I shall ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was John’s baptism of heavenly or of human origin?

Why was John the baptist offering baptism in the wilderness? Well the dead see scrolls give us the answer. In John Bergsma’s book, “Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls” he explains in great detail why John was doing what he was doing and why it matters. It is believed that John was part of the Essene community. A group of monks that lived celibate lives and were cloistered from women and all other people.

They made many vows to be part of this community, a few are relevant to this reading. First they wore camel hair when they traveled outside their communities. They did this because Isaiah said that Elijah would return and herald the coming of the lord. The Essenes also believed that they would be the ones to proclaim the news that the messiah was coming. Camel hair is what Elijah wore when he lived on Earth, and so the Essenes honored him by doing the same. Second the Essenes took a vow to not eat any food that was prepared outside their community, and so when baptizing he would only eat from the land, meaning locusts, and wild honey.

So why was he baptizing in the wilderness? The Essenes believed that the pharisees had been so corrupted, and because they were not Levites, the Essenes believed that the pharisees could not offer true sacrifice in the temple, and the faithful could no longer get forgiveness from God at this now desecrated temple. As such, John was offering an alternative service for the holy jews that had been disenchanted by the pharisees, and agreed that the temple was not a sacred place anymore.

So in today’s reading, when Jesus asks the pharisees, about John’s baptism, He is setting a trap for them. Either they say it was heavenly and admit that John was a prophet of God, that they killed. Or they say it was humanly, and they deny their own eyes, and risk the wrath of the many people of Israel (including Herod), who revered and loved John the baptist and called him a prophet.

So Jesus is basically asking them…, if you will not believe John, a highly revered and accepted prophet of God, why would you accept that Jesus is the son of god. So why would He waste His time trying to convince them. This is a truly valid question, that needs to be considered by the pharisees, and also ourselves today. Faith requires assent, and if you cannot believe the earthly miracles and human prophets, why would you believe that Jesus is the divine Lord? This is a question that needs to be mulled over, and prayed with, in each and every one of our hearts.

Oh lord, help me to see the truth of your teachings, and the validity of your divinity. Amen.