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27 They returned once more to Jerusalem.(A) As he was walking in the temple area, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders approached him 28 and 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 shall ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was John’s baptism of heavenly or of human origin? Answer me.” 31 They discussed this among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say, ‘[Then] why did you not believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘Of human origin’?”—they feared the crowd, for they all thought John really was a prophet. 33 So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.” Then Jesus said to them, “Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

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The Authority of Jesus Questioned(A)

27 They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. 28 “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?”

29 Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 30 John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!”

31 They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 32 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’ …” (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)(B)

33 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

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Chapter 20[a]

The Authority of Jesus Questioned.(A) One day as he was teaching the people in the temple area and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and scribes, together with the elders, approached him and said to him, “Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Or who is the one who gave you this authority?”(B) He said to them in reply, “I shall ask you a question. Tell me, was John’s baptism of heavenly or of human origin?”(C) They discussed this among themselves, and said, “If we say, ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’(D) But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ then all the people will stone us, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know from where it came. Then Jesus said to them, “Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

The Parable of the Tenant Farmers.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. 20:1–47 The Jerusalem religious leaders or their representatives, in an attempt to incriminate Jesus with the Romans and to discredit him with the people, pose a number of questions to him (about his authority, Lk 20:2; about payment of taxes, Lk 20:22; about the resurrection, Lk 20:28–33).
  2. 20:9–19 This parable about an absentee landlord and a tenant farmers’ revolt reflects the social and economic conditions of rural Palestine in the first century. The synoptic gospel writers use the parable to describe how the rejection of the landlord’s son becomes the occasion for the vineyard to be taken away from those to whom it was entrusted (the religious leadership of Judaism that rejects the teaching and preaching of Jesus; Lk 20:19).

The Authority of Jesus Questioned(A)

20 One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts(B) and proclaiming the good news,(C) the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?”(D)

He replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me: John’s baptism(E)—was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people(F) will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”(G)

So they answered, “We don’t know where it was from.”

Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

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