Unbelief and Failed Leadership

Introduction

Many churches in this city like to say that everyone is welcome. This is not the case for us. Not everyone is welcome here. There is a bar of entry and the ticket is humility. This is not a church for the righteous; that is, those who think they are righteous. This is also not a church for sinners who are proud of their sin and do not believe they need saving. But if you are someone who knows that you need help. That you are guilty, spiritually sick, and unable to make yourself holy. If you are seeking the truth because you know that without the grace the reveals truth you will die in your sins. Even if you are not a Christian at this moment, if you come humbly before God seeking the truth, knowing your own failure and weakness, than you are welcome. This is the one for whom the church is for. We can do nothing for those afflicted with pride that keeps them in unbelief. But to the one who earnestly seeks God in humility, they will find Him in His Church.

Last week we observed the very visible parable the disciples experienced with the withering of the fig tree, which boasted of great fruit but was fruitless like the religious establishment in Jerusalem. Though they thought of themselves as much better than their idolatrous forefathers, their response to the coming of Christ revealed their true nature.

Thesis: The failed leadership of the chief priests and Pharisees was rooted in their unbelief. They had not given their wills to God’s purposes because they did not believe God to be good, and devoted themselves to an outward show of holiness rather than a true following and trust in God. God is pleased, not in a display of holiness, but by obedience that comes from true faith.

Jesus’ Authority is Challenged

Jesus is teaching in the Temple, continuing the ministry he was sent to do. He does this in the temple both to show that the purpose of the temple was to learn true worship of God and to establish himself as fulfilling that purpose. Just as true worship in the OT was defined by the temple so that prayers were always made in the direction of the temple, so Christ comes as the fulfillment as he will now be the centre of all proper worship of God.

Worship involves teaching and learning, but is more than that. We are in error if we think that worship is only knowing and being taught truth, but also if we think that worship can be done without being regularly taught the truth of God revealed in Christ.

The scene is set for the beginning of the final conflict, as it were, between the Christ and the corrupt religious leaders. After the picture of the fig tree contrasted with the power of God at work in genuine faith, the leaders come at Jesus with a more direct confrontation than at the temple the day before.

The chief priests are those priests of higher social standing in Jerusalem, as are the elders. This group collectively makes up what is known as the Sanhedrin, which included both those from powerful priestly families as well as other well connected and wealthy families in Jerusalem. Many of these elders were Pharisees, as we see them referred to as Pharisees in verse 45.

They come to Jesus while he is teaching, preaching the same way he has been throughout his ministry up to this point. While in the past Jesus limited his clashes with these powerful people and often retreated from towns and cities to let things cool off, now Jesus is willing to let the confrontation heat up. He knows what is about to happen during this holy week and the time has come to let the confrontation between God’s begotten son and those who will be responsible for his death come to fruition.

The leaders ask Jesus a very political question in a very public format. At some point this year, either sooner or later, we will be having our national election and we will see reporters interviewing MPs and candidates with questions about every issue they believe is important in order to expose their policies and put them to the test. In this public format, as Jesus is teaching, the leaders certainly are not really interested in the truth of the matter, as we will soon see. Rather, they are like certain journalists who are more interested in embarrassing a candidate they do not like than they are actually investigating their policy.

This question is rooted in something we saw way back in Matt 7:28-29

Matthew 7:28–29 ESV

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

Jesus’ preaching went far beyond the tradition-backed dialogues of the day. Instead, Jesus spoke with the authority, not only of a messenger from God, but of God himself. He pointed people to himself as the answer to all that the Scriptures had pointed to. He allowed himself to be praised as the Son of David and that all who would know God must come to God through him. Such bold claims must be backed by authority. The teaching of the religious leaders of the day was always backed by authoritative traditions and Rabbis of the past like Hillel and others. Most teachings were interpretations of interpretations of the OT Scriptures. Christ, on the other hand, spoke as one who not only knew how to interpret the OT, but one with the authority to declare its fulfillment in himself. So what authority could back up such claims? How could he prove that his teachings were indeed from God?

