NOTES for Mar 11:27-33
27 And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders, |
28 And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things? |
29 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. |
30 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me. |
31 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him? |
32 But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed. |
33 And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things. |
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Two questions were asked: one the Savior asked the elders, and the other the elders asked the Savior, and neither received an answer. But how different the meaning of these two non-answers is! Above all, the motivation differs: fear for one's position in the first case, and messianic dignity in the second. But the main thing is that the silence of the teachers of the Law and the chief priests shows that they do not wish to accept either the Good News itself or God's help in understanding it, which the Forerunner manifests; their non-answer says nothing except that they do not believe.
Jesus' non-answer, by contrast, says a great deal. First, He affirms John's mission as Forerunner, proving that those who do not accept John do not accept Jesus either; and second, it is a prophecy about His own earthly end - an indication that it will be like John's. In other words, this reveals the most important thing about Christ's earthly ministry.
Readings for 30 May 2026
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