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?”

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

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

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.”

⁴⁷ Every day he was teaching at the temple.^(A) But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him.^{(B) 48} Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.

The Authority of Jesus Questioned^(C)

20 One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts^(D) and proclaiming the good news,^(E) the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. ² “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?”^(F)

³ He replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me: ⁴ John’s baptism^(G)—was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

⁵ They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ ⁶ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people^(H) will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”^(I)

⁷ So they answered, “We don’t know where it was from.”

⁸ Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

The Authority of Jesus Questioned^(A)

²⁷ They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. 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.)^(B)

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

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

⁵⁵ In that hour Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the temple courts teaching,^(A) and you did not arrest me.

The Divisions of Priests

24 These were the divisions^(A) of the descendants of Aaron:^(B)

The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.^{(C) 2} But Nadab and Abihu died before their father did,^(D) and they had no sons; so Eleazar and Ithamar served as the priests. ³ With the help of Zadok^(E) a descendant of Eleazar and Ahimelek a descendant of Ithamar, David separated them into divisions for their appointed order of ministering. ⁴ A larger number of leaders were found among Eleazar’s descendants than among Ithamar’s, and they were divided accordingly: sixteen heads of families from Eleazar’s descendants and eight heads of families from Ithamar’s descendants. ⁵ They divided them impartially by casting lots,^(F) for there were officials of the sanctuary and officials of God among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar.

⁶ The scribe Shemaiah son of Nethanel, a Levite, recorded their names in the presence of the king and of the officials: Zadok the priest, Ahimelek^(G) son of Abiathar and the heads of families of the priests and of the Levites—one family being taken from Eleazar and then one from Ithamar.

¹⁹ This was their appointed order of ministering when they entered the temple of the Lord, according to the regulations prescribed for them by their ancestor Aaron, as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded him.