23 Jesus went into the Temple. The chief priests and the ruling elders of the people came to him while he was teaching and asked, "By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority?"
24 "I too will ask you a question," Jesus replied. "If you give me the answer, I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 Where did the baptism of John come from? Was it from heaven, or was it from human beings?"
They argued with each other. "If we say ‘It was from heaven,’ then he’ll ask us why we didn’t believe him. 26 But if we say, ‘It was from human beings,’ then the crowd will turn against us,21:26. Literally, "we fear the crowd." because they all consider John to be a prophet." 27 So they answered Jesus, "We don’t know."
"Then I won’t tell you by what authority I’m doing these things," Jesus replied.