But shall we say, ‘From man’?” — they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet.
The religious leaders had demanded to know by what authority Jesus acted. He answered with a question about John's baptism, and this verse catches them mid-discussion. They drop the second answer — not because it was false, but because the crowd would not stand for it.
What "Held" Means Here
The word behind "held that John really was a prophet" is not about owning something but about how people rated him. One commentator explains why:
William KellyThe Greek verb used here very often carries meanings far wider than "possession." The move from there to the sense of "regard," which is the sense needed in Mark 11:32, is completely natural. In fact we have the same thing with "hold" in our own language: in ordinary use it means to "count" someone as something, as well as its literal sense of "keep" or "have."
So the leaders run into a verdict the crowd had already formed about John.
Policy, Not Truth
Notice what is missing from their private talk: any interest in whether John's mission came from God. They weigh each answer only by what it would cost them.
Hamilton SmithTheir reasoning among themselves, before answering the Lord, proves their complete lack of any principle. Whatever their convictions, they were ready as a matter of policy to answer either way. But they judge that either answer might expose them to condemnation from the Lord or from men. So they fall back on silence, saying, "We cannot tell." Their hypocritical wickedness now exposed, the Lord refuses to answer their question.
Fear of Man, Not Fear of God
The verse names their motive: they were afraid. Men who should have feared God let the crowd control them instead. A comment on the same men a few verses later states the principle:
F. W. GrantThe chief priests and Pharisees knew that He was speaking about them; but His words held the people, and as yet they could do nothing. Those who have lost the fear of God are the very ones who fall most completely under the fear of man.
The same fear works twice over: it silences them here, and later it holds them back from acting against Him.
A Prophet They Were Glad to Claim
They were caught two ways at once. They would not admit their sins to John, yet they were glad of the honour of having a prophet in Israel:
J. N. DarbyHe asks whether John the Baptist's mission was from God. If they said Yes, then John had witnessed to Jesus; if No, their authority was compromised before the people. Where was their right to ask, "What is the truth?" They knew it; yet they were glad enough to have the honour, long lost, of having a prophet in the middle of Israel. Admitting their sins did not suit them, and so the light was soon put out for their hearts; but the people always accounted John to be a prophet.
The ordinary people had done better with John than their teachers did. They took him for a prophet, while their leaders wanted the honour of a prophet without admitting the sins he exposed.
Judges Who Confess They Cannot Judge
Their refusal to answer cost them more than they saw. Men who came to test the Master's credentials ended up admitting they could not judge John's:
F. B. HoleThey were betrayed by the way they handled this matter. They had no thought of deciding it on its merits. The only thing that mattered to them was what was convenient, and there they were trapped between two bad answers. A decision either way would land them in difficulty. They were sharp enough to see this, and so they decided to plead ignorance. But this plea was fatal to their demand that the Lord should submit His credentials to their scrutiny. They proclaimed their incompetence in the easier matter, and so could not press their demand in the harder one.
Summary
- Held — To "hold" John a prophet means to count him one. The crowd's verdict was fixed, and the leaders knew it.
- Policy — They weighed consequences, never truth. Whatever answer was safest, they were ready to give it.
- Fear — Having lost the fear of God, they fell under the fear of men. The same dread silences them here and holds them back later.
- Hypocrisy — They wanted the honour of a prophet in Israel without admitting their sins. So the light they refused was soon put out.
- Forfeit — By pleading ignorance about John, they gave up any right to judge the Master, and the Lord refused to answer them.