Mk 11:27-33
27[Jesus and his disciples] returned once more to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple area, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders approached him 28and said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you this authority to do them?”
29Jesus said to them, “I shall ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30Was John’s baptism of heavenly or of human origin? Answer me.” 31They discussed this among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say, ‘[Then] why did you not believe him?’ 32But shall we say, ‘Of human origin’?”—they feared the crowd, for they all thought John really was a prophet. 33So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.” Then Jesus said to them, “Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS: Authority (Greek exousia) is the right to effect control over objects, persons, or events. It is differentiated from power (Greek dynamis) which refers to the ability to bring about what one desires. For God, authority is absolute. For other entities, authority is something that is derived. God gives authority as he chooses—to his messengers and earthly rulers (Jn 19:10-11).
Jesus as Messiah is anointed with the power of the Spirit of God (Lk 4:16-21). Therefore, he inaugurates a ministry with a claim to God’s authority and power. Although the Talmud records miracles done by men of God in the Old Testament, Jesus’ power is unrivalled. His mastery over disease, nature, even death (Mk 5:21-43; Lk 7:11-17; Jn 11:38-44) witnesses to the uniqueness of his anointing. While Jews practice elaborate rites of exorcism, Jesus silences demons with a simple command (Mk 1:21-28). It is, however, Jesus’ act of forgiving sins that best demonstrates the divine favor given him on earth. Even for the Jews, only God, by being God, can forgive sins!
The Jews, of course, interpret Jesus’ unique abilities and powers in a variety of ways. Their most negative reading of Jesus’ power is that he can manipulate demons with the permission of the demon prince Beelzebul (Mt 12:24; cf Jn 7:20; 10:21). And so, their religious leaders can only conclude that Jesus’ authority cannot be from God. They have closed their hearts on Jesus that they cannot see him as coming from God.