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28. And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things?Mark 11:28. Jesus, being questioned by the religious leaders, was asked who allowed Him to preach, teach, and perform miracles, and who authorized Him to remove the crooked merchants from the Temple. Jesus said, "You answer my question, and I will answer yours.""The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men?" The leaders were in a dilemma. If they said "from heaven," Jesus would ask, "Why didn't you believe?" But if they said "from men," they feared being stoned by the people, because the people believed John was a prophet from God. The leaders said, "We do not know." Because the leaders would not acknowledge the truth, Jesus refused to reveal His own authority. The lesson is: true authority comes from God; it does not need human approval. Jesus responded to the leaders questioning Him by exposing their hypocrisy. Jesus showed His authority comes from God, teaching us that spiritual authority depends on divine truth, not human recognition. We need wisdom, courage, humility, and faith to recognize God's authority and live accordingly. Amen.