Mark 11:27-33 And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes… This was a necessary consequence of his action in the cleansing of the temple. By so doing he claimed to be the Judge of things religious and sacred, and to direct the conscience of man. I. THE ULTIMATE QUESTION BETWEEN CHRIST AND THE RELIGIOUS SYSTEMS AND INSTITUTIONS OF MEN IS ONE OF AUTHORITY. Only direct Divine sanction, or a higher truth vindicating itself at the bar of reason and conscience, or in the field of experience, can justify the attitude of Christ and his religion towards the religions and superstitions of men. Arbitrary assumption will soon belay itself, and the spiritual nature of man must be satisfied. This question of authority is sure to be raised sooner or later by the upholders of the systems and beliefs Christianity impugns. And Christians are counselled to "give a reason of the hope that is in" them. II. TO ALL GENUINE INQUIRERS CHRISTIANITY PRESENTS A SUFFICIENCY OF EVIDENCE, 1. The life and works of Christ are his justification. They prove him "sent from God." The evidence upon which our belief in these is based is as strong, at least, as for any other historic matter. 2. The experience of the operation of Christian doctrine and practice in the ages subsequent to the Cross. 3. The immediate witness of the conscience and the heart. With the first and the third of these the temple authorities were already conversant. III. HYPOCRITICAL AND ILLEGITIMATE INQUIRIES INTO ThE AUTHORITY OF CHRIST OR HIS SERVANTS MAY BE RESISTED AND EXPOSED. 1. Christ knew the motives of his inquisitors. 2. He placed them in a false position in order to expose these to themselves and others. 3. All Divine revelations have similar evidence, and stand or fall together. Had they believed John, they would have believed Jesus. As they believed neither, it must have been because they hated the truth. It was for the interests of true religion that this fact should be made evident. He proceeded to prove the traditional unrighteousness of the Jewish people and their leaders in a series of "parables" or similitudes, which were at the same time so many appeals to conscience. (It would be well for the preacher to remark upon the unbroken consecution of ch. 11 and 12 in the spoken discourse of Christ.) - M. Parallel Verses KJV: And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders, |
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