A sermon preached at Covenant Presbyterian Church of Fort Smith, Arkansas on August 31, 2026.
One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.” He answere. them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?” And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know where it came from. And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things” (Luke 20:1–8).[1]
There are questions asked that want an answer and questions asked because the answer already received wasn’t liked. I think this distinction is pertinent to our passage today. The chief priests, scribes, and elders approach Jesus with what appears to be a reasonable question: “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority” (Luke 20:2). By “these things,” they could be referring to Jesus’ public entry into Jerusalem accepting the praise of the people acclaiming him as “the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” (19:38). It was certainly a “thing” of consternation among the Pharisees, who wanted the people silenced, but Jesus replied, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out” (19:40).
Or, when the chief priests, scribes, and elders said, “Tell us by what authority you do these things,” “these things” could refer to Jesus’ cleansing the temple courts of the moneychangers and traders and condemning the making of the temple into “a den of robbers” rather than the rightful place of worship (19:46). Such actions and words certainly assumed authority. Or “these things” could simply refer to what Jesus was teaching and preaching in the temple daily. We don’t know what Jesus was teaching specifically, but we do know he taught “as one who had authority,” to which Matthew adds, “and not as their scribes” (Matt. 7:29). Of course, “these things” could mean everything that Jesus had said and done during his brief ministry up to this point. Whatever the case, when Jesus is asked by what authority he does what he does or who has given him this implied authority, the questions asked are surely loaded, since Luke has already told us that “the chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him” (19:47).
There are questions asked that want an answer and questions asked because the answer already received wasn’t liked. I repeat this because at the heart of this passage is not the question of whether Jesus can prove his credentials, but what happens when sufficient revelation confronts hearts unwilling to submit to God’s authority.
Christ’s Authority Demands a Response
Before we consider the confrontation between Jesus and the chief priests, scribes, and elders, I want to draw your attention to what Jesus is doing before. He is “teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel” (20:1). Even during these final days, with the cross immediately before him and his enemies gathering against him, Jesus is preaching good news. There is something beautiful about this little detail. Though controversy is intensifying, controversy is not the center of Jesus’ ministry; the gospel is. His enemies come looking for an argument, but Jesus keeps preaching the Good News!
Personally, I find this refreshing, encouraging, and convicting. At a moment in his life when he could easily have been overwhelmed with what would come, Jesus keeps the main thing the main thing: the gospel. He does not allow the controversies of the moment to become the message of his ministry. He continues doing what he came to do: teaching the Word and preaching the gospel. The Church must be careful to do the same. There will always be controversies demanding our attention, but they must never be permitted to displace the gospel entrusted to us and our proclamation of it.
Now, let’s look at this confrontation and what is said. Three distinct groups of Israel’s ruling council assemble before Jesus: chief priests, scribes, and elders. The purpose of their assembly before Jesus? To make this demand: “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority” (20:2). Now, let’s consider their question. On the one hand, God had established offices in Israel. Religious authority was not something a man simply assumed but was granted by God-ordained authority. So, they have the authority to ask this. But on the other hand, consider the One whom they question.
In terms of authority, there is derived authority and ultimate authority. By God’s design, every legitimate authority on earth is a derived authority. Parents have authority, but God gives it. Civil magistrates have authority, but God ordains it. Officers in the Church have authority, but they exercise it under the authority of Christ as the Head of his Church. But Jesus stands in a category altogether his own. As the eternal Son, divine authority belongs inherently to him; and as the Christ, the Father has commissioned and anointed him to exercise that authority as our Mediator and King
So, when chief priests, scribes, and elders ask, “By what authority do you do these things?” they are in essence asking, “Who do you think you are?” And this, Luke has been answering from the opening pages of his Gospel. You will recall the declaration at Jesus’ baptism from the Father in heaven: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (3:21-22). Such was the revelation of Jesus’ identity, but it also served as a declaration of his authority, as the Father’s beloved Son. And so, Jesus taught with authority, forgave with authority, commanded demons with authority, calmed storms with authority, healed the sick with authority, cleansed lepers with authority, opened blind eyes with authority, and raised the dead with authority. It’s not like he was hiding it! Jesus’ three short years of ministry put his authority on display, for those who were willing to see it. And this is why their question is not an innocent request for more information. The religious leaders are asking the question, because they don’t like the answer they have already received. Their intent is not to gain the truth but to destroy Jesus.
I am reminded of the second Psalm, when the psalmist says, “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed” (Ps. 2:2). Yet, while the nations rage and rulers plot, God laughs, answering from heaven, As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill” (2:4, 6). Human opposition does not overturn divine appointment. So, Israel’s rulers may question the authority of Jesus, but their challenge is futile. There is no greater authority than the King of kings and Lord of lords. And he does not need human permission to reign.
And yet, the authority of Jesus is not the authority of a tyrant. He is the King who goes to the cross. He rules by giving himself for his people. The One who commands us is the One who loved us and gave himself for us. The authority that calls us to submit belongs to the One who gave himself to save. His ways are not the demands of an enemy but the gracious rule of our Redeemer.
Unbelief Evades the Truth
Now, let’s consider Jesus’ response to their question: “I will also ask you a question. Now tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?” (20:3-4). At first reading, Jesus’ response to their question may sound as if he is evading their question. He is not. He is answering their question with a question, not in some kind of linguistic gymnastics but to show them their question has already been answered. How does he do this? By reminding them of the public ministry of John the Baptist, a ministry and message of repentance that reverberated across the nation. Ordinary Israelites lined up at the Jordan River to be baptized by John. He was considered a prophet by the people, which he was, the voice crying in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord. But he was also rejected by Israel’s religious leaders.
