Luke 20:1-8 Sermon
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HOOK: How do you react when you hear the word authority? Do you feel resentment at the thought of someone being over you, or do you like being in control?
Almost everywhere today, authority is questioned. Anyone who holds an office of authority seems to come under suspicion. Some of us learned to respect those in authority. But some of us have a tendency to defy authority. The abuse of power by those in authority over us have made us distrust authority figures.
But not just them, By what standard do you determine your beliefs? We all have reasons why we believe stuff. Our parents shape us, our friends influence us, different groups direct us, our teachers instruct us, the government regulates us, the media shape us, and events color our views.
Some stuff we believe because it can be observed like the fact that water freezes at 32 degrees F. Other stuff we believe is less clear, but makes sense to us such as insurance is supposed to protect us. We also believe in more stuff, for which we may have no proof.
When it comes to deeper things though, if the authority for your spiritual beliefs rests in just everyone’s ideas, then every person's belief is just as valid as the others, right? What's the authority for your beliefs?
How do you handle this book? Do you look over it and evaluate it as an authority? Do you just hold it beside everything else, comparing it as an authority? Or do you hold it over your head as your own authority?
The authority for a Christian's beliefs is Jesus and His Words in the Bible. Christians believe God reveals in His Word-what pleases Him and what doesn't. If the Bible is true as it claims, then it oughta be worth a look. There's only one truth. Everybody can't be right. What's the authority for your beliefs?
BOOK: Jesus was asked this very same question. He was confronted by authorities who drilled him on His teachings and actions. It was during the final week of Jesus’ life as He headed for the cross on Friday. Last week, Chuck described the day before, when Jesus had entered the temple and began to cast out those who were selling products in it, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer.’ You’ve made it into a den of robbers.” Jesus cleaned them out. It was a very dramatic scene. But what made it so powerful of an event was because He was an upstart Rabbi who didn’t get any permission to do it. It was a total disruption to this massive temple complex and He didn’t seem to have any authority to do this. But He never sought human authority.
This was a huge offense to the leadership in Israel at the time. As we have followed the Gospel of Luke for over a year, we have heard Him as He attacked their theology, credibility, and hypocrisy. And now He brought the fight to the center of their power. Jesus didn’t care about the Sanhedrin, popular opinion, the rabbis, lawyers, the scribes, the theologians, or the religious. You have to understand how much hostility was aimed at Him. They loved to wear long robes with tassels. They prayed loud in public and gave their donations in full view of everyone. They sought the best seats and wanted to be called “master” and “teacher”. On the other hand, Jesus taught without any formal discipleship from an acknowledged rabbi, without the accepted credentials, and without ordination, which was given by the Sanhedrin alone. This was unauthorized behavior and it was outrageous!
And the day after He had made such a scene, where was He found? Back in the Temple, in the very place He had just been. And what was He doing? Jesus was preaching and teaching. Unauthortized Preaching and teaching of the gospel! Jesus was the one who helped the poor and fed the hungry and healed the sick and cared for physical needs. But don’t forgert that He spent most of his time preaching and teaching, helping people learn truly about God, calling them to turn from sin, announcing His Kingdom and challenging them to trust in him. And He was back at it, this time in the very Temple complex He had just upset.
Now, this religious leadership was shocked that He had the nerve to return to the Temple and was now teaching in it, again! This animosity and pure anger was welling up in them. It was festering deep within until It blew right up when they asked him furiously, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.”
You see in Israel, it was common for the preachers and teachers to quote only their own authorized rabbi that they had been trained under. But Jesus had his own authority. He spoke on his own authority because he is the highest authority. He answered their question with sharp boldness, ‘I also will ask you a question,’”—here we go—”’Now tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?’”
LOOK: Just pause and think about that for a moment. Imagine you are depending on someone in a life and death scenario. You are trusting their training, their expertise and their knowledge. You want them to be authorized, right? You don’t want them to be trained via YouTube or the social media education that is all around us. Remember a few years ago the Ad Campaign from Holiday Inn Express. A man is leading a group of surgeons to perform Brain surgery. They were surprised at his calm demeanor and precision. Finishing up surgery, he tells them what to finish doing, and takes off his mask. The surgeons are shocked, realizing he is not Dr. Stuart. “No”, he says…. “But I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night”, as he walks out of the operating room, bumping over a cart…. We don’t want that guy! But yet, right here is Jesus claiming His own authority, and questioning the very authorities who are questioning Him!
These were the high-ranking religious leaders: the chief priests, scribes, and elders. These are people who had written books and would have been interviewed by Larry King, who just passed away this week.
So what did they do? They formed a committee of special people and strategized together. “And they discussed it with one another, saying, ‘If we say, “From heaven,” he will say, “Why did you not believe me?” But if we say, “From man,” all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.’ So they answered that they did not know where it came from. They tapped out. They were cornered. They would either have to deny that God used John the Baptist, who had been popular with the people. Or they would have to submit to Jesus’ authority. It was a no-win situation. So they just feigned ignorance and suddenly became agnostic about the whole thing.
This is how religious people are. People still do this, on social media and in gossip, trolls on Twitter, memes on Facebook, the critics of every sort and kind. These are the people who always want to show that they are better than someone and smarter than someone and that people should follow them instead of someone else. Yet when they are cornered, they lose interest, go silent, and feign ignorance. But now they met their match in Jesus, and their own authority crumbles before their very eyes.
TOOK: And Jesus said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.’”
I love Jesus. He didn’t even answer their question. He just asked them one. I imagine he winked at the crowd or maybe He was smiling. But He just stands there, and one-ups them when they thought they had Him trapped. “You answer my question, and then I’ll answer yours” He said.
