Again, this continues the brag about his authority. He has ‘head of house’ authority, and now we see he has ‘head of temple’ authority.
To analyze the two Jesus’s theory, at the end of verse 20, the Anointed Jesus was with the “wild beasts”, and “Shy Jesus” had a small crowd of followers. Verse 21 may very well reference both Jesus: “They” are in Capernaum, so Anointed Jesus and Shy Jesus with his followers are there, but it’s Anointed Jesus who teaches – because it is stated that he has authority greater than the scribes, which the Anointed Jesus would have. By putting both men into the same synagogue, a setup for conflict is created and the narrator makes it clear who is right and who is a Zealot.
A couple of issues for consideration:
- Were they following Sabbath rules? Is traveling from town to town on the Sabbath ok?
- What were the rules about having guest teachers, or a visiting high priest?
- “amazed” really?
- What is the idiom being addressed with “teaching as one having authority and not as the scribes”?