The Authority of Jesus
Matthew 21:23-32
June 10, 2012
This morning we have the privilege of talking about one of the most relevant topics for our day and time in all of Scripture.
That topic is: SUBMISSION
Without a doubt it is a word that has become hated in our society,
And it is a practice that is all but becoming obsolete.
Let me give you some examples.
Ephesians 5:22 “Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.”
• And yet today with the women’s liberation movement, submissive wives are anything but the norm.
• That is why I praise those women in our congregation so heavily who have decided to go against the flow and be the wives God commends.
Ephesians 6:1 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.”
• And yet watch kids today, especially teenagers.
• In our society parents are seen as nincompoops and clueless.
1 Peter 2:13-14 “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.”
• But there isn’t much of that going on.
• Ask people for their opinion on police officers
• Or turn on the radio or television and listen to the attacks that take place on those who do govern our nation.
Ephesians 5:21 “and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.”
• Our society is so consumed with making sure I get my way and my rights,
• That often times the other person’s desires mean nothing.
Hebrews 13:17 “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.”
• But often self-centeredness causes people to disregard their spiritual leaders.
And then an obvious one.
James 4:7 “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
Submission is one of the most basic plans of God.
It is interwoven into the fabric of how God commands people to live.
And here is the reality of submission.
Every act of defiance, whether it be a wife or a child
Or to the government or to one another;
Every act of defiance is actually an act of defiance toward God.
Romans 13:1 “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.”
• Do you know why husbands have authority in the family?
• Do you know why parents have authority over their children?
• Do you know why the government has authority over the country?
Because God, the ultimate authority, granted them that authority.
If a king passes his seal down to another,
That person acts with the authority of the king.
It doesn’t matter if you like them or not.
It doesn’t matter if you think they are qualified or not.
They have authority because the king gives them authority.
They act on His authority.
And so to refuse to submit to someone God grants authority to;
Is to refuse to submit to God.
AND THIS IS A MAJOR PROBLEM.
As long as I live I think God
Is going to have me proclaiming this same message, and that is
THAT SAVING FAITH AND SUBMISSION CANNOT BE SEPARATED.
So much has been put on the concept of “believing” in our society
That many think salvation is simply to believe something is true,
Or to give some sort of intellectual assent to something.
But when you read the Scripture you understand that
Submission is a definite part of believing.
John the Baptist preached and said this:
John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
“believes” is PISTEUO
“does not obey” is APEITHEO
And John used them interchangeably.
In his mind there was no such thing as true belief apart from submission.
You and I must realize that apart from submitting our lives
To the Lordship of Christ there is no salvation.
After all, don’t we know that in order to be saved
We must confess Christ as what? “Lord”
And not just call Him Lord, but do what He says.
John 8:31 “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;”
John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”
You can claim to believe all day long,
But if you have no submission then your belief is not valid.
It all boils down to this one thing.
DO YOU RECOGNIZE THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS?
• If you do, then as a wife you will submit to your husband.
• If you do, then as a husband you will love your wife.
• If you do, then as a citizen you will submit to the governing authorities.
• If you do, then as a child you will obey your parents.
• If you do, then as a believer you will obey your leaders.
• If you do, then as a person you will submit to your neighbor.
Simply because Jesus said to.
DO YOU RECOGNIZE THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS?
Well, that is where we are in our story
Here in Matthew’s gospel this morning.
On Monday
• Jesus entered Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey and the crowds sang Hosanna.
Monday night
• Jesus wept over Jerusalem,
• Entered the temple, looked around and went home to Bethany.
Tuesday morning
• Jesus cursed a fig tree on the way to Jerusalem
• When He arrived in Jerusalem He cleared out the temple
• He then healed the blind and lame and went home again
Now it is Wednesday morning,
• On the way, the disciples noticed the withered fig tree and Jesus explained true fruitfulness.
And now He has made it back to the temple.
And as I told you previously, this is the first time
Things have been set in their proper order.
We now have the Messiah in the temple teaching the people.
Jesus has full control of the temple and the instruction taking place.
Everything for this day was as it should be.
And what a day of instruction it is!
In your Bible Wednesday goes from Matthew 21:18 – 26:5
On this day we learn:
• The authority of Jesus (here)
• The parable of the vine-growers
• The parable of the wedding banquet
• Jesus teaching on paying taxes to Caesar
• Jesus teaching on the resurrection
• Jesus giving “The Great Commandment”
• Jesus condemnation of the Pharisees – calling them hypocrites
• Jesus again pronouncing judgment on Jerusalem
• And the entire Olivet discourse about the end times
This is a day of great instruction and authoritative teaching
Directly from the mouth of the Messiah.
And it all begins with a question regarding His authority.
3 things
#1 A CONFRONTATIONAL ATTACK
Matthew 21:23
There we have taking place exactly what we spoke of.
