“And he said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.’” (Matthew 21:27)
The Pharisees, the religious rulers of the Jews confronted Jesus because they resented His popularity among the Jewish people. They felt threatened by His challenge to their authority. Earlier He confronted them when He entered Jerusalem in triumph and the people hailed Him as King and Messiah. Jesus increased their outrage when He chased the moneychangers out of the temple area. He then refused to tell the Pharisees the basis for His authority for doing what He did because their request was insincere, designed only to trip Him up and gather information to use against Him.
People in today’s world resent and reject Jesus. They challenge His authority and His existence as well as the Scripture itself, the medium of God’s truth and wisdom because the message of the gospel threatens their self-centered worldview. Increasing numbers of people today reject God’s authority as well as that of the church of Jesus Christ along with human governments which He has given authority to punish evil and reward good. Millions maintain that they alone, not God, nor anyone else, determine how they should live and what they should do with their lives. Essentially they have set themselves up as gods with the right to judge and virtue shame the rest of humanity as well as condemn those who do not agree with them.
But the problem is, they have no authority to do this. They fail to see they have no basis for determining right and wrong, no reasons to give as to why they or anyone else should live a good life. On what basis should anyone do good to others rather than ill? And who determines what is good or bad? What authority do they use to make any decisions about ethics or morality?
Such questions only the faithful Christian can answer because we have been given the Word of God and His Holy Spirit. Christ Jesus is our authority, not our own minds or autonomy or the rights given us by our government. For over 2000 years Jesus, by His teaching, His Holy Spirit and His church has brought life, salvation, and peace to millions who trust in Him. The world can make no such claim for the fruit of individual autonomy is chaos, suffering, and death. Let us submit to the authority of God rather than the shady authority of self. For in Jesus there is life.