seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Matthew 21:23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”
24 Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”
They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”
27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
Back to John the Baptist... who was beheaded by Herod at the request of his stepdaughter [and niece], Salome. I'm pretty sure the chief priests and the elders knew about John the Baptist. I get it, they figured he was just another crazy.... because he was not from the house of Levite, working with a rope around his waste at the Temple. They never figured him to be any threat to them. After all, what did they have to "repent" for? Jesus tore into the court venders at the Temple the last time He was there. I'm pretty sure, when He showed up on the Temple property this time, the venders went to the chief priests and the elders to keep Him in line. Jesus was the nephew of a chief priest. John the Baptist was the son of a priest. John's mother was Jesus's mother's cousin.
I bet in modern language the conversation would have been more like this.
Chief priests: "What are you doing here? Didn't you do enough damage the last time? Who told you to come here and teach? Just who do you think you are?"
Jesus: "Weren't you listening to my cousin John's message? Didn't you pay any attention and repent? Why did you not at least call on Herod for the murder of John?"
Chief priests: "We don't know anything about that. It concerns Herod so it's politics not religion."
Jesus: "Well, then I don't have anything else to say to you morons.... and that's about religion.... not politics"
Point is.... the church didn't recognize the Messiah.
They only saw a vandal.