Jesus has “entered the temple” and “He was teaching”
Having run out all of those money changers and flee market proprietors
Jesus has full use of the temple and the courtyard and He is teaching.
While much of what He taught on this day is recorded,
We don’t know exactly what He is teaching here.
John 12 gives us some insight. Since the triumphal entry occurs in John 12:12 and John 13:1 have Jesus in the upper room,
We know that the teaching in the middle
Must have occurred either on Tuesday or Wednesday.
But in John 12:44-50 Jesus says:
John 12:44-50 “And Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. “He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. “If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. “He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. “I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”
That most certainly was an authoritative message.
I come from the Father – I speak for the Father – You must believe in Me!
This is the type of message Jesus is preaching here in the temple.
But His teaching gets interrupted.
(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?”
In other words, “Who do You think You are?”
• Jesus just cancelled the flea market.
• Jesus just ran out the money changers.
• Jesus just put an end to the sacrifice sellers.
• And now He is walking around the temple telling everyone how to live.
And the religious leaders want to know
Who He thinks He is to do something like this.
Now please understand this is the main reason they hated Jesus.
They hated Him because of His authority.
They had that same un-submissive attitude we talked about earlier
And they hated the way Jesus came in
And authoritatively told them what to do.
People who reject the authority of God
Hate it when someone else tries to tell them what to do.
But before we go further, it is important that you understand
That Jesus did in fact have authority.
Jesus taught with authority.
Matthew 7:28-29 “When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.”
Jesus had authority to forgive. Remember after the healing of the paralytic:
Matthew 9:5-6 “Which is easier, to say, ‘ Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk’? “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” — then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.”
Jesus had authority over demons.
Mark 1:27 “They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.”
Jesus had authority over death
John 10:17-18 “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”
Jesus had authority to save
John 17:1-2 “Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.”
Jesus even had authority to send
Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Jesus had plenty of authority, it radiated off of Him
And the religious leaders hated that about Him.
Now, let me tell you why they hated His authority.
1) HE WASN’T ORDAINED BY THEM
In Jesus day a man became a rabbi by
First being trained and then ordained by the Sanhedrin.
He was then declared a Rabbi, Elder, and Judge
And was granted authority to teach, express wisdom and render verdicts.
And so all teachers came from them
And they were the ones who gave authority.
And Jesus completely bi-passed and disregarded their system.
• He wasn’t trained by them
• He didn’t cater to them
• He didn’t ask for their opinion or their permission
2) HE WAS DOGMATIC
When we talk about the “chief priests and the elders”
We are not here talking about the Pharisees.
At this time it was the Saducees who controlled the temple.
Annas had bought the priesthood and several of his sons sat as high priest as well as his son-in-law Caiaphas.
And these men were the liberals of the day.
Acts 23:8 “For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.”
They called into question even the actual truths of Scripture
And declared that one couldn’t take it literally.
And so to have Jesus show up and speak authoritatively
About things such as God, righteousness, judgment, and salvation, just irritated these men to no end.
He taught when He shouldn’t have been teaching
And He spoke confidently about things they declared to be uncertainties.
They hated His authority and so they confront Him.
“By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”
Now, in fairness sake, let me say that this is not a bad question.
If someone came in the back door this morning and started turning over pews and then teaching everyone in here, I’d have a few questions for him too.
This is not a bad question.
The problem is that these men
Didn’t recognize the authority that Jesus used.
So that leads to the second point.
A Confrontational Attack
#2 A CONFUSING ANSWER
Matthew 21:24-27
They want to know what authority and here is Jesus’ answer.
“Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.”
He wasn’t beyond telling them,
He just wants to know if they will recognize the authority that He has.
And in order to make his point He asks one question.
“The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?”
Now, we know the answer to that question,
And so did the entire crowd gathering around here.
Jesus had already taught:
Matthew 11:7-15 “As these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? “But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ palaces! “But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. “This is the one about whom it is written, ‘BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.’ “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force. “For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. “And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
It is clear who John the Baptist was.
• He was the anointed, Spirit-filled, herald and forerunner to the Messiah.
• He was a preacher of righteousness and repentance.
• And He was a preacher that had been rejected by the religious elites.
Luke 7:29-30 “When all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.”
And here Jesus wants to know if God told John to come baptizing people
Or if men told John to do it.
And what a problem it sets off for the religious elite.
“And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ “But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the people; for they all regard John as a prophet.”
Now that is a problem.
If we say God told John to baptize He’ll want to know why we rejected it.
If we say men told John to do it, we’ll lose the crowd because they were all baptized.
But they knew John had God’s authority.
John 1:19-23 “This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, ” I am not the Christ.” They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
John was clear about his calling and where his authority came from,
But they did not recognize his authority.
And now they are in a dilemma because of it.
(27) “And answering Jesus, they said, “We do not know.”
One can only imagine how embarrassing that must have been for them.
