Challenged
Have you ever had your authority challenged?
When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?" Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?" And they argued with one another, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?' But if we say, 'Of human origin,' we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet." So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. "What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ’son, go and work in the vineyard today.' He answered, 'I will not' but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, 'I go, sir' but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him. - Matt. 21:23-32
People won't listen to just anybody.
You have to have some credibility. A degree in the topic would help, and maybe having written a couple of books and been on a few talk shows.
Authority is a weird thing. No matter what you are doing, someone can come along and question your authority to do it.
While it can be a blow to the ego, we really shouldn't be so sensitive about being challenged. We do it ourselves. We like to know the person speaking or performing an official act is authorized to do and say these things, especially if it is an important event in our lives, like getting married.
So, Jesus'' response here, though quite clever, can be viewed as a bit nasty.
He has no intention of explaining himself, and I get that. If it is obvious who is speaking, why challenge him. And that's the point here.
They refused to believe Jesus was who he said he was.
He could have turned the situation around and challenged their authority, but instead, he gave them a challenge of his own. Admit that John the Baptist was a prophet and I will tell you.
The parable he tells them brings it home.
He is accusing them of being like the son who says "Yes" but doesn't do what the father asks. So who is the other son?
It is all of us who start out reluctant to do God's will, and then realize we should do it.
There is a place for us at the table.
More to come...