Matthew 21:23-32

Matthew 21:23: “And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?”

This is really a dumb question. Jesus had claimed all along to be the Messiah. Jesus said that He was God Himself and He proved it through amazing signs, wonders, and miracles. He hadn’t left any doubt, yet the chief priests still asked Him this question.

It’s obvious that the priests don’t actually care about the answer; they just want to attack Jesus. So Jesus redirects the issue to their own hypocrisy:

Matthew 21:25: “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 ye not then believe him?
26 But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.
27 And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.”

The chief priests were entirely corrupt and caught up in their own self-righteousness. They were completely uninterested in the truth. Jesus bothered them so much that they eventually had Him killed. They just wanted to silence Him (which the world still tries to do to the followers of Christ). Jesus was aware of this, and He had some very pointed things to tell them:

Matthew 21:31: “Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
32 For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.”

Jesus told them that drunkards and prostitutes were holier in the sight of God than the chief priests and Pharisees. Those “losers” were going to go to Heaven while the chief priests were on the road to Hell. Why? Because the drunkards and prostitutes believed and repented, while the chief priests rejected the truth entirely. They refused to repent, and so they would be damned.