There are various reasons the same consortium of chief priests, scribes, and elders rejected John the Baptist, but Jesus says nothing of this. Instead, he asks them a specific question about John’s baptism: “Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?” (20:4). By “the baptism of John,” Jesus is referring not merely to the act of baptism but, as Calvin points out, to John’s whole prophetic ministry.[2] So, Jesus is asking them if they understood John as sent from God, or was he merely acting on his own?
But there is an additional significance here we ought not miss. What happened when John baptized Jesus?”
“the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased’” (3:21-22).
Now, think about the question the chief priests, scribes, and elders asked Jesus: “Who gave you this authority?” The answer to their question was literally declared from heaven on the day of Jesus’ baptism, of which John the Baptist was witness. Jesus’ question to their question now makes more sense: Was John’s baptism from heaven or from man? If John was sent from God, as Luke’s Gospel makes clear, then what happened through John must be received as the testimony of God, and if the testimony of God concerning Jesus is true, then the authority of Jesus is clear: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (3:22).
Luke wants us to see that Jesus’ question makes the undeniable connection between himself as the Christ and John the Baptist as his promised preceding prophet. But for the chief priests, scribes, and elders, it presents a conundrum, which we hear in what Ralph Davis calls their “unholy huddle”[3]:
“If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet” (20:5-6).
Let’s remember these are highly educated religious men reasoning together. And yet, all their learning has not made them wise to the simplest question: What has God said? According to their reasoning, if they say John’s baptism was from heaven, they indict themselves because they did not believe him. If they say it was merely from man, they fear the crowd They are trapped between the truth they refuse to acknowledge and the people they are afraid to offend.
Let’s not miss the irony in all of this. The men who challenge Jesus about authority are themselves fearfully governed by public opinion. They ask Jesus where his authority comes from while revealing that theirs comes from the crowd. Their fear of man has displaced the fear of God which is, in essence, unbelief.
The problem is not always that we cannot see the truth. Sometimes we see enough of the truth to understand exactly what it will require of us. Our problem is not always confusion; sometimes it is evasion. The religious leaders understand that acknowledging John will require them to acknowledge Jesus. They do not need another argument. They need a heart to believe.
Unbelief Forfeits Further Light
In what they perhaps hoped would pass for intellectual honesty, the chief priests, scribes, and elders, in the end did not answer Jesus’ question to their question, claiming they did not know where John’s authority came from (20:7). Yet, given what we know about their deliberation, their answer was certainly a ruse. They know enough to understand their predicament. They know what each answer means. They simply refuse to tell the truth.
And so, Jesus appropriately responds, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things” (20:8). He’s not unable to answer them, but he will not reward their evasion with further light. He who is the light of men and shines in the darkness,[4] refuses to give further light to men who have deliberately closed their eyes to the light already given. Matthew Henry says those who bury the knowledge they have may justly be denied further knowledge.[5] So, there is, as it were, a kind of judgment in Jesus’ silence.
We often think of God’s judgment only in dramatic terms, such as fire from heaven, but one of the most frightening judgments God can give is simply to leave a sinner with the truth he has persistently refused. Left alone, the hardened heart grows harder. For this reason, we must never presume upon the Word of God. Think about it this way: Every Sunday, when the gospel is preached, it is an act of divine mercy. Every time Scripture exposes our sin, calls us to repentance, points us to Christ, and promises forgiveness to all who believe, heaven is speaking. It is imperative that we listen.
As an aside, interestingly, we witness God’s divine mercy shown to these men again, even after Jesus’ death. In Luke’s second book, Acts, after Jesus has been crucified and raised from the dead, Peter and John heal a lame man at the temple and are subsequently brought before Israel’s “rulers and elders and scribes” and asked, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” (Acts 4:5,7). The expression “by what name” is another way of saying “by whose authority”? Sound familiar? But this time, Peter does not answer with a question; he puts it plainly: “By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead.” To which he adds, “There is salvation in no one else” (Acts 4:8, 12).
Consider the mercy of God in this. These are the men who rejected John the Baptist, who questioned Jesus’ authority, who rejected the truth, who conspired against Christ, who handed him over to be crucified. And yet, these same men receive another witness, to answer the question again. Here is the answer they missed: Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the One crucified, the One God raised from the dead, the stone rejected who is now the cornerstone: “There is salvation is no one else.”
The authority of Jesus Christ is not awaiting our approval. God has set his King upon Zion. The Father testified concerning his Son. The Spirit descended upon him. John prepared his way. His works revealed his power. His words carried divine authority. His resurrection vindicated his claim, and the apostles proclaimed his name. Jesus Christ is Lord. This truth cannot be overturned by rulers, silenced by councils, defeated by unbelief, or changed by public opinion. We may evade the question, but we cannot evade the King.
I referenced the second psalm earlier, but I want to quote to you the last verse of that psalm now:
Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him (Ps. 2:12).
The King whose authority we must acknowledge is the King in whom we take refuge. And this is the good news Jesus was preaching in the temple even while his enemies gathered around him. He was going to the cross where our rebellion would reach its terrible expression. Yet there the King would bear the judgment due his people. The One rejected by men would be accepted as the sacrifice for sinners. The One whose authority the chief priests, scribes, and elders despised would willingly submit to the Father’s saving purpose, becoming obedient unto death, even death on a cross.
Let us then submit and find our refuge in him, gladly living beneath his gracious rule. Heaven has spoken, “This is my beloved Son.” Hear him. Trust him. Follow him. And confess with all the Church that Jesus Christ is Lord. Amen.
[1] Unless referenced otherwise, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version
(Wheaton: Crossway Bibles, 2001).
[2] https://biblehub.com/commentaries/calvin/luke/20.htm
[3] Dale Ralph Davis, Luke 14-24: On the Rod to Jerusalem (Fearn: Christian Focus Publications Ltd., 2021), 134.
[4] John 1:4-5
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