John’s baptism: where was it from? Was it of heavenly or human origin? The chief priests and the elders of the people confront Jesus as he goes about teaching the people and ministering to them within the precincts of the temple. Their beef with him concerns the ‘things’ that Jesus was doing. What were these ‘things’ that Jesus was doing? Were they referring to his teachings? Were they referring to his actions such as expelling dealers from the Temple [Matthew 21:12-13] or the wonderful things he was doing [Matthew 21:15]? Whatever it was they were referring to, it appears they were irked by it. Whether out of jealousy or concern for orthodoxy, they were visibly not impressed. And so they approach Jesus wanting to know by whose authority he was doing those ‘things.’ Jesus must have known their intention and so he decided to snare them using their own trap. He was ready to tell them by whose authority he was doing the ‘things’ provided they tell him the origin of John’s baptism.
Jesus’ ministry was considered ‘unorthodox’ by the religious leaders because it was making God more “accessible” to the people. Through Jesus’ ministry, the people were being afforded a face of God that they never knew existed: a God who is loving and close to the people; a God who is willing to forgive one’s transgressions; a God who is not indifferent to the plight of the least of his creatures; a God who is happy when his creatures are happy. Jesus’ ministry was a confirmation that God’s promise of visiting his people was being fulfilled. As novel as it appeared to be, Jesus’ mission had precursors in the prophets, the latest one being John the Baptist. Had the religious leaders paid attention to the prophets and what their mission was (and certainly to their contemporary John the Baptist), then they would have no reason to question Jesus’ ministry. For it was John’s preaching and baptism that prepared the way for Jesus’ ministry. To question Jesus’ ministry was therefore equal to questioning the prophets’ ministry. And no one in his/her right mind, let alone the religious leaders, could do that.