On one of the days that Jesus came to Jerusalem and was preaching and teaching, the chief priests and scribes came to Him and said,
‘Tell us, by what authority do you do these things? Who gave you this authority?’
Jesus answered by way of asking,
“Where did John the Baptist get his authority to baptize? Was it from heaven, or from men? Answer me.”
The chief priests and scribes reasoned among themselves and said,
‘If we say that John the Baptist got his authority from heaven, then he will ask us why we did not believe John’s testimony about Jesus.
But if we say that John got his authority from men, then the people will turn on us because they believe that John the Baptist was a prophet sent by God.’
So they finally said,
“We do not know.”
Jesus said to them,
“Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
