Monday Reading: Mark 11:27-33
Key Verse: Mark 11:28
28 and said to Him, By what authority do you do these things? And who gave you this authority to do these things?
Devotion:
Have you ever questioned the authority of someone else? Have you ever questioned whether someone else has the authority to do something that they say they have? It is quite human to do so and we tend to do it when we are in a position whereby someone else is exerting authority over us and we do not like it. This tends to come to a point when we are trying to get our way and someone else steps in and stops us or does things another way instead.
Jesus made sure that people knew what was right and what was wrong. When these chief priests came to Him to question His authority on the matter, they did not think they were questioning God and they probably did not realise how their question would be seen by those of us to come later on. Their questioning of Jesus authority sounded like they were not seeking the truth but a victory of Jesus so that they could remain in charge of religion! Jesus plainly told them that what John was teaching and what He taught came from God. He knew that the men knew that the people thought of John as a prophet and so would not go against John; so Jesus used this fact to trap them in their own attempt to trap Him. Jesus answered them in a question by getting them to think about whose authority John was baptising people in.
When we see just how much Christ does for us, how much He has done for us and how much He has promised for us, how can we imagine that this does not come from God? When these men saw how much Jesus was doing for them, how could they question Him? The simple answer is that we do tend to question God in many ways because we do not understand His ways. We must understand from our bibles that what Christ does for us is indeed what is best for us because this is the evidence that is there for us plainly to see. Let us accept His will in our lives and live with Him....
Points to Ponder:
Do you like being told what to do?
Do you listen to God’s Word?
