1And it happened that, on one of the days when he was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the Gospel, the leaders of the priests, and the scribes, gathered together with the elders, 2and they spoke to him, saying: “Tell us, by what authority do you do these things? Or, who is it that has given you this authority?” 3And in response, Jesus said to them: “I will also question you about one word. Respond to me: 4The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?” 5So they discussed it among themselves, saying: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 6But if we say, ‘Of men,’ the whole people will stone us. For they are certain that John was a prophet.” 7And so they responded that they did not know where it was from. 8And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
