²⁴ Jesus answered them, “I, too, have a question for you. If you answer it for me, I’ll tell you why I have the right to do these things. ²⁵ Did John’s right to baptize come from heaven or from humans?”

They discussed this among themselves. They said, “If we say, ‘from heaven,’ he will ask us, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘from humans,’ we’re afraid of what the crowd might do. All those people think of John as a prophet.”