HOPE! - The Testimony of the Baptist

According to Matthew’s Gospel, an interesting event took place sometime after Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.

Jesus goes to the Temple, and the Pharisees ask him a question: Where did you get your authority? 

Jesus answers with another question: Where did John the Baptist get his authority? 

Within Jesus’ question is the answer. When Jesus is baptized by John, John declares him to be “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world;” also, the Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove, and the voice from Heaven said, “This is my Son, with whom I am well pleased.” 

Jesus got his authority from the testimony of both John the Baptist as well as God Himself, but the Pharisees didn’t want to admit to that, so they decided to play stupid.

Jesus ends the conversation by saying that since they claim to have learned nothing from John, they won’t learn from him either.

Jesus then tells the Pharisees a parable about themselves. 

“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ 

“‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. 

“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. 

“Which of the two did what his father wanted?” 

“The first,” they answered. 

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.”