The chief priests and teachers of the law had been questioning Jesus as to, upon whose authority He taught and preached and healed people, etc. Jesus answered their question with a question. If they could, or would, answer, then they would also have their answer to their question.
He asked,
"I will ask you one question. Answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing those things. John's baptism-was it from heaven, or from men? Tell me!" (Mark 11:29, 30)
That put them all in a tailspin, then didn't it. What fluster!
Perhaps at times, our work for Jesus may be questioned. And, yeah, we should exam ourselves to see if the accusations and questioning is legitimate. If there is nothing to it, then keep on, if there is something to it, then address it. However we too can count on His authority as, as Christians, we are His children and we have so many blessings in Christ (Ephesians 1), and our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enables us to work for Jesus in a Christlike manner under His authority.
As Jesus did His work of doing good to all mankind under the authority of His Father, God, His work spoke for itself. For us, by our fruit, others will know us and our true authority: are we working for ourselves or for the glory and honor of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior?
~ERC 2017~
Originally written March 1996; adapted August 2017
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