Jesus entered the temple courts and while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him.‘By what authority are you doing these things?’ they asked. ‘And who gave you this authority?’ Matt 21: 23

Jesus had just entered Jerusalem on a donkey to cries from the crowd of – Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord

They were excited because he came with the message that the Kingdom of God had arrived and backed up his words with the evidence of a power to transform the lives of ordinary, needy and troubled people.

They drew their own conclusions from listening to Jesus and observing the effects of what he said and did.

Are we as open as those who took Jesus at his word? Or are we sometimes perhaps more like the knowledgeable and well informed chief priests and Pharisees – who declined to take on themselves the responsibility to make a decision on the basis of evidence they had been given – and instead passed the responsibility back to Jesus. “Go on – You convince me”

LORD, you said He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Please help me accept the responsibility to listen for what you are saying to me; to discern your voice and observe the things you are revealing, whether in the surprise of a “burning bush” or in more ordinary things.

James Lougee