The key question was one of authority. By what authority did Jesus do and say the things He did and said? I remember in my days as an atheist that sometimes I would shout at God "why should I obey you?" (atheists are rarely as logical as they make out to be!). It is the root of sin, rebellion against God, a refusal to acknowledge His authority. Conversely, the first step to freedom is to acknowledge Christ as Lord.
God is the ultimate authority from which all other authority derives its authority. So to ask God to "prove" His authority is actually illogical. It is like the old school-boy chestnut of "who created God?". God is not a created being, so the question actually makes no sense. Similarly, the question of who gives God His authority makes no sense.
So Jesus does not answer their question directly, but asks them who gave John the Baptist his authority. This put them in a bind, for they actually were not really interested in authority, only in protecting their own position. So Jesus exposed the truth of where they really stood, and they refused to answer.
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