So they answered Jesus: we do not know. And he said to them: neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. The we do not know is the politically calculated non-answer — they know, but they will not say. Jesus' corresponding refusal to answer is not evasion but justice: the question deserves an honest answer, and when the questioner will not engage honestly, there is no obligation to answer. The authority question is not really a request for information but a demand for leverage.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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