Jesus does not teach in the name of the rabbinical forefathers; he teaches in his own name. This shows that he professes to have an authority that surprises them: is he then greater than the teachers of the law? Is he personally entitled to explain and teach God’s Word? And does he have direct contact with God and can he therefore speak as if he were God himself? Questions multiply now that the Son of God stands before them in humiliation.1
22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.