And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me:
The verse belongs to the final confrontation in the temple, when Jesus acted as Israel's king and gave unbelieving people evidence of His divine mission. In it He answers the rulers' demand to know by what authority He acts by asking in return whether John's baptism was from heaven or from people. He makes His own answer to their question conditional on their answer to His question.
The counterquestion forces them to face the consequence of their own judgment, since either answer exposes their guilt. If they acknowledged John's mission as from God, they would have to reckon with John's testimony identifying Jesus as the Messiah. If they denied John's divine mission, they risked angering the people and losing the people's support. When they evade the question, showing unwillingness to accept the truth, Jesus declines to tell them by what authority He acts.
The verse belongs to the final confrontation in the temple, when Jesus acted as Israel's king and gave unbelieving people evidence of His divine mission. In it He answers the rulers' demand to know by what authority He acts by asking in return whether John's baptism was from heaven or from people. He makes His own answer to their question conditional on their answer to His question.
The counterquestion forces them to face the consequence of their own judgment, since either answer exposes their guilt. If they acknowledged John's mission as from God, they would have to reckon with John's testimony identifying Jesus as the Messiah. If they denied John's divine mission, they risked angering the people and losing the people's support. When they evade the question, showing unwillingness to accept the truth, Jesus declines to tell them by what authority He acts.