Mark 11:26-29
Mark 11:26 (KJB)
But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive
your trespasses.
Forgiveness is not just a matter of speaking words but it must be from a heart
of sincerity. Every Christian must realize the immense amount of sins which they
have committed against God and the forgiveness they received having them all
blotted out. If a Christian sins against us and we refuse to forgive, then we
are placing ourselves in our own prison complete with torments because every
time we think of a person sinning against us, it will cause hatred to rise and
that will lead to loss of testimony and also physical problems. Forgiveness also
means that the person is no longer guilty in your eyes and they must never be
harassed once they are forgiven, that is, their infraction once forgiven,
remains buried. If a Christian does not want God to deal with them as He does
with one who is unsaved, then forgiveness will be the order of the day. Not
seven times but seventy times seven!
Mark 11:27 (KJB)
And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there
come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders,
Then after Jesus had finished teaching He had gone back into the temple and a
delegation from the Sanhedrin had met Him there. In reference to the cleansing
of the Temple by tossing out the moneychangers and those who bought and sold,
they had approached Him with two questions. I am sure when they saw Jesus
approaching the temple they had become a little nervous in anticipating another
episode. This may have not been the full Sanhedrin which came to meet Jesus at
the temple but no doubt representatives. (Luke 20:1 KJV) And it came to
pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple, and
preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon him with the
elders, According to Luke, Jesus was teaching and preaching at the
time He was approached.
Mark 11:28 (KJB)
And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee
this authority to do these things?
The first question was, “By what authority doest thou these things?” This
question had challenged the nature of the authority of Jesus such as are you a
Scribe? A Prophet? Or do you hold some other office? They wanted to know, based
upon what did He do this thing? Then the second question, “and who gave thee
this authority to do these things?” They wanted to know who gave Him the
authority to come into the temple and to do those things? For the last three
years, Jesus had been teaching that His authority had come from God but the
Jewish leaders had chosen not to recognize this, as some accused Him of having a
devil, and even His miracles had not convinced them. Their minds were closed to
truth and would not be opened.
Mark 11:29 (KJB)
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.
To answer a question with a question was the typical way of the rabbinical
debate method. Many times the counter question would reveal the actual issue
behind the first question, as it will here. Jesus will be glad to tell them by
what authority He has done these things and who gave Him this authority if they
would just answer one question for Him.