One day during the last week of the Lord’s earthly ministry, as He was teaching in the temple, the chief priests, scribes and elders, who were in authority over the temple, demanded to know by what right or authority Jesus taught there (Luke 20:1-8). He offered to answer their inquiry if they would answer a question of his: "The baptism of John--was it from heaven or from men?"

They huddled to find an answer and found none they were willing to give. They were obviously uninterested in truth. They were only concerned with not being made to look bad before the public.

Jesus had them in a dilemma. They had refused John’s baptism (cf. Luke 7:29). After all, John’s baptism demanded repentance (Luke 3:1-14), and thus, if they had submitted to John’s baptism, these self-righteous hypocrites would have been admitting their sinfulness. But the people correctly believed John was a prophet from God, and to deny the heavenly authority of his baptism would enrage the public.

What to do? They betrayed their moral inability to judge a question of authority by claiming they did not know the answer to Jesus’ question. Thus, He refused to submit the question of His authority to teach to them.

But their question was a legitimate one, albeit they were incapable of correctly judging the answer. Any activity in which we engage or which we advocate is subject to the inquiry: "Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?"

Jesus’ question to the Jewish rulers shows the two possible answers: "The baptism of John--was it from heaven or from men?" Our authority for teaching or acting is either from heaven, thus from God, or merely from men.

But I have asserted something without proof. Was the question the rulers posed legitimate even apart from their hypocrisy? Do we need authority from heaven (God) for what we do?

The term here translated "authority" means "the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed...." (Thayer. 225). When our children were small, if Sandy said, "Kids, come in and wash your hands for supper," they obeyed. They knew she had the right to command them and the ability (and determination, I might add) to enforce her commands. She had authority over them.

All authority is one of two kinds. First, there is inherent authority .God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. (Acts 17:24) Since God created the universe, He owns it all and has all authority over it. All legitimate authority is inherent in Him (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:27-28). When Sandy ordered the children to wash their hands, she exercised authority inherent in her office as mother.

On the other hand, there is delegated, or given, authority. The Jewish leaders asked, "Or who is he who gave You this authority?" (Luke 20:2) The Master prefaced the Great Commission by claiming all delegated authority: "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.’" (Matthew 28:18) When Sandy sent one of the children out to get the others in, the messenger would announce, "Mama says...." Any command not prefaced by "Mama says" was ignored! They might have asked, Who gave you this authority?

There are two ultimate sources of authority: 

God or man (Luke 20:4). To act with no higher authority than man’s is to serve God in vain (Matthew 15:1-9).

Western Society (Europe and the Americas) exalts personal freedom to the point of having open contempt for all authority. I was a graduate assistant for a history professor when I was studying to teach history. He proudly proclaimed himself to be a rebel against all authority, although he was working for a state institution and being paid from funds received from state and federal taxes. His attitude is typical. American adults refuse to submit to God’s law of divorce and remarriage, and their children refuse to submit to parental authority. Americans by and large ignore speed laws, and both individuals and corporations try to cheat on income taxes. Religiously, the denominations don’t even have the word "authority" in their vocabulary, and most brethren have the attitude, "We do lots of things without Bible authority."

At the same time reasonable people recognize the need for authoritative standards in every day life. Our nation has a constitution and system of laws that insures we can live in an orderly, safe society. The Bureau of Weights and Standards has existed since the beginning of our constitutional republic to enforce standard weights and measures in commerce. When you buy five pounds of sugar or a gallon of milk, you want to know you’re getting what you paid for. All sports contests, from beginner level to pro, have rules and referees to enforce these rules.

What is true in human relationships is true of our relationship with God. We need divine authority for what we do.

We need the guidance of divine authority because we are incapable of so guiding ourselves as to please God.

"O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps." (Jeremiah 10:23)

When men reject divine authority, the results are tragic. The period of the judges was a dark era in the history of Israel. Idolatry and immorality prevailed (Read Judges chapters 17 - 21; especially 19:30.) Why? "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes." (Judges 17:6; cf. 21:25) When there is no authoritative guide, but everyone does what seems right in his own mind ("Let you conscience be your guide."), anarchy, mayhem, immorality, and injustice prevail.

The apostle Paul wrote the Christians in Corinth: 

Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. (1 Corinthians 1:10)

How can we "speak the same thing" and "be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment" without accepting and following a common, authoritative standard?

The apostle also informed the Corinthians: 

For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. (1 Corinthians 1:21)

Without an authoritative revelation from God to guide us, we cannot know the Lord or how to please Him.

The great principle of the life that pleases God is thus stated by Paul, "For we walk by faith, not by sight." (2 Corinthians 5:7) Since "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17), the life that pleases the Lord is one directed by the authority of His Word.

For these reasons, the Lord plainly demands that we submit to His authority in all things. "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." (Colossians 3:17) To act "in the name of the Lord Jesus" is to act by His authority (Vine. 3:100; cf. Acts 4:18).

Whosoever goeth onward and abideth not in the teaching of Christ, hath not God: he that abideth in the teaching, the same hath both the Father and the Son. (2 John 9; ASV)

Many brethren assert, "We do lots of things without Bible authority." The inspired apostle of Christ commanded, "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." (Colossians 3:17) Which way will you go, with the majority or with the Lord? "Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar." (Romans 3:4)

The Bible, American Standard Version.

Thayer, J. H., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament.

Vine, W.E., An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words