The Authority of Jesus Challenged
27 jAnd 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 kauthority 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 lnot believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a mprophet. 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.”
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
1 dOne day, as Jesus1 was teaching the people in the temple and epreaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up 2 and said to him, “Tell us by what fauthority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.” 3 He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, 4 was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?” 5 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you gnot believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a hprophet.” 7 So they answered that they did not know where it came from. 8 And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
