11:29
One might have thought that by now they would have learnt that asking Jesus questions was not a good idea! At least asking questions with the intention of trapping Jesus. To ask questions with the intention of learning from Jesus is a very good thing to do. So here Jesus responds by asking them a question, and He will only answer their question if they answer His. In general this can often be a good tactic in debates, for underlying the question will be all sorts of presuppositions. And these presuppositions may well be mistaken. So to answer the question directly can be implicitly assuming the presuppositions of the questioner, whereas it is better to get them on to the ground of truth, rather than the ground of falsehood.
11:30
Jesus asks them about John the Baptist. John had had a big effect, and he had been very popular with the people. Moreover, he had quite clearly pointed the way to Jesus. “John’s baptism” effectively refers to all of John’s ministry. Baptism was the defining point of what he did, calling the people to repentance.
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