Pride Comes Before a Fall
The Gospel of Mark: Seeing Jesus Clearly • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Do you ever struggle with authority?
Do you ever struggle with authority?
What about when their not looking?
What about when their not looking?
A boss or coworker
A government official
A parent
The God of the Universe
Well, your not alone. Honestly, this may be the most common struggle we have as human beings. We think we know better. We think we are the authority on an issue. We close ourselves off from instruction and input. We know what’s best.
18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
This simple proverb strikes a chord with every person, at one time in their life or another. Today’s passage, in the Gospel of Mark, is going to show us just how bad pride can be and where it can lead.
Mark 11:27-12:12
Mark 11:27-12:12
27 And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him,
28 and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?”
29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.
30 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.”
31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’
32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet.
33 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
1 And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country.
2 When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.
3 And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
4 Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully.
5 And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed.
6 He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’
8 And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.
10 Have you not read this Scripture: “ ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
11 this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
12 And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.
In this passage we see the religious leaders of the day challenging Jesus on the issue of authority and then we read Jesus response. Jesus parable is a scathing accusation against the leaders in Jerusalem.
The Trap of Pride
The Trap of Pride
27 And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him,
28 and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?”
29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.
30 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.”
31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’
32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet.
33 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Pride blinds you from the truth.
Pride blinds you from the truth.
Pride prefers control over honesty.
Pride prefers control over honesty.
The End of Pride
The End of Pride
1 And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country.
2 When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.
3 And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
4 Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully.
5 And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed.
6 He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’
8 And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.
10 Have you not read this Scripture: “ ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
11 this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
12 And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.
What has God given to us?
What has God given to us?
As individuals?
Talents
Gifts
Life, health, breath
Ministry
As the church?
Fellowship
Community
Responsibility
What has God commanded us to do with it?
What has God commanded us to do with it?
What Authority is driving our decisions?
What Authority is driving our decisions?
Am I pridefully choosing my own path?
Am I humbly choosing to follow God?
Is there any part of your life that you need to release control of?
Is there any part of your life that you need to release control of?
