John's Baptism from Heaven or Men? - Mark 11:30

Mark wrote how Jesus and His disciples, “come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders. And say unto him, By what authority do you these things? and who gave you this authority to do these things? And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things”, and in chapter eleven and verse thirty of his book, Mark shared Jesus asked a question about, “the baptism of John” where we read:

The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me.

The verse reads, “The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?” Mark began with the words, “the Baptism” which means “the immersion or submersion” “of John” or “belonging to John the Baptist whose name means Jehovah is a gracious giver”, “was it from heaven” which means “was the source of John's baptism from the region above the sidereal heavens, the seat of order of things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells and other heavenly beings”, “or of men” or “or from human beings whether male or female”? Mark shared how Jesus asked the “religious leaders” about the source of “John the Baptist's baptism”. Was the source from “heaven” or from “men”?

The verse goes on to say, “answer me.” Mark continued with the words, “answer me” which means “respond and speak to Jesus concerning the question He asked”. Mark shared how Jesus required a “response” to His question about “John the Baptist's baptism”.

When we consider Mark's words in this verse, we see how Jesus began His question to the “religious leaders” with the well known “baptism of John the Baptist”. The religious leaders were known to have looked indignantly upon John's baptism, however, the people in that area responded well to it. The “religious leaders” will “answer” Jesus in the next few verses, however, let it be known they shall never outwit Jesus who is the Son of God. God's desire is for people to “believe and trust” in His Son Jesus as their personal “Savior and Lord”, and rather than attempting to match wits with Him, submission is the best response to the “King of Kings and Lord of Lords”.

Next time Mark shares how the “religious leaders”, “reasoned with themselves” 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. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".