Daily Devotional For Wednesday, January 21, 2026
Good morning Southside. We are making our way through the Gospel of Matthew and we are in Holy Week. Jesus has made His triumphant entry and He has cleansed the Temple for a second time. The joys on Sunday with the Triumphant Entry are now beginning to turn to jeers. Opposition is mounting and it is mounting fast. Today, we are in Matthew 21:23-27:
“When Jesus returned to the Temple and began teaching, the leading priests and elders came up to Him. They demanded, ‘By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?’ (24) ‘I’ll tell you by what authority I do these things if you answer one question,’ Jesus replied. (25) “Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?’ They talked it over among themselves. ‘If we say it was from heaven, He will ask us why we didn’t believe John. (26) But if we say it was merely human, we’ll be mobbed because the people believe John was a prophet.’ (27) So they finally replied, ‘We don’t know.’ And Jesus responded, "Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things.” (NLT).
Jesus goes back to the Temple, the same Temple He had cleansed and He is immediately met by a delegation of Temple officials. By exposing “Annas’ Bazaar" (the nickname given by the people for Passover), Jesus had made some people, (really, the Jewish mafia) furious with Him. History has shown if you take on the mob or mafia, they murder you. So, the religious leaders probably had a meeting as to how they were going to deal with Jesus. The Gospel of Mark makes reference to a group already wanting to kill Jesus in Mark 11:18. The issue was they knew they did not have a legitimate reason to take this to Pilate. Rome had a law that only Rome could execute someone for a crime.
They bring a question hoping to trap Jesus. They wanted proof of His credentials to do what he did. If Jesus told them that His authority came from God, that would be tantamount to declaring Himself as the Messiah, something He had not done with the religious leaders yet. They could accuse Him of blasphemy and maybe seek the death penalty from Rome for this. As always, Jesus saw their trap and then turned in on them with His own question. Notice in verse 25 they do not doubt John the Baptizer had been sent by God, and they had chosen to not believe him.
So, the religious leaders attempted to pin Jesus down on a technicality. They dared Him to declare publicly who He was so they could label Him blasphemous. They had a singular goal: trick Him, then trap Him, take Him to trial and then take His life. They were in a panic to save face. John had accused the religious leaders of being a “brood of vipers” (see Matthew 3:7-10). If John had divine authority to do what He was doing, then the religious leaders would be forced to admit Jesus had the authority to do what He was doing. With the crowds listening and since the crowds believed John the Baptizer was a prophet, this should have turned their hearts in favor of Jesus seeing the religious leaders refusing to give an answer either way. The people could tell that both John the Baptizer and Jesus had similar ministries. The Jewish leaders have to walk away in shame, but they are now even more intent on getting Jesus – even if it means they have to lie and bribe to get Him.
Reflection Assignment: There are people today who like the religious leaders, detest the Christian faith and Christians, give the appearance of interest but they ask questions that are a trick to trap. Have you ever encountered such people and if so, what was your response? Why do you think some people hate Jesus today? If you know any, would you bear fruit and pray for them as Jesus did?
Scripture To Meditate On: Proverbs 29:2, 16, “When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan . . . (16) When the wicked are in authority, sin flourishes, but the godly will live to see their downfall” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Lord, when I am questioned about my faith, give me the words to respond that will help those questioning come to Christ. I want people when they see me, to see You. Give me spiritual eyes to see when questions are traps and wisdom on how to respond to them. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly