Mark 11:27-32 – To know the truth

In the second cleansing of the temple recorded in Mark 11:15-17, we saw a dramatic display of divine displeasure. The Jewish leadership had violated the purpose of the temple and turned it into a commercial enterprise. When we left that scene, the Sanhedrin was fuming. This council comprising the high priest, chief priests, scribes and elders of the aristocrats had begun to plot His death. So now in verse 27 as Jesus returned to the temple, they approached Him and confronted Him about His credentials.

In the cleansing of the temple, the Lord had done a very daring thing. He had challenged the authority of the Sanhedrin. This council felt as if they were at the highest level of authority, they were representing God. To them what Christ had done was audacious. So here they arrogantly asked Him, “By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?” It was not that they genuinely wanted to know, they were questioning His rights to do what He did. The questions were about the nature and source of the Lord’s authority.  They wanted to prove that his actions were neither prophetic nor messianic. They also wanted to debunk His claim to divine authority.  

The Lord responded to them with a counter question. He asked them, “Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?” The right answer would lead them to the source of His authority. By the Lord’s question, they were thrown into a dilemma. Either way they would be caught. To say it’s from heaven, they anticipated the Lord would ask then “Why didn’t you believe him?” To say it’s from men, they were afraid to offend the people, for they all considered John to be a prophet of God. So their answer was, “We don’t know.” We get to know what was at the subconscious level of their minds. They were more interested to be popular than to get the truth. They wanted to keep the people on their side at the expense of truth.  Don’t we sometimes?   

From the response of the Sanhedrin, we can see the result of their obstinacy. They were really not interested to know the origin of Christ. As a result, they became blind to divine revelation. Here’s an example not to follow. They came to the Lord with a mind that was prepared not to listen. Don’t we at times have a presupposition and then sought to approach the issue with a mindset to prove the truth wrong?  We need to come to the Lord with an open mind, a pliable heart, and genuinely seek to know Him. In so doing we shall know the truth, and the truth will set us free.