John 2:24
Man is Inconsistent
24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men.
Luke 20:1-8
The Authority of Jesus Questioned
1 One day as he was teaching the people in the temple courts and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. 2 "Tell us by what authority you are doing these things," they said. "Who gave you this authority?"
3 He replied, "I will also ask you a question. Tell me, 4 John's baptism—was it from heaven, or from men?"
5 They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Why didn't you believe him?' 6 But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet."
7 So they answered, "We don't know where it was from."
8 Jesus said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things."
Mark 9:45-48
Roadblocks to God
45 And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. [46] 47 And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where
“‘the worms that eat them do not die,
and the fire is not quenched.’
Searching for answers to questions and for the Truth some of the time, if not much of the time, becomes personal...Things becoming personal can get in the way of finding the Truth and the very answers that we seek...We often are biased in what we think and do...We often do not see the things, we need to see clearly...Some prejudice or some pride gets in our road...And are we even aware of that our very own personalities, even the way we were raised can get in the way of the Truth -and can change the way we see things?...
Jesus is aware of this because He knows all men...We cannot hide from Him...Man is often irrational, inconsistent, and we change our minds about decisions -sometimes more than once...And it seems, we do much of these things to personally suit our day or our lives or lifestyle...
When the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders ask Jesus "Who gave you this authority?"...Jesus did not answer their question...But He did ask them a question about John the Baptist (and if they answered His question, He would answer their question)...His opposition tried to answer His question in a rational way...They reasoned that if they answered His question, then they would be in a dilemma...If they said John the Baptist's message was from heaven, then that presented one problem...If they answered that John' message came from man or himself, then the people would stone them, because the people were persuaded that John was truly a prophet...
Their answer was becoming personal...The chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders were not seeking Truth or the Truth...They were no longer wanting an answer to their initial question...Reasoning is very personal...Reasoning often takes on rationalizing things and doing that in a personal way...There is no doubt that if this group really wanted to know where Jesus' authority came from, they could have answered His question...But they chose not to answer Him, and never got the answer or information they were seeking...They cared more for what people thought about them when they thought one of their answers about John could be "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Why didn't you believe him?"...And again they thought personally about themselves when they answered "But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet."...Their personal feelings and motives got in the way of their very serious and excellent question...Their personal motives got in their way to find out that this Man did really come from God...
I think Jesus wants us to think about this interaction and how we search for the Truth and other things in our decision making...Man has many roadblocks, doubts, and speed bumps when we day after day seek the LORD and believe in Him...We have these thoughts, these mental blocks, these biases that can take us further from our LORD...What we think about, and what we do after we think are the reason and reasons we sin...We think we really know ourselves, but He knows us even better than we do...He is the only one who knows us completely...He knows our minds and our hearts...
Like Jonah found out we cannot hide from Him, and we cannot hide from the Truth or change the Truth -no matter how personal we try to make it (the Truth)...Jesus is LORD...We need to open our biased hearts up to Him, because there is no hiding...He knows what is in our hearts and minds...We need to open them up to Him and let Him in and trust the response that He gives...We need to trust the One who truly knows us...Jesus recognizes our inconsistencies...Jesus calls us to the consistencies of life, to faith in His Father, and towards the Truth...