What does Mark 11:29 mean?
Jesus has been confronted by the chief priests, scribes, and elders who demand to know who has given Jesus the authority to drive out the venders and commuters who use the Court of the Gentiles (Mark 11:15–19). Jesus tosses the ball back in His accusers' court. His question to them is "where did John the Baptist get his authority?" Using a question to answer a question is a common tactic in Greek and Hebrew teaching. The fact that Jesus refuses to answer if they do not, however, is not common. But the answer to Jesus' question also answers that of the religious and civil leaders, so it is valid.John's ministry was on the Jordan River, east of Judea in Perea. He was an extremely popular preacher who taught that the people needed to repent of their sins if they wanted to be right with God. But he also identified Jesus as God's Messiah. He even said that Jesus is the "Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29).
In addition, John drove a wedge between the people and their religious leaders. The people loved him and believed his message. The religious leaders didn't. In response, John called the Pharisees and Sadducees vipers and told them they were not Abraham's true descendants (Matthew 3:7–10).
As a result, these religious leaders have a choice. They must either affirm or deny John's message. If they admit John's message of repentance and baptism was from God, they'll have to explain why they rejected that message when John was alive; the next logical step would be to accept what the Baptist said about Jesus. If they want to deny Jesus, they must deny John's baptism. But if they deny John's baptism, they will lose influence with the masses who believe in it.
From a purely religious standpoint, this should not be a difficult decision—the priests, scribes, and elders do not support the message of John or Jesus. And yet, they deflect Jesus' question and refuse to answer. This exposes them as hypocrites and liars: their influential positions and popularity are more important than standing up for what they supposedly believe (John 12:42).
