By What Authority?

Radical transformation wouldn’t be radical if it wasn’t stepping on someone’s toes. Only the upstarts are described as ‘radicals.’ Jesus was an upstart, and those in power — those who assumed a monopoly on righteousness — wanted to know by what authority Jesus did what he did. But this is the power of the doing of God’s work: When God calls Moses to act, to lead the people of Israel through the sea, there is no doubt who is doing what. ‘You shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has freed you from the burdens of the Egyptians (Exodus 6:7).’

Questions and Answers

Jesus, as we encounter him in the Gospels, never gets into the habit of telling people who he is. Rather, he demonstrates who he is in what he does and says, and so invites us to answer the question of his identity. In today’s Gospel reading the religious authorities are shocked that he says to a man that his sins are forgiven. Only God can forgive sins. So who is Jesus then? The Pharisees and the Sadducees are left with a problem: Once they have removed all of the improbable answers to the question, they are left with only one answer. Only God can forgive sins. This is true. And Jesus forgives sins. So who is this Jesus?