Why did He do that? What gave Him the authority to ask that question?
You see Jesus has a very different authority than what they were expecting. In Matthew 28:18 Jesus said this, “All authority is given unto Me in heaven and earth.” In Matthew 7:29, at the end of the sermon on the mount, the people’s response was simply, “He spoke as one having authority.” In Matthew 9:6-8, it says “He had authority to forgive sins,” which only God can do. In Matthew 10:1 He had authority over demonic power. In John 1:12, He claimed authority to save. In John 5:27, it says that He was given authority to judge all men. In John 10:18 He said, “I have authority to lay My life down, and I have authority to take it again.” And John 17:2 tells us He has authority over all mankind.
Jesus is not under anyone’s authority but God’s, and He is in perfect agreement with God, as He God. He has a kind of authority that we know nothing about. He has absolute unilateral authority to do whatever He wants, whenever He wants to, with whomever or whatever He wants. Jesus has authority!
Do you believe that? Do you truly, really believe that Jesus has all authority? As you live your life, is Jesus your functional authority? Who is your authority figure? What book or document do you run to determine your beliefs or stances? Are you your own authority?
See, I’ve seen some people who love psychology and DSM-5 becomes their authority book, and Jesus is just a good therapist. I’ve seen people who are into politics and their parties platform is their authority, and Jesus is on their side. Or they love sports and ESPN is the authority they watch and Jesus is just a bro giving some commentary. I’ve seen spiritual people make anything their authority as long as Jesus is just a spiritual person.
How about you? What I have often seen is people do this with sin in their life. They see something prohibited in scripture, but it’s personal to them because it’s what they are struggling with. And it’s really easy to find a teacher or preacher who will explain it away… “Well, that was a long time ago. That was a different culture. Things have changed.” When anyone does that, what they’re saying is something is now in authority over Jesus. Someone is in authority over Jesus.
And there are many different ways other things can become our authority over and other than Jesus: our religious practices, political causes and preferences, worldview, how we were raised, philosophical presuppositions, appetite, financial commitments, sexual orientations and desires, national allegiance, ethnicity and experience. Anytime you play one interest against Jesus, what you’re saying is, “Jesus is not the highest authority.” Someone or something is above him!
And as a pastor, I am indebted to Him as well. I can’t speak on any and everything. My only authority is what the Bible says. I can’t add to it or speak on something that it is silent about. My words have to be bound up with this Word. My life has to be submitted to the authority of Jesus!
And sometimes this is hard work. It’s easy to spout off an opinion, which can’t be proven or observed. It’s easy to rant and rave on social media as some form of Expert or Influencer. It’s very different and takes more work and time to think deeply about something, searching in Scripture to see what God has to say about it, and then rightly apply it and submit to it. You have to take the issue or concern of the day in one hand and the Bible in the other, compare them, and find what Jesus said. That’s what it means to make Jesus your authority.
And if you disagree with Jesus today, or something in the Bible, I plead with you to reconsider, change your mind and agree with Him. Don’t just walk away, but instead change your mind and say, “I’m wrong.” You see it’s not about me being right or telling you what is true, it’s that Jesus is right and true. He is the authority and the truth is that we’re all wrong somewhere. None of us fully submit to Jesus. We all have sin. We all think we’re right when we're actually wrong. We all depend on our own authority at times. And that means that every single one of us has to say, “I’m wrong and I’m sorry. Jesus, you’re right.”
CHRIST CENTERED CLOSING
In fact that is the Christian life. From the moment you and I realize the weight of our sin to the moment we die and enter into the presence of God, we are constantly in repentance. The Great Reformer Martin Luther began the Reformation by saying, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said “Repent,” he intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance.” 30 years later, Luther’s last words restated the same truth: “We are beggars! This is true.”
But before you and I can even come close to changing our minds in repentance, we must first believe. We must believe who Jesus is and that He has authority. In fact everywhere He went He would preach the gospel. In Mark 1:15 He said clearly, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” We can only repent if we believe.
Later that week, Jesus would be arrested and brought before the highest Jewish and Roman authorities in the land. “Are you the king of the Jews?” the Roman governor Pilate asked Him.
And once again, Jesus, boldly just answered with His own question: “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
Now how do you think Pilate reacted when he heard such words of authority? Did he feel resentment with the thought of this Jesus being over him? “What is truth?” retorted Pilate, as the only Truth and Authority stood right in front of him, now condemned to die.
The Jewish and Roman leaders wouldn’t accept His authority. But we must believe His words and His works on our behalf. Jesus was preaching the gospel in the temple that day, and we need Him to preach the gospel to us everyday! We must believe Him. We must believe IN Him. We must take the leap out of the airplane, in naked total abandoned trust in Jesus, alone, as our parachute of safety and salvation. When you do that, daily, that’s when your life starts changing, because you start repenting even sometimes without realizing it.
We must believe Jesus works on our behalf. He is the One with absolute authority, even over His own life. He is the only One that ever laid down His life as a sacrificial offering for the forgiveness of your sin. It’s either Him or you doing it. To believe in His works is to abandon your own self-salvation project and trust His work on the cross has the absolute authority to forgive you, change you, and give you the needed help every day of your life into eternity.
And to do that we must believe in the Words of Jesus. He is the only One that every word that comes out of His mouth is only true and fully powerful. What He says about us is the most important thing about us, ever. His Words are the most weighty and majestic and important things we could ever hear. And every single person will hear Him say either “Well done, good and faithful servant.” or “Depart from me”.
And the deciding factor between those two statements, that determines who ends up where, is whether the authoritative voice of the Son of God echoes over you and your sins in His last words on the Cross: “It Is Finished!” Do you believe that? Are those words the authority you build your life on?