20:1–2 The Gospel of Luke began with Jesus’ asking questions in the temple (2:46–47), and now at the close of his public ministry he regularly teaches in the temple (19:47; 21:37–38; 22:53).241 His teaching focuses on the good news of restoration, the promise that the Lord will release his people from slavery through Jesus the Anointed One (Isa. 40:9; 52:7; 61:1–2; Luke 4:18–21, 43; 7:18–23; 8:1; 9:6; 16:16). But the chief priest, scribes, and elders are not impressed. They represent the center of political power in Israel and are convinced that Jesus must be eliminated. They are particularly incensed that he has driven those buying and selling from the temple, since anyone who does such must be claiming a unique authority. They also resent his authoritative teaching in the temple. Instead of rejecting Jesus’ authority outright, they think they can undermine his influence by questioning him, and thus they ask him on what authority he acts in such a way (cf. 4:32). They are especially interested in hearing him explain who has granted him such authority.

20:3–4 The political and religious authorities hope to trap Jesus so that he will make a misstep before the crowd. But he is unwilling to engage them before a previous question is resolved, and thus he poses a counterquestion. Before the issue of Jesus’ authority can be determined, the question of John the Baptist’s authority must be answered. Jesus does not evade the question of the hour, since his authority is linked with John’s—especially since the Baptist was Jesus’ forerunner (1:16–17, 76–79; 3:16).242 Was John’s baptism from heaven (cf. 3:3), that is, from God above, or was it merely human? If John was not a true prophet, then he should have been put to death as a false prophet (Deut. 18:20), and perhaps some saw his death under Herod as indicating that God had judged him.243

20:5–6 Jesus has landed the authorities on the horns of a dilemma. Their purpose is to expose Jesus as a fraud before the public, but the tables are turned on them, and now their own authority is under consideration. They are uninterested in answering Jesus’ question honestly and truthfully; above all, they are politically motivated. They discuss with one another regarding what answer will be most feasible for saving their own reputations. They cannot say that John’s authority was from God above, from heaven, because it was evident that they did not believe what he proclaimed. After all, they did not repent at John’s preaching or submit to baptism (Luke 7:29–30). On the other hand, they do not want to admit what they really think, that John was not from God, that his authority was merely human. They fear that the people will turn against them and perhaps even stone them for rejecting his ministry (cf. Acts 5:26). The people, in contrast to the religious leaders, are right, for they recognized that John was truly a prophet from the Lord (cf. Luke 1:17, 76–77; 7:24–28).

20:7–8 The religious and political leaders demonstrate that they are unqualified to be leaders. Out of fear and hypocrisy they claim they do not know the answer to Jesus’ question. They cannot decide whether John’s ministry was from God or was merely human. We know that they actually believe John’s ministry not to be from God, but their answer stems from their fear of what the people will think. In fact, however, they fall into Jesus’ trap by confessing that they do not know. They can hardly adjudicate whether Jesus’ authority is from God if they do not know the source of John’s authority. By testifying to their ignorance, they reveal their own inadequacy as leaders, their lack of spiritual perception. Jesus thus refuses to tell them the source of his authority, since they have proven that they have no capacity to adjudicate spiritual matters.