Misplaced Loyalty

Scripture: One day, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up to Him, and said to Him, “Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Who is he who gave You this authority?” He answered them, “I will also ask you one thing. Answer Me: Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?” They debated with themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know where it was from. Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” Luke 20:1-8

Observation: While it appears Jesus refuses to answer the question from the scribes about his authority, he in fact has made them answer it. Jesus and John have the same source of authority, as both a part of the same prophesy - John was the foretold prophet in the wilderness that prepared the way for Messiah.

The scribes deduced two possible answers to Jesus' question: John received his authority because either he was a prophet of God, or because the people believed him to be a prophet of God. Jesus' authority to teach is exactly the same ... he has that authority either because God granted him that authority, or because the people believe in him and therefore have granted him the authority. In other words, the scribes have answered their own question.

The mistake of the scribes, therefore, is fully in their understanding of the two possible answers: They fail to fear the authority of God, yet they do fear the opinions of the people. Jesus refuses to answer not because he fears the scribes, but because the scribes' loyalty is upside-down and thus no true answer can be correct in their context.

Application: This is an interesting insight into how even Jesus needed to reveal himself to the unfaithful world. In some situations (like the woman at the well for one), the context of the hearer was in line with God's truth and thus he could be direct. However, in the case where a non-believer has a complete misunderstanding about God's truth, clear answers cannot work because of the context of the receiver.

Today, the message of Jesus often falls on deaf ears because so many have vacated God's truth. For example, a message of love is rejected in the context of gay marriage. The message of salvation is rejected in the context of self-sufficiency. The message of blessing is rejected in the context of random violence.

Again I find this fact that Jesus knew: In many cases, the problem is not with understanding the answers, but in understanding the question. When a non-believer's question begins with an invalid assumption - like the scribes assumption that they should fear people more than God - helping others cannot begin by answering the question. It must begin by questioning the question.

Prayer: Lord, today please show me proper context in my interactions with others. Help me to understand how I may help others get to a point in their lives where their questions can be answered. Amen.