In today’s gospel we see Jesus in an encounter with the Pharisees as time rapidly approaches the events we know as Holy Week. The Pharisees and other religious leaders have had about three years of reports, stories, encounters and more about this itinerant preacher from Galilee. How is it that the son of a carpenter is so well versed in Scripture and such a gifted orator? What about the reports of healings, driving out demons, healing leprosy, and all the demonstrations over the power of nature? The pieces of the puzzle are all there waiting to be joined into one clear mosaic. He is the one who teaches with new authority, who commands the power of the sea, the one who implies he has the power to forgive sin! But they just can’t put it together. They just can’t see it. Continue reading →