Who it is that gave you this authority.

Luke 20:1-8, One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.” He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?” And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know where it came from. And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

From this we should see how easy it is to be trapped by our own pride. Jesus is not at all disturbed by their question, knowing that he has the authority of the Father. We see this in his intimacy, for over and over again he goes to a lonely place to be with his Father in prayer. And he simply returns the one question that he knows that they cannot answer unless they deal with their own pride. For indeed, John’s baptism was heaven sent, as he came to prepare the way for Jesus. Their fear is of the people, and not of the Lord. Whom do we fear the most, man or the Lord?

We pray for the fear of the Lord to be upon bringing the beginning of wisdom.

ESV Lectionary