They returned once more to Jerusalem. As he was walking in the temple area, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders approached him and said to him, "By what authority are you doing these things? Or who gave you this authority to do them?" Jesus said to them, "I shall ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was John's baptism of heavenly or of human origin? Answer me." They discussed this among themselves and said, "If we say, 'Of heavenly origin,' he will say, '(Then) why did you not believe him?' But shall we say, 'Of human origin'?"– they feared the crowd, for they all thought John really was a prophet. So they said to Jesus in reply, "We do not know." Then Jesus said to them, "Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things." (Mk 11:27-33)
Origin of authority is to be discerned always. Authority has two origins: human or divine. The leaders are also concerned about this. They were not bothered about what he has done or his activities. They were not worried whether the activities were good and whether they (his activities) produced good to the people.
Authority from above was considered to be good. It has to be accepted and believed. Since God would be the source of divine authority; like God the authority from above also to be believed. If the authority is from above then one does not need to fear of anything; one can go ahead to follow it.
If the authority is from below; that is if the authority of human origin then it has its weaknesses and failures. One has to be cautious about following it. It cannot be accepted in its face value. Jesus does not give an answer to the leaders because he wants them to discern it for themselves.
