AUGUST 19 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#24 “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?”” (Matthew 21:25)

 

AUGUST 19  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#24

  “Is the power and authority of baptism 

from heaven or from men?””  

(Matthew 21:25)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer   

JESUS, You are Worthy of ALL our adoration and praise!

 You Lord are the One True Shepherd that feeds His lambs

 and leads us to green pastures. 

Lord, we may read or hear a disturbing report 

from the “authorities” of our generation that declare that You are 

“outdated” and worse, You are “dangerous”  and the “multitudes” 

keeps believing the “Lie” and misses Your “Truth” — O Lord, You

 are the Prince of Peace and only through belief in You and Your

 Death, Burial, and Resurrection is there any Hope for mankind! 

These ARE the END TIMES and all Christians

 will have to be given another boost in Faith in God

 or many will be lost because of this modern day persecution

 on Your Church and on You, 

the Messiah, the Chosen One, our Savior and Redeemer — 

Forgive us Lord for listening to the deceiver, 

strengthen our Faith, and let us proclaim Your Truth 

and be bold in our witness that You 

Lord are our Hope for You Lord 

are the Way, the Truth and the Life!!!!   

AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus is now Teaching the Ultimate Truth of God, and He is directing

 His Teaching at all who would demand of the Messiah, 

“By what authority” does the Son of God do the works of God? 

Jesus knows that God the Father has sent Him down from heaven 

to bring the same message that John the Baptist was preaching 

in the wilderness, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand” 

— Jesus has brought the message of  “REPENTANCE” to Israel

 and has been Teaching by miracles and parables what the kingdom

 of heaven is like, but in His last week on earth Jesus is giving His

 “final answer” by asking the Ultimate Question that covers all the

 TRUTH OF GOD 

contained in the scriptures about God the Father, His only 

begotten Son, and the Holy Spirit — “For God so loved 

the world that He {{will give}} His only begotten 

Son {{Jesus, the Messiah}} that whosoever believes in Him 

shall not perish but have everlasting life.” 

(John 3:16) 

 Looking at the Question that Jesus asked the

 “chief priests and the elders of the people” will reveal the fulfilling

 of all that God has desired for His chosen people — simply that 

those that follow God will Trust in His provisions for our 

daily needs and for our eternity. God desires that “no man 

should perish but all would come to a saving knowledge”

 of His Only Begotten Son Jesus who was sent to die a

 substitutionary death on the cross as the Lamb of God,

 becoming the propitiation of our sins against God. God 

has declared the penalty for sin is death and in providing 

for our salvation God has provided an acceptable 

Sacrifice to pay that penalty. 

The Question Jesus is asking must be considered as a type of 

formal exam of the Truth of God for contained within the Question 

is the summation of what we truly believe and can accept about God.

 First, let us look at the “Question” in the context that the 

“rulers and authorities” of the temple were asking Jesus who 

had demonstrated that by His actions Jesus IS the Messiah 

because through Jesus and His Miracles performed in the Power

 of the Holy Spirit of God the prophecy of the Holy Scriptures was

 fulfilled before their very eyes, and yet these “rulers and authorities” 

were questioning Jesus about His authority???? 

Jesus answered their question 

by asking this truly “Spirit-loaded” Question—

 “The baptism of John —where was it from? 

(and to make sure there was no confusion, 

Jesus makes the answer multiple choice)

 From (a) heaven or (b) from men?” 

Matthew 21:25) 

There are several elements that we normally don’t think of that 

Jesus makes surface with this all important Question and here is 

a short list for your personal consideration before you give your 

“best and final answer” to Jesus, 

who is about to go to the cross and be crucified,

 suffering a cruel death to pay the penalty for your sins; 

therefore, giving Him an honest answer is 

the least you can do, don’t you think? 

Here is the list: 

(L1) Baptism: just what is “baptism” and what does it accomplish?

 

(L2) Who is John and why was he “baptizing”?

(L3) Why was Jesus using “John” and “baptism” to illustrate “authority”? 

(L4) Is there any “earthly” reason to be “baptized”?  

(L5) Is there any validity in “the authority” of “heaven”? 

(L6) How can one prove “heaven” and the “Ruler of heaven” exists? 

(L7) Is having “Faith” in “things unseen” a reasonable explanation 

for “John”, “Baptism”, “Jesus”, and “heaven”? 

These are elements of the Question 

you must consider 

or you can’t answer this Question —

 but keep in mind, this could well be your

 “final answer” 

before the “Teacher” 

grades your test!!!!!  

AUGUST 18 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#24 “Is the power and authority of baptism from heaven or from men?”” (Matthew 21:25)

 

AUGUST 18  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   

JQ#24 

 “Is the power and authority of baptism 

from heaven or from men?””  

(Matthew 21:25)

LIVING FOR JESUS Daily Prayer    

JESUS, Thank You Lord for being the Great Physician, 

the Great Healer, the Master Teacher. 

