TRANSLATION MATTHEW 21: 23

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And when Jesus had entered the Temple courts, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people asked him, “In what power are you doing all this, and who gave you this power?”

In answer Jesus said, “I will ask you one question, and if you answer me, I will also tell you in what power I am doing all this: the Dipping Ceremony of John, where did it come from, from Heaven or from human beings?”They discussed this amongst themselves, “If we say from Heaven, he will ask us, ‘ Then why did you not trust him?’; but if we say from human beings, we should be afraid of the crowd, for they all take John for a prophet.’ So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” So Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you in what power I am acting.”

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Jesus meets a challenge to his authority, by refusing to make a direct claim to God’s empowerment, but chooses a person from his own background, the John the Dipper, who, according to Matthew’s tradition, recognised Jesus’ authority.

The “elders of the people” appear as a group only here; they are the civic leaders of the people.

When an unknown prophet appears in Israel, the question is one of his authenticity. In the story of, for example Amos, in the Hebrew bible, the King’s agents accuse him of having transgressed political boundaries: his authority doesn’t carry into Judah from Israel. Doubtless there were other prophets in Israel at the time of Jesus, all prophesying in the power of the Lord, some for repentance and a new life in a separate community, some for war against Rome; and the price of the balanced peace secured by the religious leaders was eternal vigilance. Hence the question.

Why doesn’t Jesus answer them? Because answer is going to be minutely examined by them and misunderstood. But more, God has given him the message of the Rule of God; it must stand or fall under its own power. Jesus will not disgrace the name of God by dragging it into dispute. On the other hand if his opponents give God’s name to the Dipper, there would be a point of contact. He is using the prophetic tradition of which John is the last great representative, to oppose, as it always did, a priestly agenda.

People of power bring their adversarial questions to Jesus, but he is never fooled or fussed, he remains in charge.