Jesus might as well have His picture hanging on the wall of the post office with the caption "Wanted Dead Or Alive, Preferably Dead" printed under His face. The religious leaders are determined to have Him put to death, but instead of hiding from them He has come boldly to Jerusalem. His death is imminent, but He openly offers Himself to the fate that awaits Him. Since arriving at Jerusalem, He has thrown the money changers and the sellers of doves out of the Court of Gentiles at the temple, cleansing His house of the "leaven" of sin just as a homeowner would cleanse the house of literal leaven before Passover. He spends His nights at Bethany and His days walking and teaching in the temple courts, making the most of His final opportunities to appeal to the nation through the truth of God's word.
Many of the average citizens believe in Him. The Apostle John tells us that even quite a few of the leaders in the community believe in Him, but out of fear of the Pharisees they won't openly confess their faith. (John 12:42-43) At this point the Pharisees are putting people out of the synagogue for confessing Jesus as Messiah and Lord, and John says that the upper crust of Jerusalem's society desires the approval of man more than the approval of God, so they keep their opinions of Jesus' identity to themselves.
Jesus knows the thoughts of those in the crowds who come to hear Him. He knows which ones believe and are willing to boldly confess their faith. He knows which ones believe but fear the religious leaders too much to speak up. And He knows the ones who thoroughly reject every word He's said and every miracle He's performed. John tells us, "Then Jesus cried out, 'Whoever believes in Me does not believe in Me only, but in the One who sent Me. The one who looks at Me is seeing the One who sent Me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should stay in darkness." (John 12:44-46) Jesus plainly declares that God the Father has sent Him into the world. Because Jesus is God's Son, He looks like God. Because Jesus is God's Son, His words are God's words. He has the same authority. He has the same power. He warns the populace, "If you reject Me, you are not only rejecting Me, but God Himself. You are rejecting everything God has said about Me through the prophets. You are rejecting the witness of the God who spoke from the heavens at My baptism. If You don't believe what I say, you don't believe the God who sent Me."
Mark tells us that on a particular day while Jesus is teaching the religious leaders come to Him and once again try to set a trap for Him. "They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the teachers of the law and the elders came to Him. 'By what authority are You doing these things?' they asked. 'And who gave You the authority to do this?'" (Mark 11:27-28) They want to know, "Who do You think You are, driving money changers and dove sellers from the temple? Who do You think You are to speak to the nation with such a tone of authority? Who said You could do these things?" Well, Jesus has plainly been telling them for three years upon whose authority He does all things, but the Pharisees and chief priests and scribes have covered their eyes and ears to the truth. They ask Him these questions in front of the crowd, hoping to somehow trap Him in His own words.
As usual, Jesus answers with great wisdom, in such a way that His enemies can make no legitimate reply. "Jesus replied, 'I will ask you a question. Answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John's baptism---was it from heaven, or of human origin. Tell Me!'" (Mark 11:29-20) This is a sticky situation, an impossible situation, for the religious leaders. They rejected John's baptism as thoroughly as they rejected Jesus' authority, but to say so in front of the assembly would be to invite ridicule or even physical assault. They know the people count John as a prophet. They know John and his disciples baptized thousands, many of whom are now standing in the crowd. It would have been bad enough to say something publicly against John while he was alive, but now that he's been beheaded he's considered a martyr for the faith. They dare not make the statement that John's baptism was of human origin.
They also dare not make the statement that John's baptism was of heavenly origin, because that begs the question, "Why then did you not believe his testimony about Jesus? John plainly identified Jesus as the Son of God. If you believe John was called by God to be a prophet, why do you not also believe Jesus is who He says He is?"
I picture the religious leaders asking for a time out at this point, withdrawing to a distance where they can whisper to each other about how to solve their dilemma. "They discussed it among themselves and said, 'If we say, 'From heaven,' He will ask, 'Then why didn't you believe him?' But if we say, 'Of human origin'...(They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.) So they answered Jesus, 'We don't know.'" (Mark 11:31-33a) How humiliating this must have been! The men who claim to know everything about all matters religious have been bested again by this rabbi they hate. Everyone assembled in the temple courts hears them admit, "We don't know the answer." Jesus has presented them with an opportunity to reason things out, to come to the knowledge of the truth, but yet again they close their minds like a steel trap and shake their heads. They'd rather admit to ignorance, humiliating though it is, than admit that John was right about Jesus or that Jesus is who He says He is.
"Jesus said, 'Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.'" (Mark 11:33b) Jesus is not concealing anything from them by refusing to state once again that He is the Promised One sent by God. He has clearly demonstrated His identity through both words and deeds for three years now. Further proclamations aren't going to suddenly produce confessions of faith from the Pharisees. There's no use in Him repeating Himself to them over and over, for they have made up their minds not to believe anything He says, and His time is better spent interacting with those who actually want to hear Him. His time on earth is drawing to a close and He doesn't want to get caught up in arguments with the Pharisees while there are people who desperately need His help. He is going to spend His time teaching those who want to be taught and helping those who are willing to accept help.
To those who deliberately cover their ears to His words and purposely close their minds to the truth, He has this to say, "If anyone hears My words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. There is a judge for the one who rejects Me and does not accept My words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. For I did not speak on My own, but the Father who sent Me commanded Me to say all that I have spoken. I know that His command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told Me to say." (John 12:47-50)
We will be judged according to whether we believe the words of Jesus or not. If we accept what He has said about Himself, we are saved by faith. If we reject what He has said about Himself, we will be judged by the very words we refused to accept. I've quoted the following words by C.S. Lewis in a previous Bible study, but because they fit so beautifully with our passage today, I will close with them, "I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic---on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg---or else he would be the devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."
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