J.C. Ryle's Devotional Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke

Section 115 The Authority of Jesus Questioned Luke Chapter 20, Verses 1-8

And it came to pass that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon him with the elders, and spoke unto him, saying, Tell us, by what authority do you do these things? Or who is he who gave you this authority?

And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing, and answer me. The baptism of John, was it from heaven or of men?

And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say from heaven, he will say, Why then believed you him not? But if we say of men, all the people will stone us, for they be persuaded that John was a prophet.

And they answered that they could not tell whence it was. And Jesus said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

Let us notice firstly in this passage the demand which the chief priests and scribes made upon our Lord. Tell us, they said, by what authority you do these things, and who gave you this authority?

The spirit which prompted this demand is too evident to be mistaken. These men hated and envied Christ. They saw his influence increasing. They saw their own power waning. They resolved, if possible, to stop the progress of this new teacher, and the point on which they made their assault was his authority.

They ought to have examined his mighty works, his teaching they ought in all fairness to have compared with their own scriptures. But they refused to take one course or the other. They preferred to call his authority into question.

Every true-hearted Christian who tries to do good in the world must make up his mind to be treated like his master. He must never be surprised to find that the self-righteous and the worldly-minded dislike his ways. The lawfulness of his proceedings will be constantly called in question. He will be regarded as meddlesome, disorderly, self-conceited, a pestilent fellow, and a troubler of Israel. Acts chapter 24 verse 5, 1 Kings chapter 18 verse 17.

Scripture readers, district visitors, lay agents, and unordained missionaries are specially liable to meet with such treatment. And worst of all, they will often meet with enemies where they ought to find France.

Let all who are attacked by the world for trying to do good take comfort in the thought that they're only drinking of the bitter cup which Christ drank. Their master in heaven sympathizes with them. Let them work on patiently, and believe that if they are faithful, their work will speak for itself.

The world's opposition is sure to attend every really good work. If the servants of Christ are to cease from every movement which the world calls in question, they will soon come to an entire standstill. If we are to wait until the world approves our plans and is satisfied with the propriety of our efforts, we shall never do anything on Earth.

Let us notice secondly in this passage the manner in which our Lord speaks of John the Baptist's ministry. He refers those who questioned his authority to John's constant and unvarying testimony to himself. Ought they not to remember how John had spoken of him as the Lamb of God, as one whose shoe latchets he was not worthy to untie, as one who had the winnowing fan in his hand and had the Spirit without measure? Ought they not to recollect that they and all Jerusalem had gone out to John's baptism and confessed that John was a prophet? Yet John had always told them plainly that Christ was the Messiah. Surely, if they were honest, then they would not come now to question his authority. If they really believed John to be a prophet sent from God, then they were bound to believe that Jesus was the Christ.

It may reasonably be doubted whether the importance of John the Baptist's ministry is generally understood by Christians. The brightness of our Lord's history overshadows the history of his forerunner. And the result is that John's baptism and preaching do not receive the attention which they deserve. Yet it should never be forgotten that the ministry of the Baptist was the only New Testament ministry foretold in the Old Testament, excepting that of Christ. It was a ministry which produced an immense effect on the Jewish mind. and aroused the expectation of Israel from one end of Palestine to the other.

Above all, John's was a ministry which made the Jews without excuse in their rejection of Christ when Christ appeared. They could not say that they were taken by surprise when our Lord began to preach. Their minds had been thoroughly prepared for his appearing. To see the full sinfulness of the Jews and the entire justice of the judgments which came on them after crucifying our Lord, we must remember the ministry of John the Baptist.

However little man may esteem the work of faithful ministers, there is one in heaven who sees it and keeps account of all their labor. however little their proceedings may be understood, and however much they may be slandered and misrepresented, the Lord Jesus Christ writes all their doings in his book. He lives who testified to the importance of John the Baptist's ministry when John was dead and buried. He will yet testify to the toil of every one of his faithful servants at the last day. In the world, they may have tribulation and disappointment, but they are not forgotten by God.

Let us notice lastly in this passage the falsehood of which our Lord's enemies were guilty. In reply to our Lord's question whether the Lord's baptism was from heaven or from men, they answered that they did not know where it was from. This was a downright lie. They did know, but they would not admit it. They knew that if they said what they really believed, then they would condemn themselves. If they confess that John was a prophet sent from God, then they would be guilty of a gross inconsistency in not believing his testimony about Christ.

Falsehoods like these, it may be feared, are only too common among unconverted men. Thousands will lie rather than acknowledge themselves to be in the wrong. Lying is just one of the sins to which the human heart is most naturally inclined, and one of the commonest sins in the world. Gehazi and Ananias and Sapphira have more followers and imitators than Peter and Paul. The number of lies which are constantly told by men to save their own credit and to cover over their own wickedness is probably far greater than we are aware.

The true servant of Christ will do well to remember these things as he travels through this world. He must not believe all that he hears, and especially in the matter of religion. He must not suppose that unconverted men really believe all that they say in their own hearts. They often feel more than they appear to feel. They often say things against religion and religious people which they secretly know to be untrue. They often know the gospel is true, but have not the courage to confess it. They often know that the Christian's life is right, but they're too proud to say so.

The chief priests and scribes are not the only people who deal dishonestly in religion and say what they know to be false. Then let the servant of Christ go patiently on his way. Those who are now his enemies will one day confess that he was right, though they used to cry loudly that he was wrong.