² “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?”^(A)

²⁷ “But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us?^(A)

¹⁸ The Jews^(A) then responded to him, “What sign^(B) can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”^(C)

²⁸ “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?”

²⁹ Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ³⁰ John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!”

³¹ They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ³² But if we say, ‘Of human origin’ …” (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)^(A)

³³ So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

The Authority of Jesus Questioned^(A)

²³ Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority^(B) are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

²⁴ Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ²⁵ John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”^(C)

²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

¹⁴ The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us?^(A) Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.”

⁵¹ “You stiff-necked people!^(A) Your hearts^(B) and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!

³⁵ “This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’^(A) He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. ³⁶ He led them out of Egypt^(B) and performed wonders and signs^(C) in Egypt, at the Red Sea^(D) and for forty years in the wilderness.^(E)

³⁷ “This is the Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.’^{[a](F) 38} He was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel^(G) who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors;^(H) and he received living words^(I) to pass on to us.^(J)

³⁹ “But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.^(K)

⁷ They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”

⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit,^(A) said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people!^{(B) 9} If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame^(C) and are being asked how he was healed, ¹⁰ then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,^(D) whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead,^(E) that this man stands before you healed.