Lord Jesus You have guided those that are our earthly physicians

 and earthly teachers and You Lord give us the abundant life as

 You take us safely through the Valley of Sickness and the 

Darkness of Spiritual Ignorance and bring our bodies and minds 

back to health. Jesus, I thank You for the infirmities that You allow

 in our lives and I pray that the Holy Spirit will keep our heart,

 eyes, and mind open during these times of doubt and trials that we

 will always see Your Healing Hand and Teaching Spirit at work 

in our lives, both the physical and the spiritual. Lord Jesus, 

forgive me when I get caught up in the world and fail to see 

that everything should be used to glorify the Father instead 

of getting lost in self-pity — Lord Jesus, Praise, Glory, and Honor to

 the Son that was Obedient unto death to the Will of the Father,

 forgive me when I fail to honor the Father and the Son while 

enjoying the Abundant Life You have laid before all who will believe.   

AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus is entering Jerusalem the day after His Triumphal Entry 

which was met in Jerusalem with “mixed reviews” and the immediate

 “cleansing of the temple” did not win Jesus any friends on the 

Jerusalem Chamber of Commerce! Jesus had cursed a fig tree

 outside the Eastern Gate which can only be viewed in light of 

all the other actions Jesus has performed in the name of God as 

a curse on those that would defile the temple of God, His Holy City,

  and all those that were seeking to worship God 

“in Spirit and in Truth” (John 4:24).

 Therefore His curse was not on an isolated single fig tree but on 

the Sanhedrin itself, the Sanhedrin being the most influential spiritual

 body in all Israel and they were cursed because they were abusing

 their “power and authority” by defiling the command of God in order

 to further the “doctrines of men”! Jesus had told His disciples 

that the “power and authority”  He had displayed in His 

cursing the fig tree and the tree’s immediate destruction was a

 product of “Faith, Prayer, and Belief” ———

 the Lesson to learn from Jesus cursing the fig tree

 is that God and God Alone IS the SUPREME AUTHORITY 

and the SUPREME POWER!!! 

Jesus curses the fig tree,

 Teaches the Lesson on “Faith and Belief” and then 

enters Jerusalem through the Eastern Gate 

— keep in mind that this is the last week on earth that 

Jesus will spend in His earthly form and His every action, 

breath, and Word will be full and overflowing with the 

Truth of God 

so it is important to consider every move made 

by Jesus in this most important of weeks!!! 

“Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests 

and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was 

teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are You doing 

these things? And who gave You this authority?’” 

(Matthew 21:23)

  Jesus is the Master Teacher and He always takes our questions

 and uses His Question to laser focus a Truth of God onto the problem 

at hand and at the same time Jesus will present a Question to us

 that will reflect that Truth of God and illuminate the solution for us.

 He has been demonstrating that 

everything Jesus does is to 

Teach the Truth of the One True Living God 

and Jesus has made it clear that He is here on earth 

to do the “Will of His Father in Heaven”. 

In this particular case, Jesus answers the chief priests and elders

 of the people with what I consider to be (by virtue of where 

and when it was asked) the summation of all the 

Truths of God 

that Jesus has spent 33 years in the flesh Teaching to all who would

 listen as Jesus asked:

 

(JQ#24) “The baptism of John —where was it from? 

From heaven or from men?” (Matthew 21:25)

 

By asking this Question in the temple of God in the city of Jerusalem 

and by directing the Question at those that had been wielding power

 and authority over the multitudes, Jesus has set up the ultimate

 confrontation between the 

“commands of God [from heaven]” 

and the 

“doctrines [originating from] men” 

— a confrontation between what God has clearly stated in 

His Holy Scriptures as “TRUTH” and what man in a self-assumed

 position of authority has defiled and manipulated and then has

 handed down as the “doctrine [of men]”.

 Not only has Jesus set up the ultimate confrontation 

but this Question points to the 

Ultimate Truth of God — 

God is the Living God 

and is still and forever will be involved in His Creation. 

The First Truth of God from JQ#24 is that the scriptures tell 

of a forerunner to the Coming Messiah and that prophecy was

 fulfilled by John the Baptist. When John came on the scene,

 the question was asked of him by the rulers and authorities,

 “Are you the Messiah?” John had answered “no” 

and said that he was there 

to “witness” and point to the Messiah when He arrived

 and then John kept preaching 

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” 

and John kept baptizing. John then declared as he saw

 Jesus coming to him to be baptized, 

“Behold the Lamb of God 

that takes away the sins of the world.” 

(John 1:15-29)  

When Jesus asked about the “baptism of John”, the chief priests 

and elders were really over a barrel for they had to recognize 

the fact that “baptism” is real and they knew that John had 

not come to them for “approval” to baptize so there was no way

 that the Sanhedrin could claim “authority and power” over the

 actions of John the Baptist. Now what were they going to do with the

 “True authority and power of God” 

that Jesus was demonstrating in the temple of God

 in God’s Holy City of Jerusalem? The Question Jesus asked sitting 

in the temple is still of utmost relevance today, what would your 

response be if Jesus sat down with you and asked, 

“The baptism of John — 

is it from heaven or from men?” 

— what answer could you give?