Religious Leaders Fearing the People - Matthew 21:26

Matthew the apostle wrote how the chief priests and elders of Jerusalem asked Jesus, “By what authority do you do these things? and who gave you this authority? And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did you not then believe him?” and in chapter twenty-one and verse twenty-six of his book, Matthew shares how the chief priests and elders reasoned, “if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people” where we read:

But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.

The verse reads, “But if we shall say, Of men;” Matthew began with the word, “but” or “moreover and” “if we shall say” which means “whether we utter, declare and proclaim”, “Of men” or “belonging to human beings whether male or female”. Matthew shared how the “chief priest and elders” continued to answer the second part of Jesus' question concerning the source of John the Baptist's baptism.

The verse continues, “we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.” Matthew added the words, “we fear” which means “the chief priests and elders in Jerusalem are afraid of, put to flight, flee from and are seized with alarm from” “the people” which means “the human beings whether male or female who are in Jerusalem”; “for all hold John” or “because each, every, the whole and everyone of the people adhere to, closely join to and cling to John the Baptist” “as a prophet” or “like unto one who, moved by the Spirit of God and hence his organ or spokesman, solemnly declares to men what he has received by inspiration, especially concerning future events, and in particular such as relate to the cause and kingdom of God and to human salvation”. Matthew wrote how the “chief priests and elders” were afraid of the people in Jerusalem because the people considered John the Baptist a “prophet” of the most high God.

When we meditate upon Matthew's words in this verse, we see how the religious leaders in Jerusalem were in a difficult position. If they answered that John the Baptist was baptizing people by the authority of “heaven”, Jesus would ask them why they didn't believe in him, but if they answered that John the Baptist's baptism came “from men”, the people of the city would be angry with them because they believed John the Baptist was sent from God. God desires to have a relationship with every person through His Son Jesus, and when they yield their lives to Him, the perplexity of the religious leaders of Jerusalem will never be something they ever need to “fear”.

Next time Matthew writes how the chief priests tell Jesus, “we cannot tell”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.