Mark 11:31 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And they discussed it with one another, saying, "If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’

NIV: They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’

NASB: And they began considering the implications among themselves, saying, 'If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’

CSB: They discussed it among themselves: "If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’

NLT: They talked it over among themselves. 'If we say it was from heaven, he will ask why we didn’t believe John.

KJV: And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him?

NKJV: And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’

The chief priests, scribes, and elders of Jerusalem are faced with a choice. The first option is to affirm John the Baptist's message of repentance; that logically leads to accepting Jesus' identity as Messiah. The other option is to publicly admit their rejection of John's authority and lose respect with the crowd gathered in Jerusalem for Passover.

The bulk of John the Baptist's message was that people needed to repent from their sins and, in so doing, reconcile earthly relationships (Luke 1:16–17). That part of his message was innocuous enough, and may have even led people to be more faithful in their offerings to the temple. But John also preached that Jesus was the Messiah (John 1:29). The religious leaders find both messages distasteful in their own ways. They cannot fully embrace John's call for repentance, since it would imply their leadership practices are sinful—they will lose the power, positions, and money they have worked so hard for. And they certainly can't admit that Jesus, a Galilean from Nazareth, is the son of David and the Jewish Messiah.

John the Baptist had dealt with religious leaders during his ministry. When Pharisees and Sadducees came to be baptized, John called them a brood of vipers and told them God could turn stones into men who would be truer sons of Abraham than they were. He then inferred that the Messiah was coming and would burn them like chaff in an unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:7–12). For their part, the religious leaders claimed John had a demon (Matthew 11:16–19) and rejected his message (Matthew 21:32). To remind the crowds of their rejection of John would be political suicide.

That, as it turns out, will be the deciding factor in this challenge. Instead of declaring their position, regardless of popularity or outcry, these men will slink away in order to protect their influential positions. Their hypocrisy is crystal clear: comfort and control are higher priorities than truth.

Mark 11:27–33 is the first of four stories of religious leaders challenging Jesus. The others are found through verse 27 of chapter 12. First is a confrontation with the chief priests, scribes, and elders. Next, Jesus' parable about farmland tenants solidifies the authorities' desire to kill Him (Mark 12:1–12). The Pharisees and Herodians try to trap Jesus with a question about taxes (Mark 12:13–17). And, finally, the Sadducees challenge Jesus with a question about the resurrection (Mark 12:18–27). Eventually, Jesus can have a friendly conversation about the greatest commandment with a scribe (Mark 12:28–34). This first story is also in Matthew 21:23–27 and Luke 20:1–8.

Jesus and the disciples arrive in Jerusalem a week before the crucifixion, and Jesus begins the last days of His public ministry. They spend their nights on the Mount of Olives and their days in Jerusalem (Luke 21:37). Jesus accepts the accolades designed for a king (Mark 11:1–11), attacks materialistic tradition that keeps people from worshiping God (Mark 11:15–19), gives an object lesson about the fate of fruitless Jerusalem (Mark 11:12–14, 20–25), and reveals the Jewish religious leaders' hypocrisy (Mark 11:27–33). Despite the support of the crowd, Jesus is pushing the leaders toward the crucifixion.

The preceding passages included several miracles and lessons from Jesus. These set the stage for the last, dramatic days of His earthly ministry. In this chapter, Jesus enters Jerusalem to great fanfare and openly confronts local religious leaders for their hypocrisy. Over the next few chapters, Mark will continue to record controversial teachings, leading up to Jesus' arrest and early sham trials, recorded in chapter 14.

The Gospel of Mark emphasizes both Jesus' servanthood and His role as the promised Messiah: the Son of God. This is done through a concise, action-packed style. Mark provides relatively few details, instead focusing on actions and simple statements. This relates to the Gospel's authorship, which is believed to be based on the memories of the apostle Peter. These include many of Jesus' miracles, in contrast to other Gospels which include many more of Jesus' teachings and parables. Mark also makes frequent mention of Jesus' ministry being misunderstood by others.