Jesus had authority, which seems to mean a kind of gravitas, a theological heft, a sureness of his subject matter that distinguished him from the teachers of the law. A while ago I read a charming anecdote involving the great Pope John XXIII. One day the pontiff was having an audience with a group of people, one of whom was the mother of several children. At one point the pope said to this woman, "Would you please tell me the names of your children. I realize that anyone in this room could tell me their names, but something very special happens when a mother speaks the names of her own children."