Matthew 21:23-32 "By What Authority"

Introduction: Today people have a lust for power and control — maybe so overtly — but demonstrated, at least, in their refusal to submit to the authority of Christ and His called and sent servants.

During the last week of Jesus’ ministry, just days before his death on Good Friday, his people, his vineyard, show their bad grapes. Instead of embracing their Master and Savior when he comes to them, they challenge him, question him, try to discredit him by showing he has no authority to do all the gracious things he’s been doing. But when he asks them a question in reply, they halt, stumble, don’t know what to say. In an unexpected way

Christ Answers the Question of Authority.

I. “By What Authority Are You Doing These Things?” (v 23).

A. This question put to Jesus is also a frequent question in the Church.

1. By what authority does the minister the forgiveness of sins?

2. Who is “in charge” in the church?

3. These kinds of questions can reveal the pride that lurks in sinful hearts.

B. We must be on guard against the assaults of the devil and our flesh in questions of authority.

1. Luther: “Ambition is the mother of all heresies.”

2. Illustration

Questions of authority in the Church can, according to C. S. Lewis, turn one into a critic instead of a pupil. In Lewis’s popular The Screwtape Letters (New York: Touchstone, 1996), an apprentice devil has the task of luring a new churchgoer to perdition. Attending church, his devil superior reassures him, is not necessarily the death knell for the hellish cause. In fact, the apprentice might turn his victim’s church attendance to the devil’s advantage. The trick will be to get him involved in church politics, zealously attached to some party within the congregation. Not on issues of real importance, doctrinal matters, mind you, but on indifferent things. When this happens, the worshiper begins to make himself a judge, rather than a student. He assumes for himself the authority to criticize rather than learn. Now you’ve got him speaking the words of the chief priests: “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” (Mt 21:23).

A Case in point:

II. Is Baptism By Heavenly Authority or from Men (vv 24–25a)?

A. The Baptism of John—was it “from heaven or from man?”

1. Jesus’ question is no simple debating tactic. It goes to the heart of the proclamation of Jesus as the Messiah.

a. John is the one who had proclaimed Jesus to be the Lamb of God.

b. So if John’s Baptism was from heaven, his words would be authoritative too, and Jesus must be the Christ.

2. Like the Baptism instituted by Jesus, John’s Baptism was a Baptism into the remission of sins. It was from heaven!

B. What about our Baptism—and other means of grace? Are they by heavenly authority or only human?

1. The question must be asked regarding all the great issues in the Church today.

a. Are Baptism and the Lord’s Supper from heaven or from man?

b. Is the Bible from heaven or from man?

2. Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, the Bible, can only be understood through the eyes of faith. Our trust in their blessings is dependent on the authority of the one who gave them.

III. Jesus Answers the Question of Authority Without Answering the Question (vv 25–27).

A. In refusing to answer, Jesus is actually asserting his authority by refusing to submit to his interrogators.

1. He is above them because he is from above; he is the man who is from heaven.

2. Ultimately he would demonstrate his authority over death and the devil by dying on the cross and rising again.

B. Therefore, the gifts He gives are also authoritative.

1. His Word, every word of Holy Scripture, is reliable and certain.

2. The forgiveness he spoke was authoritative; sins he forgave were forgiven!

3. The Sacraments he gave his Church truly deliver forgiveness, life, and salvation.

C. And Jesus’ authority is still at work today in the Pastoral Call.

1. When ministers of Jesus preach his Word, the hearers hear him

Luke 10:16 ESV

16 “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

2. The ministers preach the Word of Christ, who is The Truth.

3. Like in the Screwtape Letters illustration from a few moments ago, the worshiper begins to make himself a judge, rather than a student. He assumes for himself the authority to criticize rather than learn. As a result, they look at the ministers of Jesus as ones HIRED, instead of called and sent by Christ.

Conclusion

Today there is a war going on, which began in the Garden of Eden, when Satan entered the garden, disguised as a serpent, who then deceived the woman. The forces of God against the minions of Satan—is on. Where, dear friends, are you in this battle right now? On which side do you stand?

Jesus is in Jerusalem for Passover. His authority is being challenged. The war — that began in the Garden of Eden — to overcome man’s disobedience will soon be visible—Jesus’ death on the cross. Smaller battles against unbelief are taking place on dusty roads, cobbled streets, and in the temple at Jerusalem. John the Baptist head was taken from him. Today, we the Church wrestle, battle, struggle, and fight because our Commander in Chief does. So on which of the battle line do you stand? St. Paul, once an enemy of Christ, says in today’s Epistle reading that he is ready to be “poured out”; he is ready to die (Phil 2:17).

Brothers and sisters, we are seeing things today in our world that I’m sure none of us thought we’d see in our lifetime. Christians arrested in America this past week — with handcuffs — because they dared to worship the One with Authority in song, while not being socially distant. In other words, this World that is controlled by the evil one, is trying to dictate how the servants of Christ are the worship the One with Authority. Yesterday, a Supreme Court nominee was presented to the U.S. Senate. Three years ago some of the leaders of this world verbally tried to discredit her because she dared to live our her Christian faith.

Friends, the authority of Christ and of his called and sent servants is question, challenged and attacked, because our Commander in Chief — Jesus Christ went through the same. So the question for each Christian is what side of the battle-line do you stand?

You see, led by, taught by, and trusting in the Lord—The daily skirmishes humble the sinner and cause him to remember the mercies of God. Our God on his authority will graciously forgive even the most wicked when they repent (Ezek 18:27–32; cf Mt 21:31b–32). Fair enough!

The Church rejoices in the authority of Jesus, for in it we hear his Word and are absolved. In that Word will we live, in that Word will we die, and his Word will be forever.