The Religious Leaders Reasoning - Mark 11:31

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. The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me”, and in chapter eleven and verse thirty-one of his book, Mark shared how the religious leaders, “reasoned with themselves” where we read:

And they reasoned with themselves, saying,

If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him?

The verse reads, “And they reasoned with themselves, saying, ...” Mark began with the words, “and they reasoned” which means “and the religious leaders reckoned, counted, computed, calculated, considered and meditated” “with themselves” or “among the religious leaders' own selves”, “saying” which means “uttering, declaring and proclaiming” the following. Mark shared how the “religious leaders” did not respond to Jesus straightaway, but rather “discussed and considered” His question carefully and concluded the following.

The verse continues, “If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did you not believe him?” Mark added the words, “If we shall say” which means “whether the religious leader will utter, declare, proclaim and answer”, “From heaven” or “from the region above the sidereal heavens, the seat of order of things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells and other heavenly beings”; “he will say” which means “Jesus will utter, declare, proclaim and ask”, “why then” or “for what reason or cause therefore, wherefore and these things being so” “did you not believe him” which means “did the religious leaders not think John to be true or worthy of confidence or trust”? Mark shared how the “religious leaders” decided if they answered that John the Baptist's baptism came from “heaven”, Jesus would ask them why they did not put their “trust” in him.

When we consider Mark's words in this verse, we see how Jesus asked the “chief priests, the scribes and the elders” a question that would confound them when they attempted to answer. Jesus knew John the Baptist's baptism came from “heaven”, but these men were opposed to John while he was “baptizing”. They would not “believe in” John, and therefore they could not answer that his “baptism” came from “heaven”. God the Father wants every person to have a loving personal relationship with Him through His Son Jesus, and when He sends messages through people like “John the Baptist” and Jesus Himself, His desire is for those who will listen to “believe”.

Next time Mark shares how the “religious leaders” continued to reason as they, “feared the people” 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".