MARK 11:29 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
“And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Jesus replied, I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things — the counter-question is the standard rabbinic debate technique: Jesus does not refuse to answer but makes the answer conditional on the questioners' response to a question he will pose. The exchange of question for question is not evasion but a demonstration of the authority question's answer — the authority that can answer the Sanhedrin's question with a question of its own has a higher authority.
Church Fathers on Mark 11:29
They were angry with the Lord, for having cast out of the temple those who had made it a place of merchandize, and therefore they come up to Him, to question and tempt Him.
And, indeed, when they say, 'By what authority doest thou these things,' they doubt its being the power of God, and wish it to be understood that what He did was the devil’s work. When they add also, 'Who gave thee this authority,' they evidently deny that He is the Son of God, since they believe He works miracles, not by His own but by another’s power.
They envied the Lamp, and were in the dark, wherefore it is said, 'I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed; his enemies will I clothe with shame.' [Ps 131:17-18]
Read all 6 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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