“They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. ‘By what authority are you doing these things?’ they asked. ‘And who gave you authority to do this?'”
– Mark 11:27–28
Nothing that is happening during holy week is all ultimately outside of the sovereignty of Jesus.
The verses before this say “And [Mary], anointed his feet with oil and then on Sunday, as best as we can tell, he arrived into the city Palm Sunday and the crowds shouted Hosanna, blessed to see who comes in the name of the Lord. Then on Monday is the day when Jesus likely cleansed the temple. When he overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. And he cried out, “It’s not my house intended to be a house of prayer for all nations, but you have made it a den of robbers.”
And that then sets the stage for Tuesday, when Mark 11:27–28 tells us, and they came again to Jerusalem and as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things or who gave you this authority to do them?”
Mark 11:27–28 Reminds Us Jesus is Sovereign
That was the critical question that these religious leaders were wanting to know, who gave Jesus authority to overturn the tables and the temple and to cry out, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.” Who gave Jesus authority to say the things he was saying, to do the things he was doing?
And I want to lead us to pray according to Mark 11:27–28. At the beginning of this week, as we think about what’s about to unfold as Jesus is going to be betrayed and falsely tried and accused and mocked and beaten and scourged and spit upon and then nailed to a cross. To know from the very beginning that Jesus does all of this with sovereign authority in his hands. I think about the way he describes it in the Gospel of John, I have authority to lay my life down and I have authority to pick it up again.
In other words, nothing that is happening during holy week is all ultimately outside of Jesus, sovereign authority. His life is not gone from him ultimately. He gave his life for sinners like you and me. And so in a world of sin and evil that you and I are a part of and we’re surrounded by, isn’t it good to know, at every single moment that Jesus is the authority.
This Verse Leads Us to Praise Jesus
This is exactly what he said after he rose from the dead and prepared to send in to heaven. The very beginning of the great commission, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” So we pray, Jesus we exalt you as the Lord overall today. We praise you for your Lordship, for your authority during this week. A couple of 1000 years ago, when sinful people sought to betray you and murder you, that you were ultimately in control.
That even today in a world of sin and evil, you are ultimately in control and in a world of pandemic, in a world of sorrow and a world of hurt and pain and in a world of so many questions. We wonder why is this happening or why is that happening? In a world of injustice, Jesus we praise you that you are just, we praise you that you are sovereign.
Mark 11:27–28 Reminds Us Jesus Has Authority
We praise you that you have all authority in heaven and on earth. We praise you that you love us with that authority so much that you chose to lay down your life for us. Yes, this week and yes, every day we celebrate your loving authority in our lives. And we submit to your authority today. We turn our hearts and our minds towards you right now and in prayer and we say, Jesus, you are Lord. You are Lord over all and you are Lord over our lives. And we trust in you.
Amidst all the things that are going on in our lives, even some things we don’t understand, struggles that we’re walking through, Jesus, we praise you. That you are Lord over it all. You’re Lord over us. You’re leading us. As well as you’re guiding us. And one day by your loving authority, this world will be no more as it is. A new heaven and a new earth will exist. And sin and sorrow and suffering will disappear. We praise you for your authority, that makes that promise a guarantee. And we love you, Jesus. So we praise you for your authority. And we pray all of this in your name at the beginning of this Holy week. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
