Questioning Authority....

Matthew 21:23-27 And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. The leaders at Jerusalem had come to think of the Temple as "their turf." They had responsibility for what went on there. Of course, they were sad stewards who let all sorts of things go on there that should not have. Nonetheless, they wanted to know who told Jesus He could teach the Good News and Heal and lead the children's Choir there. The answer was obvious, but one they did not want to hear. We have the same response often when Christ marches into our Temple, our lives, our bodies: we act like He has no authority here, but he does; He actually has all authority. If we will start with that perspective, and then ask what He wants done, we will find more of the real answers we are looking for.