Passage: Mark 11:27-33
The Big Idea
When the religious leaders demanded to know by what authority Jesus acted, He answered with a question about John the Baptist, and they refused to answer honestly. Their response reveals three reasons people still won’t follow Jesus: they don’t want to submit to His authority, they refuse to face the evidence, and they fear people more than God. Jesus is both Lord and Savior; we can’t have one without the other. But surrendering control to Him is the freest way to live.
Three Reasons
Reason #1: People don’t want to submit to His authority.
Reason #2: People refuse to look at and believe the evidence.
Reason #3: People fear others more than they fear God.
“By What Authority?” (Mark 11:27-28)
They came again to Jerusalem. As Jesus was walking in the temple, the chief priests, scribes and elders came to Him and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? Who gave You this authority?”
Remember, Jesus had just cleared out the temple. Their attitude was:
- “This is our stuff! What gives You the right to mess with it?”
- “We’re in charge of the temple. We control who gets in and out. We decide who’s accepted. We’re the door to God. We choose who’s good enough.”
- “This is our place. We rule, and we’re not surrendering control to anyone.”
- “We paid a price for this authority. We went to school, followed the rules, and joined the club.”
Reason #1: We Don’t Want to Submit
People won’t follow Jesus because they don’t want to submit to His authority. Honestly, I don’t either, in my flesh.
- We’re in charge of our own lives, and we’re fine with that.
- But Jesus said, “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me” (Mark 8:34). No to self; death to self.
That’s the great choice we all face:
- Will we choose Jesus or ourselves?
- Will we submit to His authority?
- Will we make Him Lord of our lives?
- Or will we keep Him out of His rightful place as King?
At root, it’s pride. “What about me?”
The enemy’s pride said, “I will not be under God’s authority.” He spreads that attitude like a virus: the idea that we should wear the crown of our own lives and be in charge. Pride is the most deadly thing in all of humanity: “I don’t need God. I don’t need to submit to Him.”
But God is very clear: He opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).
The Question About John (Mark 11:29-33)
Jesus said, “I’ll ask you one question. Answer Me, and I’ll tell you by what authority I do these things. Was John’s baptism from heaven or from men? Answer Me.”
They argued among themselves: “If we say ‘From heaven,’ He’ll say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say ‘From men’…” They were afraid of the people, because everyone held that John really was a prophet. So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Jesus understood that these men didn’t want to follow Him. So what did He do? He invited them to consider the evidence.
Reason #2: We Refuse the Evidence
These men were Bible scholars. They knew the prophecies about the messenger who would prepare the way for the Lord (Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1). It was undeniable that John was that messenger. John knew who he was. The people knew. Jesus knew.
But these leaders acted as if they didn’t. It wasn’t that there was no evidence. They refused to look at it and believe it. They lacked the courage even to give an honest answer.
All the evidence said John was sent by God. But they couldn’t accept that, because they hadn’t believed him, didn’t like him, and didn’t follow him. Why? Because he told them they were wrong. They were the problem.
To follow Jesus, we have to hear John’s message from heaven: we’re wrong. We’re the problem. We’re broken, proud and sinful, and we need a Savior, and that Savior is Jesus.
If we don’t believe that message, we won’t follow Jesus.
Examine the evidence. God’s law is real and true. It shows my sinfulness, and it shows that Jesus is perfect. So my path is to follow Jesus. That’s the gospel.
A courtroom drama
That’s what Jesus did in the Sermon on the Mount. He laid out God’s law before the people, and then, like a good lawyer, He showed them the evidence that they had broken it, every bit, and fallen short of the standard.
Then He brought in the gospel. After the evidence is heard and the verdict is certain, Jesus brings His work of saving guilty people from their sentence and sick people from their disease.
The evidence shows our guilt. Guilt leads to a sentence. Only then can Someone serve our sentence for us: Jesus, our beloved Savior.
But life feels easier if we just step out of the courtroom and ignore the evidence. It’s hard to go through the discovery process, with our whole inner life brought out for God and ourselves to see. We’d rather call a recess and go play.
But this is a life-and-death case. We can’t let pride, shame or a lack of courage keep us from seeing and hearing the evidence of our great need. A patient will never get treatment for a cancer he refuses to know about. A guilty person can’t go free unless someone serves the sentence. Jesus wants to be the doctor, the substitute, the Savior.
“Come to Me. Follow Me.”
Reason #3: We Fear People More Than God
“We don’t know.” That was a lie. And Jesus answered, “Neither will I tell you.” You can’t hear the truth while you’re living a lie. They were stubbornly afraid to follow Jesus.
Luke makes it even more vivid. They reasoned, “If we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, because they’re convinced John was a prophet” (Luke 20:6).
These men weren’t stupid. They were stubborn. They’d rather keep their “power” and live a lie than submit to Jesus and make Him Lord.
People with power often live in fear: fear that it’ll be taken away. People with no power to protect can live carefree and joyful. When you’re worried about losing something, that fear cripples every part of your life.
That’s why Jesus said, “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it” (Mark 8:35).
- What in your life are you afraid to lose?
- What are you stubbornly refusing to lose for Jesus?
Lord and Savior
Jesus came to be the Savior of the world, and also its Lord. Lord and Savior.
You can’t have one without the other. You can’t say, “I want Jesus to save me, but I won’t follow Him. I won’t submit to Him. I still want to be lord of my own life.”
Jesus says that anyone who wants to be His disciple must take up his cross and follow. That means turning from what I want and choosing what He wants, every day. His will, not mine.
- Abide in His finished work on the cross, not my own work or effort.
- Love with His love, not my own.
- Forgive as He forgave, not half-heartedly like I do.
- Serve like Him, not in my weakness but in His strength.
Take up your cross. Die to your own hopes and dreams. Give away your power.
That’s how to live without fear. You surrender control of everything to Jesus, and then you can trust Him to keep it safe, or not. He’s in control. He’s a loving God who knows what’s best.
Our job is to follow Him: to love, serve, and enjoy what He gives with thanksgiving. Not longing for more. Not afraid of losing what He’s given. Trusting Him moment by moment. It’s the freest way to live.
Grace Takeaway
The religious leaders wouldn’t submit to Jesus, wouldn’t face the evidence, and wouldn’t risk the crowd’s opinion, so they missed the King standing right in front of them. Don’t let pride, denial or fear keep you from Him. Admit the evidence of your need, receive Jesus as both Savior and Lord, and hand Him control of everything. In His hands you have nothing left to fear losing.
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