Mark 11:27-33 ESV
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?” Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say,’From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet. So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
In these verses the Pharisees question Jesus about His authority to do what He is doing. Jesus returns the question with a question about John the Baptist’s baptism. They then do not know how to answer, because either answer will make someone or some group mad. Isn’t that always the case though?
Why do you say and do the things you do? Is it to make people like you, because you are giving them the answer you think they want to hear? Or are you motivated by something deeper?
In the book Insurrection Peter Rollins talks about a girl who asks a friend to take her picture by a piece of art at a museum because she wants to put the picture on Facebook. She thinks it will make a good impression on people and wants to portray an image she thinks this picture will portray. It is a fares and not her true self…
Why do you do what you do and say what you say?
Do not answer a question because you think it is the right answer but speak your feelings and thoughts in love…
Know your words will not be what everyone wants to hear all of the time but you do yourself and others a huge disservice by not speaking your thoughts and feelings.
aSacredRebel 