Who's in charge?

Sermon Proper  21A

Matthew 21:23-32 

Rev. Jeff Springer

And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him as he was teaching, and said,  “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”  (Mt 21:23) In today’s text Jesus’ authority is being challenged. Essentially Jesus opponents are asking, “Who do you think you are? Who put you in charge?”

So, what was Jesus doing that prompted this type of attention of the Chief Priests and Elders?

Many things have happened since last week’s text.   Jesus has not only turned his face toward Jerusalem but he is in Jerusalem in a big way. First he entered into Jerusalem with a palm laden parade saddled on the foal of donkey.  The people are crying out Hosanna, Lord save us.  This the type of welcome reserved for kings. Jesus has definitely identified himself as an heir of King David and therefore the promised Messiah.  This is what the people and the disciples confess as Jesus rides humbly up to the capital city.

Interestingly when he rides up to the temple none of the religious establishment is there to welcome him.  Unlike the people and the disciples they refuse to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.

Jesus then goes about his Father’s business once more but this time, Jesus cleanses or some would say symbolically destroys the temple.  Jesus overturns the commerce going on within the temple, the conversion of currencies from that of the nation to the temple currency. 

The national currency was not welcome in the temple because it bore the image and likeness of one who claimed to be god, that is Caesar. But it also permitted a great deal of stealing to occur as conversion rates and fees assessed so that the money changers could make a living. 

There was also the purchase of sacrificial animals which the pilgrim might be charged exorbitant prices for because they could not bring their own.  Or a better animal might have been exchanged for a lesser animal and perhaps the better animal was sold by the temple for a profit on the market.  In any event Jesus judges the temple to be a den of robbers and thieves instead of being the house of prayer that the Father intended for it.

Finally Jesus comes to a fig tree and when he reaches out to get a fig on the tree none could be found. He curses the tree to death.  This rather unusual occurrence is an expression of judgment on Israel. The fig tree represented Israel as its national tree.  Jesus here shows what happens when the Lord returns looking for the fruit of repentance and he finds none. This was Jesus’ experience as he visits the Holy city.

So now Jesus is back in the temple in this text.  What will He do next? Some must have thought.  But the Chief Priests, who represent the church leadership and the Elders who represent the lay leadership, want to question Jesus and his authority. Who does he think he is to come in here and try and change everything. We have everything just the way we want it. 

Many pastors who come out of seminary are told not to try to change things to quickly in the congregations that they are called too. If they see error tolerate it.  Congregations many times have taking on habits and practices that have developed over time. Some wholesome and edifying, some that are not. 

Who has the authority to point out these errors where they occur and to suggest positive changes that find its root in scripture and not in the thoughts of man. In any case the Pastor may be challenged, who are you to call this unhealthy who are you to make tell us to make these changes. We have everything the way we like it.

What is described above is the symptom of a problem, not the real problem.  The real problem is that we do not believe the scripture. We do not believe it has authority.  Very few people today use scripture to make a point.

One reason is that most people have heard other people use scripture to justify a position that really is not in congruence with scripture and rightly find this distasteful. We hear of cults and Christian sects who use scripture to justify polygamy, pedophilia, and other forms of abuse. 

However the more subtle challenge to the authority of scripture is found in the idea that we cannot really know God through it.  God would not restrict his revealed will to one set of compiled writings.  There must be more.  Perhaps every culture every religion has a piece of the truth. We just do not know what it is.

If we do come to place where we believe that God reveals his will exclusively in the scriptures at the exclusion of other religious texts like the Koran or the Book of Mormon, then we are faced with all the differing interpretations that come from the splits or denominations within Christendom. 

If we assert as a denomination that we have the correct understanding or interpretation of scripture, then we are deemed to be arrogant, rather than someone with conviction.  This is the idea of Satan from the beginning where, he poses the question to Eve, “Did God really say that?”  Without the facts and history of scripture we have no legitimate religion. 

This idea that we really can’t know god has found its way into American Evangelicalism, where teaching the faith has given way to the feelings and experiences one has about how God is working in their life now. Somehow this totally subjective experience should apply to you. 

For instance far too many times, even within our own circles will you find a missionary blog that says, they are grateful to God for giving them the opportunity to share their faith in Christ Jesus and how that has impacted their life. 

Sadly, this does nothing.   What needs to be confessed is that Jesus is the Christ who died for the sins of the world, that means your sins are forgiven. Now they have been given something. 

We preach the word not to convince the unrepentant or to try and win someone over but we preach the word to preach faith into that person. Either the Holy Spirit works in the heart of the believer or He does not, that is His business. But it is our role to preach the faith to all who will hear.

                    

Jesus answers the Chief Priests and the Elders with a question.  He says if you will tell me where does the baptism of John come from, heaven or man, than I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 

Jesus has set his opponents up to answer their own question. However they refuse to admit the truth. They know if they say that the baptism was from heaven that they refused and rejected God’s will.

If they answer that the baptism was from man then they would be at odds with the people who believe that the baptism of John was from heaven.  So piously they say we don’t know?  Actually it was not so pious or humble because they knew the answer.

When given the opportunity to repent the church leaders and civil leaders would not.  They did not recognize that they were sinners in need of a savior.  It was through the baptism of John that Jesus began his ministry. A voice from heaven and the appearance of the Holy Spirit as a dove verified the fact that Jesus was doing and would do the will of the Father. That is to identify with sinners, not for Himself to repent, but for Him to carry all the sins washed away by the waters of baptism to the cross. 

After the cross and resurrection Christ, would add to John’s baptism of repentance, the Holy Spirit and the forgiveness of sins as he later institutes it in Matthew 28. 

Jesus continues the theme of repentance as he tells the parable of the two sons. When asked to go work in the vineyard the first son says he will not but later repents and does.  The second son says he will but then does not. 

When asked who did the father’s will the opponents answer the first son to which Jesus replies that the tax collectors and prostitutes, these really, really bad sinners are coming into the Lord’s Kingdom before you who believe you are clean and without sin that you are justified before God by your own merits. 

The chief priests and elders stood by as John was baptizing the repenting tax collectors and prostitutes. They denied the authority of John’s baptism and the authority of Jesus.

For you Christian, Christ’s authority is a welcome thing.  Jesus rose from the dead. If someone beats death then they are definitely worth listening too.  Jesus not only beats death but He is seated at the right hand of God with all authority.

He is able to do what he has promised. He washes away your sin with baptism. He speaks the words of absolution through the voice of the pastor. He gives to you his very body and blood.  You having received these things are entered into God’s Kingdom. Amen.