“BELIEVE!”

Matthew 21:23-32                                                                              (ESV)

“23 And when HE entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to HIM as HE was teaching, and said, "By what authority are YOU doing these things, and WHO gave YOU this authority?"

24 JESUS answered them, "I also will ask you one question, and if you tell ME the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things.

25 The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?" And THEY DISCUSSED IT AMONG THEMSELVES, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' HE will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?'

26 But if we say, 'From man,' we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet."

27 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.

28 "What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.'

29 And he answered, 'I will not,' but afterward he changed his mind and went.

30 And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, 'I go, sir,' but did not go.

31 Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." JESUS said to them, "Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of GOD before you.

32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not BELIEVE him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes BELIEVED him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and BELIEVE him.”

The mind of man is an interesting phenomenon.  We THINK we know what is best, then we discover that what we thought we KNEW was wrong!  Operating with anything less than TRUTH is an extremely dangerous position to find yourself in.  “The chief priests and the elders of the people” found themselves in a precarious position while questioning JESUS.  

“This world” attempts to twist words to make them say what they WANT them to say, all the while their actions PROVE a completely different narrative.  JESUS told the chief priests and elders that “the tax collectors and prostitutes” would go into the kingdom of GOD before them, for their opinion of themselves was too elevated.  When questioned by JESUS about WHO gave the authority to John to baptize Believers?  “THEY DISCUSSED IT AMONG THEMSELVES”, meaning they put their MINDS together and came up with their best response!  “So they answered JESUS, "We do not know”!!  The chief priests and the elders were stumped by an uneducated carpenters helper who “this world” hierarchy could not control!

WHO do you “BELIEVE”?  Do you believe “this world” and its baseless theories?  Or do you BELIEVE in THE CHRIST, the SON OF THE LIVING GOD?  It is really quite simple.  You can have proof that is based from lies (John 8:44), or you can “BELIEVE”, AND TRUST, that JESUS is WHO HE says HE is!  The chief priests and elders believed LIES!  I “BELIEVE” TRUTH!!!