DGeMs- Daily Gospel eMessage
Dear Friend in the Lord,
Deception – Truth: In today’s Gospel, the chief priests, scribes and elders questioned Jesus about His authority to chase the money changers out of the Temple for worship. Ponder on, “Do I question Jesus’ and the Church’s Teaching and Moral Authority, in order to justify my unjust, immoral and self-centred living?”
Fr Philip Heng, S.J.
Mark 11:27-33
Jesus and his disciples came to Jerusalem, and as Jesus was walking in the Temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, and they said to him, ‘What authority have you for acting like this? Or who gave you authority to do these things?’
Jesus said to them, ‘I will ask you a question, only one; answer me and I will tell you my authority for acting like this. John’s baptism, did it come from heaven or from man? Answer me that.’
And they argued it out this way among themselves, ‘If we say from heavenly, he will say, “Then why did you refuse to believe him?” But dare we say from man?’ — they had the people to fear, for everyone held that John was a real prophet.
So their reply to Jesus was, ‘We do not know.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Nor will I tell you my authority for acting like this.’