John Calvin Commentary Matthew 21:23

"And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?" — Matthew 21:23 (ASV)

By what authority do you do these things? As the other schemes and open attempts to attack Christ had not succeeded, the priests and scribes now attempt, by indirect methods, to see if they could possibly cause him to desist from the practice of teaching. They do not debate with him about the doctrine itself, whether it was true or not—for they had already attacked him often enough in vain on that question—but they raise a dispute about his calling and commission.

And, indeed, there were plausible grounds for this. For since a person should not, of his own accord, meddle either with the honor of priesthood or with the prophetic office, but should wait for the calling of God, much less would anyone be at liberty to claim for himself the title of Messiah, unless it was evident that he had been chosen by God. For he must have been appointed, not only by the voice of God, but likewise by an oath, as it is written (Psalms 110:4; Hebrews 7:21).

But when the divine majesty of Christ had been attested by so many miracles, they act maliciously and wickedly in inquiring from where he came, as if they had been ignorant of all that he had done. For what could be more unreasonable than that, after seeing the hand of God openly displayed in curing the lame and blind, they should doubt if he was a private individual who had rashly assumed this authority? Besides, more than enough evidence had already been laid before them that Christ was sent from heaven, so that nothing was further from their wish than to approve of the works of Christ, after having learned that God was the Author of them.

They therefore insist that he is not a lawful minister of God because he had not been chosen by their votes, as if the power resided solely with them. But though they had been the lawful guardians of the Church, still it was monstrous to rise up against God. We now understand why Christ did not make a direct reply to them. It was because they wickedly and shamelessly interrogated him about a matter which was well known.