Silencing The Critics

There is a point in time in the Gospels when Jesus found Himself under attack from all of the religious leaders of His day. There were many varieties back then - sort of like political parties today. There were the Temple Priests, the Pharisees, the Herodians, the Sadducees and others. They didn’t always agree with each other but they all agreed that Jesus was a bad thing. They set out to discredit Him and embarrass Him in front of the people.

Mark 11 and 12 tells us about their various schemes to trap Jesus by trying to get Him to say something that they could use against Him. In chapter 12, Jesus revealed what has become the key Christian approach to answering critics and false teachers. He appealed to the final and ultimate authority in all matters: the scriptures.

The scriptures were God’s Word. God cannot make mistakes or be wrong, so a true believer wants to know what scripture says.

Mark 12:24

“Jesus said to them, ‘Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God?’”

Ouch! Jesus turned the tables against His critics in a single statement. How can you be a religious leader and not know the scriptures? How can you lead the people if you don’t understand God’s power? Jesus won the crowd and His antagonists were silenced.

Mark 12:34

“...After that, no one would venture to ask Him any more questions.”

When we have questions about God or when we need to know about our faith, we always turn to the Bible for the answer. That’s where Jesus pointed us. That’s where our ultimate authority lies.