And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing,
ye shall receive.
+++++++
And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the
elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said,
By what authority doest thou these things?
and who gave thee this authority?
And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority
I do these things.
The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?
But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold
John as a prophet.
And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things. Mat 21:22-27
ye shall receive.
+++++++
And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the
elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said,
By what authority doest thou these things?
and who gave thee this authority?
And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority
I do these things.
The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?
But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold
John as a prophet.
And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things. Mat 21:22-27
A Literal Answer to Prayer
"One bitter January night, the inhabitants of the old town of Schleswig were thrown into the greatest distress and terror. A hostile army was marching down upon them, and new and fearful reports of the conduct of the lawless soldiery were hourly reaching the place. In one large, commodious cottage dwelt an aged woman with her widow daughter and a grandson. While all hearts quaked with fear, this saintly soul passed her time in crying cut to God that He would “build a wall of defense round about them,” quoting the words of an ancient hymn. Her grandson asked why she prayed for a thing so entirely impossible as that God should build a wall about their house, which should hide it; but she explained that her meaning only was that God should protect them in whatever way seemed to Him best. At midnight the dreaded tramp was heard, and the enemy came pouring in at every avenue, filling the houses to overflowing. But, while most fearful sounds were heard on every side, not even a knock came to their door; at which they were greatly surprised. The morning light cleared up the mystery; for, just beyond the house, the drifted snow had reared such a massive wall that it was impossible to get over it to them. “There!” said the good woman, triumphantly; “do you not see, my son, that God could raise up a wall around us?” (Biblical Illustrator)
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
"By what authority doest Thou these things? And who gave Thee this authority?" The question was fair enough; and if it had been asked in an earnest spirit Jesus would have given them, as always to the honest inquirer, a kind and satisfying answer. It is not, however, as inquirers, but as cavilers, they approach Him. Again and again, at times and in ways innumerable, by fulfilment of prophecy, by His mighty deeds and by His wondrous words, He had given proof of His Divine authority and established His claim to be the true Messiah. It was not therefore because they lacked evidence of His authority, but because they hated it, because they would not have this man to reign over them, that now they question Him. It was obvious that their only object was to entangle Him; accordingly our Lord showed how in the net they were spreading for Him their own feet were caught.
He meets their question with a counter-question, "The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men?" The more we examine this question, the more must we admire the consummate wisdom it displays. We see at once how it turns the tables on His critics; but it is far more important to notice how admirably adapted it was to lead them to the answer of their own question, if only they would follow it out. They dared not repudiate the baptism of John; and had not John baptised Jesus, and solemnly borne repeated testimony to His Messiahship? Had he not most emphatically borne that very testimony to a formal deputation sent by themselves? (Joh_1:19-27) Finally, were not the ministry and testimony of John closely associated in prophecy with that very coming of the Lord to His Temple which gave them so deep offence: "Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple: behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts." Our Lord’s counter-question, then, was framed with such exquisite skill as to disappoint their malice, while at the same time it was suited to-guide the earnest inquirer to the truth.
The prolongers of the question were not true men, but hypocrites. A negative answer they could not give. An affirmative they would not give. So when they refused to answer, our Lord replied, "Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things."
The Lord of the Temple now assumes the offensive, and directs against His opponents a series of parables which He holds up to them as a triple mirror in which from different points of view they may see themselves in their true character, and as a set of danger signals to warn them of their impending doom. He presents them with such marvelous skill that He makes the Pharisees their own judges, and constrains them to pass sentence on themselves. In the first parable He constrains them to declare their own guilt; in the second, He makes them decree their own punishment; in the third, He warns them of the impending fate of the people they were leading to destruction.
We have said that in these parables Christ assumes the offensive; but this is true only in a very superficial sense. In the deepest sense He spoke them not against the Pharisees, but for them. His object was to carry home to their hearts the conviction of sin, and to impress them with a sense of their danger before it was too late. This was what above all they needed. It was their only hope of salvation. And how admirably suited for His purpose were these three parables! Their application to themselves was plain enough after it was stated, but not beforehand; the effect of which was that they were put in a position to give an impartial verdict on their own conduct. It was the same method so effectively employed by Nathan in bringing conviction to the conscience of David. Had Christ charged the sin of the Pharisees directly home upon them they would have been at once thrown on the defensive, and it would have been impossible to reach their conscience through the entanglements of prejudice and personal interest.
Christ wishes to disentangle them from all that was darkening their moral vision, and He uses the parable as the most effective means. It is a great mistake, then, to suppose that Jesus contented Himself with turning the tables on them, and carrying the war, so to speak, into the enemy’s country. It was with them a war of words, but not with Him. He was seeking to save these poor lost ones. He wished to give them His best for their worst. They had come to entangle Him in His talk. He does His best to disentangle them from the meshes of self-deception. The tone of all three parables is exceptionally severe; but the spirit of them is love. (Expositor's Bible)
Note: What is the importance of this commentary on the authority of Jesus? That it emphasized Jesus' proclamation in verse Mat. 21:22-that He holds the authority to back up his words. But, it is up to us the individual, to claim his promises by faith and a personal relationship with Him, that should be ongoing, and growing as we walk on with Him in this life.
As we continue to allow Him to mold us and surrender to Him, and desire His will for our lives, we will find that our desires will change and our prayers will change, to conform to His will for our lives. Things we once thought were so important, we come to see how shallow, selfish and unimportant they really are, and we are able to see the wisdom of the times when our prayers received a "no", and we were shown we needed to be willing to believe that it was for our best, even if we didn't understand it at the time. This is how maturity and a deeper walk with Jesus develops, if we will allow Him to be God, and not continue on in stubborn disobedience. God does love us, but, like children we have to learn sometimes that God can see what's ahead for us, and can see when we've taken a wrong turn, or made a wrong choice, and what that's going to mean for us in the future, if we demand our own way.
Many of people's sorrows and troubles, come from the wrong choices, and wrong relationships we get involved in, but are blind and unable to see the truth of it, until it's too late. I've learned these lessons, and am still learning them. Most important, I'm continuing to learn, that doing things according to God's word, always turns out for my best. What would this world be like, if everyone chose God’s way for their lives. Only heaven could tell.
Lorna Couillard
He meets their question with a counter-question, "The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men?" The more we examine this question, the more must we admire the consummate wisdom it displays. We see at once how it turns the tables on His critics; but it is far more important to notice how admirably adapted it was to lead them to the answer of their own question, if only they would follow it out. They dared not repudiate the baptism of John; and had not John baptised Jesus, and solemnly borne repeated testimony to His Messiahship? Had he not most emphatically borne that very testimony to a formal deputation sent by themselves? (Joh_1:19-27) Finally, were not the ministry and testimony of John closely associated in prophecy with that very coming of the Lord to His Temple which gave them so deep offence: "Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple: behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts." Our Lord’s counter-question, then, was framed with such exquisite skill as to disappoint their malice, while at the same time it was suited to-guide the earnest inquirer to the truth.
The prolongers of the question were not true men, but hypocrites. A negative answer they could not give. An affirmative they would not give. So when they refused to answer, our Lord replied, "Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things."
The Lord of the Temple now assumes the offensive, and directs against His opponents a series of parables which He holds up to them as a triple mirror in which from different points of view they may see themselves in their true character, and as a set of danger signals to warn them of their impending doom. He presents them with such marvelous skill that He makes the Pharisees their own judges, and constrains them to pass sentence on themselves. In the first parable He constrains them to declare their own guilt; in the second, He makes them decree their own punishment; in the third, He warns them of the impending fate of the people they were leading to destruction.
We have said that in these parables Christ assumes the offensive; but this is true only in a very superficial sense. In the deepest sense He spoke them not against the Pharisees, but for them. His object was to carry home to their hearts the conviction of sin, and to impress them with a sense of their danger before it was too late. This was what above all they needed. It was their only hope of salvation. And how admirably suited for His purpose were these three parables! Their application to themselves was plain enough after it was stated, but not beforehand; the effect of which was that they were put in a position to give an impartial verdict on their own conduct. It was the same method so effectively employed by Nathan in bringing conviction to the conscience of David. Had Christ charged the sin of the Pharisees directly home upon them they would have been at once thrown on the defensive, and it would have been impossible to reach their conscience through the entanglements of prejudice and personal interest.
Christ wishes to disentangle them from all that was darkening their moral vision, and He uses the parable as the most effective means. It is a great mistake, then, to suppose that Jesus contented Himself with turning the tables on them, and carrying the war, so to speak, into the enemy’s country. It was with them a war of words, but not with Him. He was seeking to save these poor lost ones. He wished to give them His best for their worst. They had come to entangle Him in His talk. He does His best to disentangle them from the meshes of self-deception. The tone of all three parables is exceptionally severe; but the spirit of them is love. (Expositor's Bible)
Note: What is the importance of this commentary on the authority of Jesus? That it emphasized Jesus' proclamation in verse Mat. 21:22-that He holds the authority to back up his words. But, it is up to us the individual, to claim his promises by faith and a personal relationship with Him, that should be ongoing, and growing as we walk on with Him in this life.
As we continue to allow Him to mold us and surrender to Him, and desire His will for our lives, we will find that our desires will change and our prayers will change, to conform to His will for our lives. Things we once thought were so important, we come to see how shallow, selfish and unimportant they really are, and we are able to see the wisdom of the times when our prayers received a "no", and we were shown we needed to be willing to believe that it was for our best, even if we didn't understand it at the time. This is how maturity and a deeper walk with Jesus develops, if we will allow Him to be God, and not continue on in stubborn disobedience. God does love us, but, like children we have to learn sometimes that God can see what's ahead for us, and can see when we've taken a wrong turn, or made a wrong choice, and what that's going to mean for us in the future, if we demand our own way.
Many of people's sorrows and troubles, come from the wrong choices, and wrong relationships we get involved in, but are blind and unable to see the truth of it, until it's too late. I've learned these lessons, and am still learning them. Most important, I'm continuing to learn, that doing things according to God's word, always turns out for my best. What would this world be like, if everyone chose God’s way for their lives. Only heaven could tell.
Lorna Couillard
