All of the officials who came to Jesus asking about his authority to be teaching in the temple may have been asking about temporal authority, but Jesus takes it to the next level. Is the authority from men or from God? In our day and age, in the Episcopal Church, the answer is both: God anoints (appoints) and the church affirms.
The officials considered the two choices given by Jesus. They did not want to believe that John's authority had come from heaven; that would mean that there was a problem with their own authority. So they took the safe way - "we don't know." And the truth was, they really didn't know." I've also found out that it's okay not to be sure about some things and it's okay to change your mind when you have new data to consider.
Authority from God can only be sensed at a spiritual level. Often doors open when you are following the path God has chosen, but they tend to slam shut when you are walking outside his will. I remember a young man with a dream, but every time he got the pre-requisites for the program he wanted, they would change the qualifications. When he finally changed degree programs, he had no trouble getting through it and advancing to his masters degree. Was John's authority from heaven? Consider the lives that were changed and the hope that was given in the midst of his ministry.
Lord, open our eyes to see your hand at work, and give us grace to follow the path you have set before us that we may bring hope and clarity to a confused and questioning world. Amen.
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