And so Jesus answered.
“Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
In other words, “It doesn’t do Me any good to explain My authority to you because you don’t recognize it.”
Matthew 7:6 “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”
And Jesus wouldn’t here.
They didn’t attribute authority to God.
They didn’t submit to God’s authority.
So what God would it do for Jesus to say, “God gave me this authority”?
Now there is a lesson in that for us.
When you submit your life to Christ,
It often means you will set yourself in opposition to the world.
Because the world does not recognize God’s authority.
(That’s what makes them the world)
Romans 1:21-22 “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools,”
And so following God will often put you at odds with the world.
But listen, when we are given authority from God,
We do not need man’s permission.
Paul told Titus:
Titus 2:15 “These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.”
That is what Jesus meant in the Great Commission:
Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
He didn’t say “Check with people, and if it’s ok make disciples”
He said, “I have all the authority you need, so go and make disciples!”
Jesus acted on God’s authority,
But He didn’t feel the need to explain that to these people
Because they didn’t recognize God as authoritative.
A Confrontational Attack, A Confusing Answer
#3 A CONDEMNING ANALOGY
Matthew 21:28-32
And it begins with a parable.
(28-29) “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ “And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went.”
Now we know what kind of son this was.
• Initially he was rebellious.
• He wasn’t always a good kid.
But he also had a conscience for “he regretted it and went.”
He didn’t start well, but he finished well.
And then there is the other son.
(30) “The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go.”
And this son is just the opposite.
He is the Eddy Haskel of the group.
When the father asked him, he answered “yes” in hypocrisy.
He was a phony.
AND TO THAT JESUS ASKED A SIMPLE QUESTION.
(31) “Which of these two did the will of his father?”
To ask it another way, “Which one submitted to his father’s authority?”
And the answer is obvious.
“They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.”
See, the “tax collectors and prostitutes” were like the first son.
They started out rebellious.
They started out wicked.
But they later felt remorse and repented and did the father’s will.
But these men were just the opposite.
(32) “For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.”
Now please notice an important change of words.
Up in verse 31 what is Jesus talking about? ACTION
“Which of the two DID the will of the father?”
But in verse 32 what is He talking about? BELIEF
“you did not believe him…the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him”
Can I remind you again that belief and action are linked?
They are all summed up in submission.
How do we know the tax collectors really believed? THEY REPENTED.
How do we know the chief priests didn’t believe? THEY DIDN’T REPENT.
O sure they talked a good game,
But talking a good game without repentance means absolutely nothing.
God is not impressed by empty chatter.
Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”
And that was the religious elite to a “T”
Matthew 23:1-3 “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.”
Luke 6:46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”
DO YOU GET THE POINT?
Let me get back to where we started.
DO YOU RECOGNIZE THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS?
DO YOU SUBMIT TO THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS?
Not, “Do you believe in Jesus?”
Many say yes to that.
What I want to know is He your Lord?
Is He your Master?
Have you submitted your life to Him?
This is what Jesus is talking about here in the temple.
HE IS LOOKING FOR THE REAL DEAL.
And He is more pleased with IRS agents and hookers that repent
Than He is with church folks who never do.
Don’t try to play games with Jesus.
Recognize His authority and submit to Him.
Now this morning you notice that we are taking the Lord’s Supper.
And this is such a fitting ordinance for the church
Because it reminds of so many things.
• Through the Lord’s Supper we remember the sacrifice of Jesus.
• Through the Lord’s Supper we again examine ourselves.
• Through the Lord’s Supper we unify since we all partake of one body.
But the Lord’s Supper is also a time
That reiterates the authority of our Lord over and over.
Simply because our Lord said, “do this in remembrance of Me.”
Do it, and do it the right way!
Paul said:
1 Corinthians 11:26-32 “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.”
It isn’t just a matter of partaking,
It is a matter of partaking in a worthy manner.
To partake of the Lord’s Supper
Is a declaration of trust and submission to Christ,
Whereby I come to Him, submit to Him, and trust in His atonement.
But to fail to do it, or to fail to do it properly
Is only to go through the motions like the religious elite in Jesus’ day.
It meant nothing to Him if they strained out a gnat
Because they swallowed a camel.
And so the point is clear.
This morning we return to the table and remember the sacrifice
And remember what this sacrifice demands of us.
That Jesus Christ came not only to be savior, but Lord of the church.
Romans 14:7-9 “For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.”
At this time we have our time of preparation for the Lord’s Supper.
LORD’S SUPPER
• Deacon’s come forward
John 10:17-18 “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”
• Give Bread to Deacons
• Deacon Prayer
• Pass out Bread
1 Corinthians 11:23-24 “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
• Take Bread
John 17:1-2 “Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.”
• Give Juice to Deacons
• Deacon Prayer
• Pass out Juice
1 Corinthians 11:25 “In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
• Deacon Prayer
