Jesus' Authority At The Temple
Sometimes people view the Gospel of John with suspicion since it records Jesus saying more directly about himself than the other gospels. "I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life" -- those and more of the great "I am" sayings of Jesus are recorded in the Gospel of John. What did the earlier gospels think of Jesus? Would they also show Jesus saying such things about himself?
Matthew, Mark, and Luke together record that on Jesus' final visit to Jerusalem, he went to the Temple and cleared out all the vendors; he also taught there regularly. Those who considered themselves in charge of the Temple came to ask him: Exactly what authority did you have to do that? All three of the earlier gospels record that, at this point, Jesus referred to John the Baptist: You tell me what authority he had to baptize, and I'll tell you what authority I had to do that.
Why did Jesus starting talking about John the Baptist? Was he changing the subject? No; in all three of the gospels, the people understood his point in asking about John the Baptist : "If we say, 'From heaven' then he will say, 'Why did you not believe him?'" They knew full well that John the Baptist said Jesus' authority was from heaven. So if they admitted that John the Baptist was a prophet, they would have to acknowledge that Jesus was even greater, as John had said. That was why they couldn't acknowledge John the Baptist: John the Baptist testified about Jesus. All Jesus would have to say then is, "Why did you not believe him?" and they knew it.
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