⭐WEB · Matthew 21:24
What does Matthew 21:24 mean?
"Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, which if you tell me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things."
— Matthew 21:24 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, if you have faith, and don’t doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you told this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it would be done.
All things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
When he had come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority do you do these things? Who gave you this authority?”
Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, which if you tell me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things.
The baptism of John, where was it from? From heaven or from men?” They reasoned with themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’
But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all hold John as a prophet.”
They answered Jesus, and said, “We don’t know.” He also said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
Explanation
This verse comes in the middle of a tense exchange between Jesus and the religious leaders of Jerusalem—the chief priests and elders—who had just confronted him in the temple. In plain language, Jesus is saying, "Before I answer your question, I'll ask you one of my own. If you answer mine honestly, I'll answer yours." He is not dodging their inquiry but setting up a test that will expose their real motives and reveal the answer to their question in the process.
The context matters a great deal. Matthew, writing his Gospel to present Jesus as the promised Messiah and King, places this exchange right after Jesus enters Jerusalem to the crowd's shouts of "Hosanna" and then drives the money-changers out of the temple. These actions were bold public claims to authority over Israel's worship and identity. Naturally, the temple authorities—who held official religious power—demanded to know, "By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?" (Matthew 21:23). Their question was really a challenge to his legitimacy, an attempt to trap him into either claiming divine authority (which they could call blasphemy) or admitting he had none (which would undercut his popular following).
Jesus's counter-question, which follows immediately in verse 25 ("The ba
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