Luke 20:1-8
Let us notice, firstly, in this passage, the demand which the chief Priests and scribes made upon our Lord. “Tell us,” they said, “by what authority thou doest these things? and who gave you this authority?”
The spirit which prompted this demand is too evident to be mistaken. These men hated and envied Christ. They saw His influence increasing. They saw their own power waning. They resolved, if possible, to stop the progress of this new teacher; and the point on which they made their assault was His authority. His mighty works they ought to have examined. His teaching they ought, in all fairness, to have compared with their own Scriptures. But they refused to take either one course or the other. They preferred to call in question His commission.