The authority of Jesus.
(Mr 11: 27-33) "Then they returned to Jerusalem; and as he walked through the temple, the chief priests, the scribes and the elders came to him and said to him: By what authority do you do these things, and who gave you authority to do these things? Jesus, responding, said to them: "I will also ask you a question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? Answer me. they argued with each other, saying: If we say, from heaven, he will say: Why, then, did you not believe him? And if we say, of men ...? But they feared the people, for they all had John as a true prophet. So, responding, they said to Jesus: We do not know.
When Jesus cleansed the temple, he demonstrated the spiritual authority that he had as Messiah and Son of God. Of course, the chief priests did not see it that way, but thought that their prosperous businesses were being attacked and put in danger. In addition, the Lord solemnly declared that the temple had stopped responding to God's plan to become at the service of the economic interests of the priestly class, which used it as a safe haven from which to commit its thefts. As expected, Jesus' complaint did not please religious leaders, who realized that their false religiosity was being unmasked and evidenced. This was one of the most important reasons for them to seek to kill him, although at the same time, and without them noticing, it was also a point of no return for the Jewish nation, which with that decision determined its own destiny.
From here we can see how the tension in the relationship between Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders is increasing. What was at stake was very important. On the one hand, Jesus' concern was that the true worship of God and his Law had been abandoned, and his same authority as Messiah was rejected. But on the other hand, there were the interests of religious leaders, who saw their economic income and social privileges at risk.
This situation created constant controversies between Jesus and the Jewish rulers, which are included in the next paragraphs. We will see how the Jews questioned the authority of Jesus, and asked committed questions about different issues. But in response to all of them, the Lord revealed a wisdom infinitely superior to theirs, also expressing a clear condemnatory judgment on the Jewish nation, first announced by the parable of the evil husbandmen and later described in his sermon on The signs of the end.
The authority
The central point of these confrontations had to do with the issue of authority. This is a fundamental issue in the life of each person: Who has the final authority in the government of our life? Who should men obey? Who has the last word in the debate on spiritual, moral or social issues? Why do parents have authority over their children, or husbands over their wives, rulers over their citizens, pastors over the church? To answer these questions, we must first ask ourselves where the authority comes from. And to answer this question we have basically two options: either the authority comes from God, or from man. In the following passages we will see that the only legitimate and authentic authority is the one that It comes from God.