Jesus Is the Ultimate Prophet, Priest and KingSample

Jesus was rejected as Prophet

“And when He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to Him as He was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?’” (Matthew 21:23)

Jesus was preaching a lot. His teaching attracted large crowds, since people noticed that He spoke with authority. But especially for Jesus’ family members and fellow citizens, it was hard to accept Him as a prophet from God. After all, they had known Him since He was a little boy, so how could He make such huge claims about Himself being the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies and proclaiming the truth about God’s Kingdom?! Moreover, His teaching was often hard to understand or hard to accept. Jesus did not mince His words, for example when He called the religious elite ‘hypocrites’ or when He said that His disciples should be ready to give up their lives in order to follow Him. For many people, this was too much.

The chief priests and scribes felt their own authority was threatened by Jesus’ preaching (which is not surprising, since He called them ‘hypocrites who shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces’). They were hostile and suspicious and did not accept Jesus’ authority to teach. In the end, they even sentenced Him to death for speaking the truth. His claim to be the Son of God was condemned as blasphemy.

When you read Jesus’ words in the Bible, do you accept them as the ultimate truth?