²⁵ From where was the baptism of John—from heaven or from men?” And they began to discuss^[a] this^[b] among themselves, saying, “If we say ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the crowd, because they all look upon John as a prophet.” ²⁷ And they answered and^[c] said to Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.