Intellect and Counsel
" Where was John's baptism from? Was it of heavenly or of human origin?" (Mt 21: 25)
When Jesus had come into the temple area,
the chief priests and the elders of the people approached him
as he was teaching and said,
"By what authority are you doing these things?
And who gave you this authority?"
Jesus said to them in reply,
"I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me,
then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things.
Where was John's baptism from?
Was it of heavenly or of human origin?"
They discussed this among themselves and said,
"If we say 'Of heavenly origin,' he will say to us,
'Then why did you not believe him?'
But if we say, 'Of human origin,' we fear the crowd,
for they all regard John as a prophet."
So they said to Jesus in reply, "We do not know."
He himself said to them,
"Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things." (MT 21: 23-27)
Jesus responds to the trap hidden in the question of his enemies with another question, regarding the authority of the Baptist, which was recognized by almost all of the Israelites. Let us therefore ask the Holy Spirit to constantly give us the Intellect to defend ourselves from the snares of evil and the Counsel to respond, with both words and deeds, according to the logic of God.
