Discussion about Authority
When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”
Matthew 21:23 NRSV
Video Commentary
The men in power were angry with Jesus because of his prophetic action in cleansing the Temple. So they question him about authority. The source of their question—“By what authority are you doing these things?”—is that Jesus had no official authority and they did. Their question had a lot of animus. As with their later question about paying taxes to Caesar, they are trying to get Jesus in trouble.
Audio Telling
Audio Commentary