On a certain level, this is not a bad question. Christ did not demand blind faith from his followers. When John the Baptist had asked whether he truly was the Christ, Jesus had sent him back with the evidence of miracles and the good news preached to the poor as direct fulfillment of the prophet Isaiah. Jesus wasn’t just walking around claiming to be the Son of God without evidence. For those with eyes to see; who truly and sincerely desired to know God, the truth was right in front of them. A Roman centurion could see it. A Canaanite mother could see it. Peter could see it. Even the children in the temple could see it.

However, what Jesus does next is expose the true intentions of this question. He does this by asking them a question about the ministry of John the Baptist.

Jesus isn’t being unfair in demanding they answer his question first. Rather, Jesus is asking this in wisdom because their response shows their true motives and actually gives them what they claim to be looking for. If John the Baptist was from God, than certainly the one whom John Baptized after declaring him to be the Christ is indeed the Christ, and therefore has all the authority one could ask for to teach what he is teaching. But if John the Baptist simply taught his own opinion and speculation, then there is no reason to take Jesus’ words seriously either.

DA Carson:

“If the religious authorities rightly answer (Jesus’ question), they will already have the correct answer to their own question.”

If the leaders are indeed sincere in their question, they certainly have had enough time to think about what John’s ministry was all about. They questioned him, saw his baptisms, and witnessed the entire conspiracy which ended up with John being beheaded in prison at the whims of the king’s step-daughter. John’s own claim was that he was the forerunner of the Christ, and he had declared that Jesus was him. So what did they think of John?

They do not answer at once, nor does each individual give their own thoughts. Instead, they come together for a meeting that is similar to what any political meeting must look like during a big scandal before any words are given to the press. The truth is not important; it doesn’t even come up in their talk. If there was a man in that discussion who did have sincere thoughts or beliefs about John, they didn’t voice them. Instead, the conversation revolves completely around what people will think. They feel backed into a corner, realizing that either answer will have serious consequences with their public image. Either they will look like a fool for not listening to John, or the crowds will be unhappy with them. While Jesus was never afraid to speak the truth, these men think only of the consequences of their words and not the truth of them.

Micah speaks of leaders like this in Micah 3:5

Micah 3:5 ESV

Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who lead my people astray, who cry “Peace” when they have something to eat, but declare war against him who puts nothing into their mouths.

Their words of “peace” or “war” do not come from a true word from God, but are manipulations in order to please themselves. Such people can only be called atheists, for how could they believe in a God who would let them get away with this? Their motivations are not in the pursuit of truth, but in the pursuit of the temporary self: pleasure, success, riches, and public esteem. Even when they do speak truth or ask questions regarding it, they do not truly seek it. They have hidden motives because they do not believe in truth. They believe only in what they can do to manipulate others into getting them what they want and avoiding pain or persecution. Even a controversial person may do this. I’ve seen street preachers, evangelists, and apologists who weaponize truth in order to create controversy and anger so as to make everything about themselves. This is motivated by the same instinct: one that is motivated by manipulating with truth rather than finding redemption in the truth.

Jesus Challenges the Unbelief of Israel’s Spiritual Leaders

The parable of two sons. Neither of them follow their words, and yet one is clearly better than the other. To declare disobedience and walk in obedience is clearly better than to declare obedience and walk in disobedience.

The son who professes disobedience are the tax collectors and prostitutes. They have taken up a public life of sin, and yet when they heard the truth of the Gospel they believed and walked in true repentance and faith. The Pharisees and chief priests profess to walk in the way of godliness and they keep this appearance up well. However, they have no true faith and when the author of the Scriptures they profess to follow shows up they do not recognize him or accept him. Even in asking for proof of his spiritual authority, they are completely focused on making it a publicity stunt and saving their image than they are about pursuing the truth.

