Matthew 21:23-27

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

23 ¹And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him ²as he was teaching, and said, ³“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority? ”

24 Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things.

25 The baptism of John, ⁴from where did it come? ⁵From heaven or from man? ”And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven, ’ he will say to us, ⁶‘Why then did you not believe him? ’

26 But if we say, ‘From man, ’ ⁷we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was ⁸a prophet. ”

27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know. ” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.