“The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men?” (Mark 11:30)
Being quite a revelation Himself, Jesus knew how to be revealing – that is to bring things into the light. The religious rulers of His day had it in for Him and wanted to trap Him. After His triumphal entry into Jerusalem where He overturned the money changer’s tables in the temple; “And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching.” (Mark 11:18) When Jesus came back to the temple, they had their chance; “And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him. And they said to Him, ‘By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority to do these things?’”(v. 27,28) They hoped to get Jesus to say something that they could use against Him.
Jesus turned the tables on them, yet again, by asking them a question first; “I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things: The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me.” (v. 29,30) What did the slippery religious rulers do? “They reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men’ —they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed. So they answered and said to Jesus, ‘We do not know.’ (v. 31,33) They side stepped the question so Jesus called them on it and refused to answer theirs: “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” (v. 33) It takes moral courage to call out the hypocrisy of moral cowardice.
BibleRef.com says; “Jesus’ unusual tactic exposes their hypocrisy . . . . Though they don’t believe John’s message, these religious leaders aren’t willing to say something unpopular if it jeopardizes their positions of influence.” Today, we have the scourge of identity politics and gender ideology invading every facet of our society. In America, even candidates for the top legal positions in their land engage in the peculiar moral cowardice and hypocrisy of it. The National Post reports: “Increasingly, “What is a Woman?” is becoming a question that those in the public realm are unable to answer. This week, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a Supreme Court nominee who is being grilled by the Senate, couldn’t give a definition . . . . Sen. Marsha Blackburn: Can you provide a definition for the word woman?Jackson: Can I provide a definition? No. I can’t. Blackburn: You can’t? Jackson: Not in this context. I’m not a biologist.” Note the sidestepping to preserve position and power opportunities. Note the hypocrisy.
Jesus provides a definition of what a woman is in the context of marriage; “But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife.” (Mark 10:6,7) How do you think Jesus will judge the moral cowardice of Christian leaders who sidestep the gender ideology and identity politics today in order to curry favour with the world or at least stay on friendly terms with it? We all have a call to speak God’s Word into the world when confronting hypocrisy and that includes our religious leaders. And we can confront with a simple question. Let us cleanse our church temples with it.
Father God, thank you for Jesus and His Word. Thank you for the Holy Spirit who gives us counsel and courage to stand on what the Bible says and to speak it out into a frightened, angry and confused world full of moral cowardice and hypocrisy. Jesus’ Word gives us the back bone to stand up for Him. When we speak inspire us to speak Your Word in a loving but firm way. Amen.
Steps Down The Road 