Jesus meets the leaders of Jerusalem Mk 11:27-33

GOSPEL OF MARK SERIES.

The Bible Gospel of Mark series icon.

During 2019, each week, I will write a weekly post about the Gospel of Mark, as I review and explore each of the 16 chapters and how it may be applied in our daily lives. If you are following this series for the first time, you will find this series under Scripture- New Testament- Gospel of Mark. 

Click here to read the first post in the series. I have written this series in different years (2012, 2015, 2018) with some irregularity, but am determined to complete this series this year since I am more than half way through this Gospel.

My goal is to understand and pray the Gospel of Mark. I hope you will join me on this journey as we travel through the liturgical season.  In today's post we explore chapter 11:27-33 which is called Jesus meets the leaders of Jerusalem.

JESUS MEETS THE LEADERS OF JERUSALEM.

For the fourth time, Jesus enters Jerusalem and the temple.  As he walks in the open courts of the temple, he is confronted in a hostile manner by some of the city leaders

This group of city leaders include priests, scribes and Elders, who represent the religious, learned and political elite of Jerusalem as well as powerful commercial and business interests.  They want to know from Jesus by what authority he stopped the selling and buying of things needed for sacrifice and worship.  The implication is that Jesus needs authority from God for such actions.

Jesus will answer them if they first answer his question.  It was an established practice among Jewish Rabbis to answer one question with another, so what Jesus does he is not unusual.  The question of Jesus about the baptism of John makes these leaders look into the motives and sincerity of the question to Him.  It forces them to look at their own lack of faith in God, which is at the root of their hostility towards His actions in the temple.

Since John proclaimed himself the humble forerunner preparing the way for the Messiah, the question of Jesus about Him implies also the question of his own identity as the Messiah from God.  To answer the question of Jesus in either way will reveal their duplicity and a lack of genuine faith in God.  Apparently, it was common knowledge that they themselves had not accepted John the Baptiser as a real prophet, which the people did.

When the leaders refused to answer Him, Jesus will not answer the question about the source of His own authority.  Like all the others who see what Jesus does and hear what He teaches, they must decide for themselves who He is.  Is Jesus truly from God with God’s authority?  Is he really sent to reveal God’s power in the world?