Section 5
the foregoing chapters we can see the Lord's high standard of morality produced by His divine es sence with the divine attributes and His human essence with the human virtues. Now in chap ter twenty we have a more detailed portrait of the Man-Savior's highest standard of morality.
The chief priests, scribes, and elders said to the Lord, "Tell us by what authority you are doing these things, or who is the one who gave you this authority?" (20:2). They thought that they could catch the Lord by asking Him about the source of His authority. As the One who was being ex amined, the God-man was frank, genuine, wise, and dignified. But those who were questioning Him were base, subtle, insidious, and dishonest. They did not come either with a proper attitude or in a proper spirit.
In answering the question raised by the chief priests, scribes, and elders, the Man-Savior was wise. When asked who gave Him authority, He did not say, "My Father gave Me this authority." To answer the question in such a way would not be wrong, but it would be lacking in wisdom. In His wisdom the Lord said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, and you tell Me: the baptism of John, was it from heaven or from men?" (vv. 3-4). This question put them into a dilemma,