Who does he think he is? Some of the Jewish religious leaders, some chief priests and elders, irritated by Jesus put this question to him in today’s Gospel: “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?” What has Jesus done? He entered the holy city of Jerusalem and performed healings. He “cleansed the temple” by driving out all those “engaged in selling and buying.” He challenges them with the words of the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah: “My house shall be a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of thieves.” (Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11).
This Temple area is the domain of the chief priests and under their authority. So, it becomes something of a “turf war.” Jesus’ prophet action is like the prophetic actions of the prophet Jeremiah:
“Reform your ways and your deeds so that I may dwell with you in this place. Do not put your trust in these deceptive words: ‘The temple of the Lord! The temple of the Lord! The temple of the Lord!’ Only if you thoroughly reform your ways and your deeds; if each of you deals justly with your neighbor; if you no longer oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow…only then will I let you continue to dwell in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors long ago and forever.” (Isaiah 7:3-7).
Like the prophet Jeremiah before him Jesus is teaching that love of God and worship must always be conjoined to love of neighbor or social justice. Jeremiah the prophet, John the Baptist and Jesus all challenge the “religious establishment” who in turn challenge their authority and competence.
Jesus’ authority comes directly from God as does that of Jeremiah and John the Baptist so Jesus puts this challenging question to these religious authorities: “I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me, then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things. Where was John’s baptism from? Was it of heavenly or of human origin?” They refuse to answer since if they answer from God, they would have to recognize the authority of John the Baptist and Jesus. Another tact some religious authorities tried is to demonize John and Jesus:
“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’” (Matthew 11:18).
“But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man drives out demons only by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons.” (Matthew 12:24).
God’s domain is both inside and outside the Temple or church. God can act wherever he wills and however he will. While it is important to recognize legitimate religious authority, we should never think that God’s Spirit is only restricted to one authority or one religion: “The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8)
Image: “Jesus Christ disputant dans le Temple avec les Docteurs de la Loi Twelve-years-old Jesus disputing with the doctors in the temple PK-P-126.681” by Rembrandt, Harmensz. van Rijn (1606-1669) is licensed under CC BY 4.0.