Jesus’ Authority Questioned

20 On one of the days, as Jesus was instructing the people in the temple [area] and preaching the good news (gospel), ^[a]the chief priests and the scribes along with the elders confronted Him,^{(A) 2} and said to Him, “Tell us by what kind of authority You are doing these things? Or who is the one who gave You this authority?” ³ Jesus replied, “I will also ask you a question. You tell Me: ⁴ The baptism of John [the Baptist]—was it from heaven [that is, ordained by God] or from men?” ⁵ They discussed and debated it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ ⁶ But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are firmly convinced that John was a prophet.” ⁷ So they replied that they did not know from where it came. ⁸ Then Jesus said to them, “Nor am I telling you by what [kind of] authority I do these things.”