He comes into direct collision with the ecclesiastical authorities, denying that they are the true spiritual guides of the people, and presenting Himself as the supreme authority in matters spiritual.
"The Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of St. John, Vol. I"
Marcus Dods
It must have been plain to the people who heard His words that their own ecclesiastical authorities were meant.
"The Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of St. John, Vol. I"
Marcus Dods
The purchase of the telegraphs was socialistic; the proposal to purchase the railways is socialistic; a national system of education is socialistic; and an ecclesiastical establishment, if it were now brought forward as a new suggestion, would be pronounced socialistic too.
"Contemporary Socialism"
John Rae