Jesus’ Authority Challenged

²³ And after^[a] he arrived at the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him while he^[b] was teaching, saying, “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?” ²⁴ And Jesus answered and^[c] said to them, “I also will ask you one question. If you tell the answer^[d] to me, I also will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ²⁵ From where was the baptism of John—from heaven or from men?” And they began to discuss^[e] this^[f] among themselves, saying, “If we say ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the crowd, because they all look upon John as a prophet.” ²⁷ And they answered and^[g] said to Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.