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, and they began saying to him, “By what authority do you do these things? Or who gave you this authority to do these things?”
Mark 11:27-28
Mark 11 [22.] Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. For most certainly I tell you, whoever may tell this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and doesn’t doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is happening; he shall have whatever he says. Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them. Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father, who is in heaven, may also forgive you your transgressions. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions.”
Mark 11 [27.] 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, and they began saying to him, “By what authority do you do these things? Or who gave you this authority to do these things?”
Mark 11 [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. The baptism of John—was it from heaven, or from men? Answer me.”
Meaning:
After the lesson of the withered fig tree (Mark 11:22-24), Jesus returned to Jerusalem for the third day in a row. This time the leaders were waiting for him. These verses begin a series of debates in the temple courts that run through Mark 12, as one group after another tries to trap him. The first challenge goes to the heart of the matter: who gave Jesus the right to do what he was doing?
- “As he was walking in the temple”
Jesus did not hide after the uproar he had caused. He walked openly in the temple courts, probably in the covered colonnades around the outer court where teachers gathered their students and crowds could listen. The man who had overturned the money changers’ tables the day before was now teaching in the same place, calmly and publicly.
- “The chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders came to him”
These three groups made up the Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish council. The chief priests controlled the temple, the scribes were the experts in the Law, and the elders were leading men from the most powerful families. Jesus had named exactly these three groups when he foretold that the Son of Man would “be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed” (Mark 8:31). They came as an official delegation, already seeking how to destroy him (Mark 11:18).
- “By what authority do you do these things?”
“These things” included his royal entry into the city, his clearing of the temple and his teaching and healing there. Priests held office by birth, and rabbis taught with the approval of recognised teachers. Jesus had neither. He had no title from the council and no permission from the temple authorities. In their eyes he had taken a power that belonged to them.
Yet Jesus’ authority had been plain from the start. People were astonished “for he taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes” (Mark 1:22). He commanded unclean spirits and they obeyed (Mark 1:27). He showed “that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” by healing a paralysed man (Mark 2:10).
- “Or who gave you this authority to do these things?”
The question was a trap. If Jesus said that his authority came directly from God, they could accuse him of blasphemy. If he claimed no authority, he would lose the crowd. The true answer was that the Father had given it to him. Jesus said, “He also gave him authority to execute judgment, because he is a son of man” (John 5:27). He is the Son of Man of Daniel’s vision: “There was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom” (Daniel 7:13-14).
Jesus would answer their question with one of his own (Mark 11:29-30), and then with a parable in which the owner of a vineyard sends “his beloved son” (Mark 12:6). Those with ears to hear would understand exactly who had sent him.
The Significance of Mark 11:27-28
- The question everyone must answer
Who is Jesus, and by what right does he speak and act? Each person must decide whether his authority comes from God, because the answer changes everything.
- Authority shown, not just claimed
Jesus did not rely on titles. His authority was seen in his teaching, his power over evil, his forgiveness of sins and finally his resurrection.
- Living under his authority
After rising from the dead Jesus declared, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). The right response is not to question his credentials but to obey him.
Cross-References:
Mark 1:27: "What is this? A new teaching? For with authority he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him!" His authority was evident from the start.
Daniel 7:14: "There was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." The authority given to the Son of Man.
John 5:27: "He also gave him authority to execute judgment, because he is a son of man." The Father gave authority to the Son.
Matthew 28:18: "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth." The risen Christ’s authority.
Conclusion: As Jesus walked in the temple, the chief priests, scribes and elders confronted him and demanded to know by what authority he did these things, and who had given it to him. Their question was meant to trap him, but it raised the most important issue of all. Jesus’ authority did not come from human office but from God, as his teaching, his power and his forgiveness of sins had already shown, and as his resurrection would prove.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible