With Authority - Matthew 21:23-32

©Copyright August 27, 2017 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche

We all know there have been times when our children have questioned something we have told them to do with “Why?” And, even though we swore we would never say these words, we told them anyway: “Because I said so!”

I hope you will concede with me that some of our authority structures have been destroyed and it is not good. Public officials are no longer treated with respect. Teachers are sometimes held hostage to the antics of a few. Some in the workplace give no regard to others and simply “do their own thing.” They believe they know what is best because they have been there the longest (and let’s grant that sometimes that is true). Some men don’t even take off their hats when the flag is passing or the National Anthem is played. Police are often treated shamefully.

Authority is necessary. There is certainly something to be said for people learning to do what they are told simply because of the one speaking. (For example, a child running toward a busy street needs to stop when a parent screams “STOP!”) However, much of the time we respond with an authoritative tone because we don’t like to have our authority questioned. We are in charge and we want everyone to know it. And once our authority is questioned it doesn’t matter whether the person’s idea is a good one or not. We do not want to appear vulnerable!

I think this is some of what we see played out between Jesus and the Jewish leaders. These men were used to having authority. People paid attention to what they said. They liked being the experts. Jesus came on the scene and the people responded to Him. Many of the people paid more attention to Him than they did the leaders. What’s more, Jesus criticized the leaders. They didn’t like it. They were threatened by Jesus.

Jesus had come into the temple and disrupted business. It is the busiest time of the year (most profitable too). Jerusalem was swollen to capacity with people arriving for the Passover feast. Jesus was a thorn in the side of these leaders.

They came to Jesus and I suspect they said with all the bravado they could muster

“By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?”

24“I’ll tell you by what authority I do these things if you answer one question,” Jesus replied. 25“Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?”

They talked it over among themselves. “If we say it was from heaven, he will ask us why we didn’t believe John. 26But if we say it was merely human, we’ll be mobbed because the people believe John was a prophet.” 27So they finally replied, “We don’t know.”

And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things.

The Authority of Jesus

All the authority we see in the world – that of parents over their children, employers over employees, the government over citizens and even policeman over the people – is delegated or derived. In other words, everyone has to have authority given to them. The leaders want to know who gave Jesus authority. What these religious leaders were asking is this: “Who do you think you are?”

Once again these leaders think they have backed Jesus into a corner. If He says His authority is from God, they will call Him a blasphemer. If He says He has no authority, they will ridicule him before the people as an imposter.

Jesus turned the tables on them; like a boxer who gets out of the corner of the ring just in time to pin his opponent in that very same corner. Jesus says, “I tell you what, I’ll tell you where my authority comes from if you answer one question for me: “Did the authority of John the Baptist come from God or was he just a guy who was pretending?”

Imagine the scene: the leaders huddle up. We are told about their conversation (which was likely overheard). If they say John the Baptist was a fraud, the people will be up in arms because they considered John a prophet. If they say he spoke with God’s authority Jesus will say “Why didn’t we believe John (especially when he talked about Jesus)? It was a no win situation. What they planned to do to Jesus had been done to them.

They came back to Jesus and said, “We don’t know” but Jesus knew the truth. He responded, “Then I won’t answer your question either.”

What is most sad about the story is the leaders were asking the wrong question. They asked, “Where did you get your authority?” But, they should have been asking, “Is this man speaking the truth?” They don’t debate whether John came from God. They didn’t care! They didn’t care about the truthfulness of what Jesus said either. They just want to protect their hold on power!

Pride is a great hindrance to faith. People don’t want to admit they have a need. If someone voices a criticism of any kind (even constructively) we immediately become defensive. Deep down we don’t want to admit that we are sinful and cannot save ourselves. We don’t like the notion of submitting to the authority of another . . . even if it is God Himself. We certainly don’t want to give up any of the authority that we think we have. We are constantly jockeying for position and our society is sadly governed by a “pecking order.”

The only antidote to this harmful and destructive tendency is to humble ourselves before the Lord. Remember, Jesus gave the disciples authority to act in His name but he told them to exercise that authority as servants, not as Lords. They were to understand that their authority was a derived authority. It came from and was under the authority of the Lord.

Think of it like the authority of the babysitter. They are in charge . . . but only to the degree the parents permit. The babysitter has authority to exercise the parent’s will. In like manner, the disciples had authority to act in Jesus’ name. Theirs authority was a derived authority.

We serve the Lord. Whether we are leaders on a board, teachers, pastoral staff, youth leaders, or even as we (as believers) serve in the world. We serve HIM! This means the decisions we make, the actions we take, or even the things we ask others to do need to be motivated not by our agenda or priorities but by the Lord’s. Even if people answer to us . . . we answer to the Lord.

What Respecting God’s Authority Looks Like

I do not believe the next section is a different conversation. I believe it is a continuation of this discussion. How do we know if we respect God’s authority?

We all know people who call themselves Christians. Some go to church regularly. Others do not. James said,

22But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. (James 1:22-25)

It seems to me that this is the same point Jesus is going to make in his parable.

28“But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older boy, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ 29The son answered, ‘No, I won’t go,’ but later he changed his mind and went anyway. 30Then the father told the other son, ‘You go,’ and he said, ‘Yes, sir, I will.’ But he didn’t go.

31“Which of the two obeyed his father?”

They replied, “The first.”

Then Jesus explained his meaning: “I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do. 32For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins.

The story is about two sons. Both are told to go out and work in the vineyard. The first son says he won’t do it. Perhaps he had other things he would rather do. However, after he thought about it for a while, he did what his father asked him to do. The second son told dad he would go to the field and work. However, he never did so.

Jesus asked, ‘Which of the two obeyed his father?” The answer was as obvious to them as it is to us: the one who did what his father had asked.

Then Jesus draws the lesson. John the Baptist came and called people to baptism and repentance for the remission of sin. Though the religious leaders may have been initially fascinated by John, they would not repent or come to him for baptism. You see, repentance requires admitting you did something wrong. The Pharisees were too proud to admit such things.

The tax collectors and prostitutes on the other hand, may have initially resisted John’s message but they eventually came to be baptized. They knew they needed something in their life and came to John convicted of their sin.

Even amid the great revival taking place under the ministry of John; even after seeing lives changed in amazing ways, these leaders would not repent.

When I first came to Christ I was initially reluctant. The reason for my reluctance was not intellectual, it was my pride! We had a guest speaker who asked all who wanted to follow Christ to raise their hands while all heads were bowed and eyes were closed. I wanted to respond but I wouldn’t do it because I had been in the youth group for many years. I grew up in the church. I didn’t want anyone to see that I had not already turned to Christ for salvation. I didn’t care that heads were bowed and eyes were closed. I didn’t trust people! If they peeked, I would be exposed as a sinner in need of grace. I didn’t think my reputation could handle that!

You’ll be happy to know that the Holy Spirit continued to work on me and that night I knew I had to open my life to the saving power of the gospel and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. I then gladly told my friends of my decision to follow Christ.

Jesus declared that it is not about our profession of faith . . . it is about our possession of faith! Faith is not the ability to answer questions on an exam. Faith is following the Lord. The true disciple is not the one who has spent many years in the church. The true disciple is the one who trusts Christ as their Savior and follows Him as their King.

One of the justifiable criticisms of unbelievers is: many Christians don‘t act at all like Jesus. They make grand professions but their lives are no different than the rest of the people around them.

They are governed by the question: “what’s in it for me?”

They criticize and beat up those who are vulnerable

They divide and argue over really dumb things

Their morality is no better than that of the world.

They are selfish

Their priorities are governed by the world and not the Lord

They seem to be angry at everything and at times seem to be delighted that some people are heading to Hell.

They live self-indulgent lives.

These people are like the second son; they profess faith but do not follow through. I believe there are many who feel they are saved because they said a prayer once but, they never followed through. They claim to be followers of Christ but do not follow!

This is the same point Jesus made with the fig tree – a Christian that advertises fruit but has none is worthy of God’s displeasure.

Practical Principles

First, no matter how much authority you are entrusted with in life, you are still under the authority of the Lord Jesus and the Word of God. When we start believing we are the ultimate authority we are in BIG trouble because we are suffering from a serious delusion.

As we said earlier, all authority is derived authority except for God’s authority over us. He is the ultimate authority. We are responsible to Him and those who do not respect His authority will face very unpleasant consequences.

What this means practically is this: when we are given a measure of authority over others we must use it in the way God commands. God says authority is not about power or abuse; it is about service. We are to use our authority to guide others and to equip them.

Paul told his protégé Timothy that in his role as a Pastor he has the responsibility to teach the truth always. He must not tailor the truth to his purposes or for his advantage. And James reminds us that those who teach . . . those who have authority, will face a stricter judgment. Practically this means:

The Pastor will be judged on how faithfully He taught and how consistently he showed love and grace rather than by how big he built his church or how popular he became.

The parent will be judged on how well they trained their child in the things of God and how effectively they trained their children to live faithful lives in the world rather than on how effectively you indulged your children or by how cool they thought you were.

The teacher will be judged by how carefully they taught students rather than how well they taught curriculum. They will be judged on whether they equipped students to think rather than merely get a grade.

Legislators will not be judged by how well they defended the agenda of the party; they will be judged by how well they defended and protected the freedoms of the people and if the city, state, or country was better off because of them.

A spouse will be judged by how well they honored, served, and cherished their spouse rather than on how much they could buy or what they could GET from their mate.

These men asked Jesus about authority but they knew nothing about it. They were trying to protect their power. If they were concerned about authority, they would have pulled out the Scriptures to see if what Jesus said was true. And seeing that it was, they would have followed Him as the Lord of Life.

Second, Salvation is not based on pedigree, income, or the position you hold. It is based on the genuineness of your faith. It is not about the information you know, the education you have, or the charisma you possess. It is about following Christ as your Savior and your Lord.

The tax-collectors and prostitutes were on the very lowest rung on the ladder of social status. Most people dismissed these people as “lost causes,” yet, Jesus said they would enter the Kingdom of God before the teachers and leaders in Israel.

Do you hear this? You may feel it is too late for you. You have too many scars. You have hurt too many people. You have done things you are ashamed to tell anyone. Perhaps people shun you because your reputation is so bad. But here is the good news: Christ died for you. He invites you to come to him for forgiveness and new life. And, if you do so, your past (all of it!) is forgiven and God will give you His Spirit to lead you to new life; a new beginning; a fresh start.

His love is anchored to what you were made to be . . . what you still can be . . . not to what you have done or where you have failed. He is not looking at you in terms of your past but in terms of your future. So, in His name, I invite you to come to Him.

In the quiet of your heart, say a simple prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I know I have messed up big time. I want to be made new. I want to be part of your family. I believe you died for me. I don’t know why, but I believe you when you say anyone who comes to you will not be cast away. So I come. I bring you the broken pieces of my life and ask for your forgiveness and new life. Help me to follow You from this day forward. Amen.

In the end, it is not the way you look or the things you declare . . . it is whether you do what the Father has commanded. He commands us to repent and believe. Those who do so will be forgiven. They will see life with new clarity. They will follow enthusiastically. They will serve ungrudgingly. They will grow in love and they too will learn to look past the scars and see the treasure He has placed in each of us.

How do I know? Because He said so!