Through the Bible: Mark 11, John 12
And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” —Mark 11:27–28
When the religious leaders confronted Jesus in Mark 11, they didn’t question whether Jesus had authority. Everyone could see that He did. Crowds marveled that He taught “as one who had authority, and not as the scribes” (Mark 1:22). Demons obeyed Him. Storms stilled at His command. Sins were forgiven with a word. From the opening chapters of Mark’s Gospel, authority has been a driving theme—authority over disease, over nature, over evil, and even over death itself.
So when Jesus cleansed the temple, overturning tables and driving out corruption, the chief priests and elders didn’t deny His power. They only wanted to know its source. “By what authority are You doing these things?”
Not “By whose authority.”
That little shift is more than semantics. “What” is positional—procedural. “Who” is personal.
If someone asks, “What gives you the right to drive a car?” the answer is about qualifications: I’m over sixteen, I’ve passed the test, I hold a valid license.
But if they ask, “Who gives you the right to drive?” the answer points to a relationship with an authority: The State of Alabama.
The priests’ question was the first kind. They wanted to see Jesus’ paperwork—His rabbinic credentials, His institutional approval. But Jesus didn’t operate within their hierarchy. His authority wasn’t derived from the temple system. It was derived from His relationship with the Father.
And so He answered their question with a question of His own:
“Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?” (Mark 11:30).
It was the perfect test. John’s authority had clearly been received—he was commissioned by God, not by any religious council. The people knew it; even the priests knew it, which is why they couldn’t answer without exposing their unbelief.
In that moment, Jesus revealed that true authority is never self-appointed. It’s always received from above and exercised in relationship. The Pharisees’ authority was positional; Jesus’ was personal. They clung to titles; He carried the Father’s heart.
And that same question eventually comes to each of us:
“By what right do you stand before God?”
If we answer procedurally, we point to systems and doctrines—“the doctrine of substitutionary atonement.”
If we answer personally, we point to a Savior—Jesus.
John 1:12 captures both sides perfectly:
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
There’s the procedural—receive Him, believe His name.
And there’s the personal—He gave the right.
Our confidence before God doesn’t rest on a system or a credential. It rests on a relationship with the One who holds all authority in heaven and on earth.
When the world asks, “What gives you the right?”
We answer, “Who gives me the right—Jesus.”
Prayer:
Jesus, Your authority is not something You earned; it’s something You embody. And You’ve invited me to share in it, not through merit but through mercy. Thank You for giving me the right to become a child of God. Teach me to live under Your authority and reflect Your name with humility and joy. Amen.ems—they can’t stand before Your throne. But You can. And You have. Thank You for giving me the right to become a child of God. Help me to live under Your authority and reflect Your name with joy. Amen.
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