Matthew 21:23-27
New American Standard Bible
Authority Challenged
23 (A)When He entered the temple area, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him (B)while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” 24 But Jesus responded and said to them, “I will also ask you one [a]question, which, if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John was from what source: from heaven or from men?” And they began considering the implications among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the [b]people; for they all regard John as (C)a prophet.” 27 And answering Jesus, they said, “We do not know.” He also said to them, “Neither am I telling you by what authority I do these things.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 21:24 Lit word
- Matthew 21:26 Lit crowd
Matthew 21:23-27
Christian Standard Bible
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
23 When he entered the temple,(A) the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority?” (B)
24 Jesus answered them, “I will also ask you one question, and if you answer it for me, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 Did John’s baptism come from heaven, or was it of human origin?”
They discussed it among themselves, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ (C) 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we’re afraid of the crowd,(D) because everyone considers John to be a prophet.”(E) 27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
Read full chapterNew American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.