Matthew 21:23-27

Good News Translation

The Question about Jesus' Authority^(A)

²³Jesus came back to the Temple; and as he taught, the chief priests and the elders came to him and asked, “What right do you have to do these things? Who gave you such right?”

²⁴Jesus answered them, “I will ask you just one question, and if you give me an answer, I will tell you what right I have to do these things. ²⁵Where did John's right to baptize come from: was it from God or from human beings?”

They started to argue among themselves, “What shall we say? If we answer, ‘From God,’ he will say to us, ‘Why, then, did you not believe John?’ ²⁶But if we say, ‘From human beings,’ we are afraid of what the people might do, because they are all convinced that John was a prophet.” ²⁷So they answered Jesus, “We don't know.”

And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you, then, by what right I do these things.

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Mark 11:27-33

Good News Translation

The Question about Jesus' Authority^(A)

²⁷They arrived once again in Jerusalem. As Jesus was walking in the Temple, the chief priests, the teachers of the Law, and the elders came to him ²⁸and asked him, “What right do you have to do these things? Who gave you such right?”

²⁹Jesus answered them, “I will ask you just one question, and if you give me an answer, I will tell you what right I have to do these things. ³⁰Tell me, where did John's right to baptize come from: was it from God or from human beings?”

³¹They started to argue among themselves: “What shall we say? If we answer, ‘From God,’ he will say, ‘Why, then, did you not believe John?’ ³²But if we say, ‘From human beings …’” (They were afraid of the people, because everyone was convinced that John had been a prophet.) ³³So their answer to Jesus was, “We don't know.”

Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you, then, by what right I do these things.”

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