And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. Matthew 21:25-27
The challenge that the Jewish leaders bring to Jesus on Holy Tuesday at first glance almost seems merited. After all, you cannot expect to run a temple when people are overturning tables and causing a ruckus as Jesus did the day before. In essence they were asking, “Who do you think you are?” However, from the accounts of many in the Bible and perhaps even in our own experience, indictments against the Almighty often end up becoming more about the prosecutor than the defendant.
The corner that Jesus puts his opponents in demanded the loss of their dignity; condemnation of unbelief or disapproval of the crowd. But rather than admitting to either, they compounded their sin by trying to weasel thereby stiff arming the man who would have paid for it in a few days time. And as we see in Matthew 23:1-36 with the Seven Woes, Jesus displays a fiery wrath akin to his cleansing of the temple towards their rejection. God opposes the proud.
But He gives grace to the humble:
And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Genesis 32:27
Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”… Jesus saw Nathanael… and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” John 1:46-47
A perennial liar and cheat who, when previously asked the same question responded, “Esau”, comes clean, gets a new name and leads the chosen people. The skeptical bigot whose only line the Bible characterizes him as such becomes one of the Twelve. The lower we go, the greater lengths of grace, the greater His glory.
Don’t let your lack of perfection breed pretense. Come as you are and find yourself in the company of the one who hung for you!