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Gospel: Matthew 21: 23-27
When Jesus had come into the temple area,
the chief priests and the elders of the people approached him
as he was teaching and said,
“By what authority are you doing these things?
And who gave you this authority?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me,
then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things.
Where was John’s baptism from?
Was it of heavenly or of human origin?”
They discussed this among themselves and said,
“If we say ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say to us,
‘Then why did you not believe him?’
But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we fear the crowd,
for they all regard John as a prophet.”
So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.”
He himself said to them,
“Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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No one is quicker on their feet than Jesus.
It’s an otherwise ordinary afternoon. We can imagine him standing on the Temple grounds under a tree, while his listeners are shaded from the noonday heat.
He’s teaching peacefully, when suddenly the religious authorities butt in and question by whose authority he performs miracles, casts out demons, and soon enough, turns over the tables of the money changers.
It’s a trap.
Although the Lord will admit his divine origin, now is not the time. There are other things he must do first – most importantly, celebrate the Passover with his disciples.
Once he does reveal his full identity, the religious authorities will charge him with blasphemy and put him to death, so Jesus avoids their trap by responding to their question with a question of his own.
***
“Where was John’s baptism from? Was it of heavenly or human origin?” the Lord asks them.
Although they must’ve known John was a prophet – they were the guardians of the faith – they would not admit it, for that would give credence to Jesus.
So, they claim ignorance, saying, “We do not know.”
That was an act of cowardice.
***
We may find ourselves in a similar situation someday.
Someone asks us a question, but we’re afraid to tell the truth.
We have the opportunity to witness to our faith, but recognize it’ll come at a cost.
We see wrongdoing, but fear to speak up.
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The question is never, “What is safe to say?” But, “What is right to say?”
The truth. Always the truth.
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Image credits: (1) BuddC.org (2) Peter Paul Rubens, The Tribute Money (3) Reader’s Digest