Home > Jesus is God in Mark's Gospel
This story also appears in Matthew 21:23-27 and Luke 20:1-8. All three accounts describe the religious leaders questioning Jesus’s authority in the Temple, and Jesus responding with a counter‑question about John the Baptist.
Mark 11:27–33:
And 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 said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet. So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
When the chief priests and scribes challenge His right to act this way, Jesus exposes the source of His power.
I will ask you one question... Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?" - Jesus’ authority is not derived from human tradition or rabbinic ordination. By linking His authority to John’s (which was "from heaven"), He implies that His own authority is transcendental. He is not a servant in the house, but the Son over the house, whose mandate comes directly from His own divine nature.
John the Baptist’s primary mission was to announce the arrival of Yahweh to His Temple (Malachi 3:1). If the leaders accepted John as a true prophet, they would be forced to accept his testimony that Jesus is the "Lamb of God" and the Son of God. By implying his authority is "from heaven," Jesus distinguishes himself from earthly rabbis who derived authority from tradition or human ordination.