| Numbers 2:1-3:51; Mark 11:27-12:17; Psalm 47:1-9; Proverbs 10:24-25
“They came again to Jerusalem. As He was walking in the temple complex, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came and asked Him, ‘By what authority are You doing these things? Who gave You this authority to do these things?’ Jesus said to them, ‘I will ask you one question: then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. Was John’s baptism from heaven or from men? Answer Me.’ They began to argue among themselves: ‘If we say, “From heaven,” He will say, ‘then why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, “From men” – they were afraid of the crowd, because everyone thought John was a genuine prophet. So they answered Jesus, ‘We don’t know.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.'” (Mark 11:27-33)
Never try to get into a war of wits with God. He will leave you lookin’ silly. Every time religious people would try to trap Jesus He would always come out the box on them. He basically shut them down because you can’t explain sense to some people. It’s not really what they are looking for. Their sole purpose is to trip you up, to make you appear to be a fool. You see this a lot in politics. When they are debating, most of the time they really don’t want to hear their opponents views they are seeking a way to make them seem ignorant, stupid, bad or uninformed.
These people could care less about where Jesus got His authority. Their concern was that their authority would be questioned, or lost. Jesus came and shook up the establishment. It could no longer be business as usual, and that’s exactly what religion had become in most aspects, business. We have to really stay on our toes today, seeking God and staying humble. It is so easy to get caught up in keeping the bills paid that we forget our main focus is to save souls. None of us should have our identities wrapped up in self made empires. That mentality keeps us from going forward with God should He choose to do something different. Balance, balance, balance.
The religious leaders of the time derived their income, self esteem and political bearing from their “church” position. When Jesus came through liberating the common man from religious oppression, it really stirred up the organization and scared those who weren’t truly following God. Jesus was trying to correct and set in order His true desires for His people. So don’t get bogged down, Christianity isn’t a job, it is a way of life. We, individually and collectively, are the church.
PRAYER:
Lord, my church structure, my job, my home, none of these things define who I am. My identity is tied to You. If it all went away tomorrow, I still have You. I am at Your disposal. Please give me balance. When I put my hand to the plow, I want to be faithful and do my part. By the same token, I want to keep my ears open to Your Spirit, not flippantly or flaky, but as a solid person that can discern Your voice. Use me, Father. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen. |
