The first to plead his case seems right until his neighbor comes and questions him.
Alfred Wegener gave geology a new paradigm.
When Alfred Wegener first presented evidence for plate tectonics early in the twentieth century, he was derided by the scientific establishment. Standard theory invoked land bridges, long since eroded or sunken, to explain similarities in flora and fauna across oceans.
Wegener continued to amass evidence, but what brought scientific consensus his way was the mapping of sea beds by submarines after World War II and the development of laser techniques which permitted precise measurement of continental drift.
That is how science progresses—by questioning earlier hypotheses and bringing new evidence to bear.
Today an intriguing new hypothesis, known as expansion tectonics, receives derision similar to that which faced Wegener—when it is not simply ignored. Will its questions (and predictions) eventually force yet another modification of geological theory?
Jesus came to an Israel which held a legalist theory of righteousness. His actions and the questions he posed to the religious leaders of his day challenged the reigning consensus. The Pharisees had seemed right until Christ became the neighbor who questioned them. Then the weakness of their presuppositions became painfully apparent.