“We Don’t Know”



Mark 11:27–33
27 And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28 and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” 31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet. 33 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Jesus is spending His final week of ministry teaching in the synagogue, extending the Kingdom of God. This conversation between Jesus and the Sanhedrin takes place on Tuesday which means that in four short days, Jesus would be tried and crucified. The Jewish leadership is desperately seeking something with which to accuse Jesus so that they could be rid of Him. In another verbal attempt to trap Jesus, they ask Him what they believe will be a foolproof question. As with all of these conversations, Jesus ends up on top.

The authority of Jesus was the topic of conversation on several occasions throughout the Gospels. This is an important discussion and impacts us even today. If Jesus did not have the authority of the Godhead behind Him, then all His efforts were for nothing. What the scribes and elders refused to admit was that Jesus is God. His authority is unquestionable. Jesus’ challenge invoking the name of John the Baptist is a brilliant one. With one brief query, Jesus has the elders right where they belong – out of His way. Their answer was going to be their undoing no matter what they said.

They knew John the Baptist in his preaching and teaching had pointed to Jesus as the Christ (see John 3:28), so that whatever they would now say about John would also apply to Jesus. If they would say, “From heaven,” they knew Jesus would ask, “Why didn’t you believe him?” that is, also believe what he said of me. Since the people accepted John as a prophet, the members of the Sanhedrin feared the crowd would stone them (see Luke 20:6) if they were to answer, “From men.” So they answered, “We don’t know.”
Wicke, H. E. ©1988. Mark (p. 162). Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Pub. House.

The chief priests, teachers of the law, and the elders 'pleaded the fifth', as it were, thereby condemning themselves. They refused to face the truth of God’s Word, which John had cited as support for his own ministry, which Jesus had proclaimed in his preaching and attested by his miracles, and which they themselves had vowed to teach and proclaim. Christ gave them the opportunity to repent and confess, but they wanted none of it. They rejected the Savior because they valued their positions more highly than their salvation.

To lose eternity with God because of pride is truly tragic. These men were handed a chance to repent and they passed on that opportunity in order to hold onto their perceived place of honor in the community. Lest we look at these men with derision in our hearts, we must turn that conversation back on ourselves and examine our own lives for times when we allow our pride to override our love for God. Should we find such events in our own lives, it's time to turn to Jesus and beg His forgiveness, which He freely gives.

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