Matthew 21:23

Matthew 21:23 says, And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?  While Jesus was teaching in the temple, the chief priests and elders came to Him and questioned His right to do so.  Of course, had they really been listening to God, they would have come to learn from Jesus instead.  We never should become so structured that we feel that we need to question someone who is proclaiming the gospel, especially when that person is doing great things for God.   Verse twenty-four declares,  And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things.  Jesus answered them by saying that if they would answer one question for Him, then He would answer their question.  When people do question our authority to preach and teach God's word, they should be willing to answer a question as to how they understand God's word better than the one who is we do.  Verse twenty-five adds, The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?  Jesus asked these religious leaders if the baptism of John came from heaven or from men.  They reasoned among themselves, but they did not seek an answer from God.  They were looking for the answer that would be best for them, not the answer that God would give.  The chief priests and elders said if they answered from God, then the would be asked why they didn't believe John the Baptist.  Verse twenty-six continues, But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.  They then said that if they said of men, they feared the people, because the people believed John the Baptist to be a prophet.  We will always find ourselves in a dilemma when we attempt to discredit those who are proclaiming God's word, especially for our own benefit.  We will certainly find ourselves in a dilemma when we who claim to be followers of Christ attempt to discredit Christ Himself.  Verse twenty-seven states,  And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.  The chief priests and elders said they could not answer Him, and Jesus said then He would not answer them.  If they had acknowledged Jesus for Who He is, then they would have been able to answer the question, just as we will be able to do so today.  Verse twenty-eight says, But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.  Jesus asked them another question about a certain man who had two sons and came to the first and told him to go work in his vineyard.  Verse twenty-nine adds, He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.  The son told the father that he would not go, but afterward changed his mind and went.  Verse thirty states, And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.  The man came to his second son with the same request, and the son said that he would go, but he didn't.  Then verse thirty-one adds, Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.  Jesus asked the chief priests and elders which son did the will of the father, and they said the first.  Jesus then told them that the publicans and harlots would go into the kingdom of God before they did.  They were like the second son who had said he would do God's work in the world but then did what was best for himself.  Verse thirty-two declares, For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe in him.  Jesus said that John the Baptist came to them in the way of righteousness and they did not believe him and repent, but the publicans and harlots believed him and repented.  Today, we have to ask the question not concerning John the Baptist, but Jesus Himself.  Do we believe that Jesus is Who He says He is and repent and accept Him as our Savior and Lord or do we not?