The problem with the Pharisees and chief priests is that they do not believe they have need for salvation from their sins. They want salvation from an outside problem, the Romans, not an inside problem which brought the Romans in the first place, their sin.

Now by no means is Jesus condoning or approving of a sinful lifestyle. Far from it. Rather, he is showing that when a tax collector or prostitute asks the same question the leaders are asking, it is much more likely to be genuine. They do not have a public image to lose, and so when they ask such questions it is much more likely to be the result of a genuine search for truth. To those humble seekers of truth Jesus shows himself.

This is why shame can be a very good thing. Our culture has completely abandoned shame in this part of the world. People parade around their sexuality, TV shows centre around immoral lifestyles, and comedy is crass and inappropriate. People are told to not be ashamed of who they are, but this simply serves to make everyone a hypocrite; as if it is not all just a desperate attempt to save face. On the other side of the spectrum is a Christian fundamentalism which denies those with shameful lifestyles from seeking the Saviour who came to wash away the stain of our shame, not merely cover it up with excuses or self-righteousness. It is good that prostitution is a shameful lifestyle. There is no pride in that. Everything that is celebrated at a pride parade ought to bring public humiliation and disgrace. However, it is out of the ashes of this shame that a sinner, who knows how sinful they truly are, can seek a Saviour who offers forgiveness and cleansing, who bore our shame in his body on the cross. Only from a place of shame and humiliation can we be sure that when we ask “is Jesus truly the Christ, the Son of God?” we ask it with a genuine heart, and not to influence how people think or feel about us. When they already don’t think much of you, and for good reason, you have nothing left to hide behind and nothing left to pursue in life except the truth.

While our culture says we shouldn’t feel ashamed of ourselves, the problem with the religious leaders was that they didn’t feel enough shame. They medicated their guilty conscience with a life of prideful self-righteousness that thought only of what others thought so that the mask could stay on; that the respect of the world would compensate for the displeasure and wrath of God. Shame is a doorway of pain through which the goodness of the gospel is entered into. It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. Those hungry and thirsty for a righteousness they know they do not have. This is why confession is such an important part of a healthy Christian lifestyle; it is a practice we keep together in the household of God through which we make sure the mask of self-righteousness is never raised and through which forgiveness and love in Christ may be experienced. It is far better to be a known tax collector, prostitute, homosexual, alcoholic, porn addict, murderer, adulterer, liar, cheater, or thief who, through the shame of these sins, finds at the end of a search for true redemption a bloody cross and empty tomb that signals the end of shame and of the power of sin, than to be praised as the most respected, honoured, or revered saint who ever lived and yet never truly experienced the power of saving faith in Jesus Christ.

Wasn’t it a murder named Moses whom God called to be his prophet? Wasn’t it a prostitute named Rahab who was the one survivor in the city of Jericho because of her faith? Wasn’t it a doubter named Thomas whom Christ showed the wounds in his hands, feet, and side after he rose from the dead? You have no need of a religion that scrubs you clean on the outside while the disease of sin and unbelief rages on within you. You need a shame which breaks down all self-righteousness and bears within you a search for truth, and this bears within you faith in the living God revealed in human flesh in the Lord Jesus Christ, and this bears within you a true holiness which cleanses you from the inside out.

Conclusion

The Gospel, when preached with love and empowered by the Holy Spirit, is the great sword from the mouth of Christ. It divides those who believe from those who do not, however their lifestyle up to that point may have looked. It dissolves the illusions and shows what is true.

The one with true faith does not merely confess Christ, they take up their cross and follow him. Though they lived in putrid sin before, now the Saviour has brought them redemption and they follow him wherever he may lead.

The hope of our faith is that Christ came for sinners who know that they are sinners.

As we take of the table, remember who this is for. Remember what the temple was for. Remember those whom Christ came to save. It is a table for sinners who know they are sinner but have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation from both the condemnation of sin and the power of sin, so that you will walk in holiness when you eat in faith and walk by faith.