[ Today's Readings ]
And who gave you this authority?”
This is a good question asked for the wrong reasons. When we really understand the authority of Jesus we are astonished.
And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes (cf. Matthew 7:28-29).
The chief priests and elders on the other hand do not ask because they are actually interested. They're worried about popular opinion. How does the authority of Jesus compare to their own? They don't like all the positive press Jesus is getting and want to bring him back down to the playing field of normal human religious leaders. They try to make Jesus say either A) he isn't so special after all, or B) something which will get him arrested for blasphemy. But Jesus has no need to answer a question like this. Instead, he crowd-sources the answer:
Where was John’s baptism from?
Was it of heavenly or of human origin?”
They discussed this among themselves and said,
“If we say ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say to us,
‘Then why did you not believe him?’
But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we fear the crowd,
for they all regard John as a prophet.”
It is about more than what Jesus says about himself after all.
If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true (cf. John. 5:31).
The crowds reveal that this isn't all talk. The people sense something about him, some authority that no one else has.
The officers answered, "No one ever spoke like this man!" (cf. John. 7:46)
Jesus does not need to testify to himself. If we just look at his life with open eyes and open hearts he reveals himself to us at a level that is more persuasive than mere words. Why should we look? We can see what difference he makes in the lives of the crowds, in biblical times, and now. Yet, like Peter, we can't stop there. They crowd might ultimately settle on Jesus being Elijah or one of the prophets (cf. Matthew. 16:14). The crowds force us to take Jesus seriously. They prove that this is more the idle talk. But ultimately only our Father in heaven can reveal to us that he is the Son of God.
I see him, though not now;
I behold him, though not near:
A star shall advance from Jacob,
and a staff shall rise from Israel.
He is coming to us and we are called to look "enraptured, and with eyes unveiled" as he does. Two thousand years after his birth he is still a controversial figure who we can't ignore or easily dismiss. But he desires more than this. He wants us to truly know him, not just about him. He wants us to know who he is, not merely what he says about himself. The crowds that sort of get it can point us in the right direction. But only he can ultimately reveal himself to us.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
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