ‘great teacher’, and that he was either deluded, a fraud, or he was who he said he was!
Like C.S.Lewis, we may come to the intellectual conclusion that Jesus was God, but it takes a step of faith to then put your trust in him. Billions of Christians have done just that and not found Jesus wanting, discovering that yes indeed, he has the authority of heaven and of earth.
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash
Pray
Holy God
I believe and trust
in Jesus Christ
who has all the authority
of heaven and of earth.
Thank you for your
steadfast love and for
the security I have in you.
This day and forever.
and then