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Matthew 21:
Jesus continued:
They challenged Jesus' authority, which they were entitled to, by being authority themselves. However, instead of answering them directly,23 When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”
Jesus answered their question with more questions. He hinted to them that John's and his source of authority were one and the same.24 Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?”
They faced the horns of the dilemma and could not decide.And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.”
Even though Jesus did not give them a direct answer, did they get Jesus' point that God gave him the authority?And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
Jesus continued:
The master was the Father, and the son was Jesus. God sent Jesus, and Jesus had God's authority.33 “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 35 And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”
They were the bad tenants. They got Jesus' point but were afraid of the crowds.45 When the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they knew that Jesus was speaking about them.
They refused to accept Jesus' authority because of their stubborn hearts. They wanted to hold on to their own authority, and they did not want to be subordinated to Jesus.46 Although they wanted to arrest Him, they were afraid of the crowds, because the people regarded Him as a prophet.