Question on Authority
Question on Authority • Sermon • Submitted
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Everyone has an Authority
Everyone has an Authority
Believe it or not you live under Authority
All of us consume information, process it, personalize it, and then live by it
we consume books, social media, personal experiences, scripture, spiritual teachings, societal norms, blogs and the like.
Society has been actively decentralizing authority and dispersing it so that everyone has more access to information....
This is deceptive because behind every bit of information is an authoritative figure who is influencing your way of thinking and living.
No one lives without authority and all of us need to question what are the sources of authority in our lives.
The question to meditate on this morning is what does my response or reactions to authority tell me about myself.
Pharisees question Jesus Authority
Pharisees question Jesus Authority
Gospel of Matins: Matthew 21:23-27 “23 When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?” 24 Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 “The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?” And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 26 “But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the people; for they all regard John as a prophet.” 27 And answering Jesus, they said, “We do not know.” He also said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
23 Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?”
Context: The day before Palm Sunday and the cleansing of the temple. These actions surprised the Pharisees…The next day when Jesus came to the temple they were prepared to stop him.
They question Jesus on where He received authority to clean the temple, bring the sick in and teach the people.
The pharisees were responsible for and had the authority to manage the temple.
To the pharisees Jesus had stepped on their authority, so they questioned him.
The way the managed the temple was in question…there was corruption
Instead of answering them directly, Jesus in turn questioned them back because He wanted to expose the condition of their heart.
The authority that we choose to follow is reflective of the condition of our heart (NEED TO REVISIT THIS STATEMENT)
Matthew 21:25 (NASB95)
25 “The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?”
‘The baptism of John’ was an all encompassing look at the ministry of John the Baptist. It includes his teaching and the actual baptism....The question simplified: Was John’s work human or divine in origin? only 2 options on the table
Option 1: heaven
We believe and know John’s work/ministry was divinely ordained from the time The angel appeared to Zacharias in the temple to announce the birth of John.
But what is the implication of John’s ministry being Divine or ‘from heaven’
The ministry of John the forerunner, bore an undeniable similarity of Jesus’ ministry
John said repent and make your paths straight
Jesus said repent for the kingdom of God is at hand
By saying John’s ministry was from heaven, there were pinned to admitting that Jesus’ ministry was from heaven as well!
It would be condemning because they refused the teaching and authority of Christ
From the ministry of John into the ministry of Jesus, the action of God among His people was undeniable
Matthew 21:25 (NASB95)
And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’
Option 2: Men
To say that John’s ministry was man made/developed ministry would put them out of favor with the common people
The people are who the pharisees wielded their authority over
The people served them in the sense that they provided them with a sense of authority
To loose favor with them, would be to loose their authority…Pharisees were afraid to loose their own authority.
26 “But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the people; for they all regard John as a prophet.”
The predicament of the pharisees
Denial of truth & Succumb by fear
They didn’t want to believe the string of undeniable events starting with John the baptist through Jesus
They didn’t want to loos their status by saying john’s ministry was from men because of fear
They knew admitting to the truth would lead to change that may not be favorable for them
What does it say about the condition of their heart when they deny truth out of fear of personal loss
They refused to see a line of evidence pointing to the truth because they are ruled by fear.
This is a paralyzing position to be in....refusal of truth yet ruled by fear
This is a common position in our lives.
ex. couples in marital turmoil…subconsciously they know something needs to be addressed (elephant in the room) but they are afraid because things will change.
ex. getting involved in unhealthy circle of friends that scream in your conscious to get out but out of fear of rejection you hang in there
ex. knowing God is calling you to forgive but fear that they will have gotten the best of you causes you to hold on to your anger
ex. I have doubts about the faith and grew accustomed to living at a distance from God knowing that if I really seek out answers that something would need to change
The tragedy of this position comes in what is lost
27 And answering Jesus, they said, “We do not know.” He also said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
Whats lost is an opportunity to know the awesome power of God’s authority which sets us free from the fear that paralyses us.
His authority is seen by those who have come close as a place of refuge…not fear
1 In You, O Lord, I have taken refuge; Let me never be ashamed; In Your righteousness deliver me.
19 How great is Your goodness, Which You have stored up for those who fear You, Which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You, Before the sons of men!
Embracing and drawing close to God allows us to experience His goodness which come in accepting His authority. It frees us from fear and allows us to embrace a transformational truth.
What does His authority look like
He leads us in a path of repentance
He shows us the power of forgiveness
He sustains us through the trials when we actively pursue him
He continually refines my character
He molds me into the image of His Son
Lets not live in avoidance of His authority. “you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.”