The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God, and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

Matthew 21:23 “And when He had come into 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?’ 24 And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘I will ask you one thing too, 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 multitude; for they all hold John to be 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.’ 28 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.’ 29 And he answered and said, ‘I will, sir’; and he did not go. 30 And he came to the second and said the same thing. But he answered and said, ‘I will not’; yet he afterward regretted it and went. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The latter.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I say to you that the tax-gatherers and harlots will get into the kingdom of God before you.’” (NASB)

The conversation recorded in today’s Gospel reading happened during Holy Week. On the first day of Holy Week, Jesus rode toward Jerusalem on a donkey to the praises of the Passover pilgrims. “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!” The pilgrims acknowledged Jesus as the Son of David, which was and is a Messianic title. They knew by what authority Jesus said and did the things He did. They just didn’t understand what the upcoming crucifixion on Friday had to do with the title “Son of David.”

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, (Matt. 21:10-11) “all the city was stirred, saying, ‘Who is this?’ 11 And the crowds were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.’”

Once in the city Jesus went straight away to the “temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.” (Matt. 21:12) After that “the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.” (Matt. 21:14)

As the religious leaders in Jerusalem watched all these things unfold, it seemed that their greatest fear was about to be realized. The whole world was going after Him, at least the world of the Jews seemed headed that way. So on the first day of the week, the chief priests and elders wanted to have a conversation with Jesus to see what could be done with Him. “And when He had come into 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?’”

It was a reasonable question and completely within their rights to ask. The chief priests and elders were responsible for what went on in the temple. It was their job to make sure that all that happened on the temple grounds was in compliance with the laws and doctrine of Moses. It fell to them to make sure that the worship services were rightly conducted, the Old Testament was read, the liturgy was used, and those who taught in the temple were teaching correctly. Of course, the problem was they didn’t know what the right teaching was. Never-the-less, when they asked Jesus by what authority He was saying and doing “these things,” they were doing their job.

Now while we and the observers of the day can only guess at their motives, Jesus knew what the priests and elders were thinking and why they were asking the questions. “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”

Jesus did what He almost always does in face with disingenuous questions. He turned the tables on His questioners. 24 “Jesus answered and said to them, ‘I will ask you one thing too, 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?’”

By the way, it’s a great question for many reasons, but two in particular. The question goes to the authority and commission question of the ministry and office of John the Baptist as the promised forerunner to the Christ. It also tells us something of the authority and power of baptism. As a rule anything that comes from heaven, comes from God and anything that comes from God has divine authority and power, especially the power to forgive and remit sins. Jesus Himself came from heaven and His chief purpose was in coming was to bring about divine forgiveness and remission of sins.

Here’s the thing. The chief priests and elders understood this divine axiom. If something or someone comes from heaven, they or it comes from God; therefore all should yield, especially the people in charge of the temple/church and worship services. But the elders and priests had no intention of yielding.

The question left the priests and elders on the horns of a dilemma. If they answer that the baptism of John came from heaven, they would also have to admit that John the Baptist was sent from God. If they admitted that John’s preaching and baptism and John himself were sent to them from God to prepare the way of the Promised Messiah. This all means the John the Baptist’s testimony concerning Jesus, namely that He was the Son of God and the Son of David, the Promised Messiah. When Jesus came to be baptized, John said to Jesus, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” Later he pointed to Jesus, and said to some of his own disciples, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

To acknowledge the origins for John’s baptism and John’s ministry was to acknowledge Jesus as the Son of David. If they denied John and the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, they risked backlash from the people. The people believed John was a prophet on the same level of prophets like Isaiah and Eziekel. John had also become a beloved martyred.

Sitting on the horns of this dilemma, the elders and priests take the cowards’ way out. They reason to themselves, “‘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 multitude; for they all hold John to be a prophet. 27 ‘We do not know.’ He also said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.’” If they can’t acknowledge the lesser, the office and baptism of John, they most certainly cannot and will not acknowledge the greater, the office and baptism of Jesus.

They were not interested in the truth. They were the ones misunderstanding Moses and prophets. They were the ones teaching bad doctrine. Instead, of following the laws and teachings of Moses and honoring the truth, the temple authorities honor their own agenda. Their God is not the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Their own agenda is their god. By the end of the week, the world would see for all time that they had a political agenda rooted in their own self-righteousness. “We have no king but Caesar.”

They refused to answer Jesus’s question so Jesus will not answer their’s. That didn’t mean the exchange was over. Jesus wasn’t done with them. He asks them another question. He asks them to think about a man with two sons.

“To the first [he] said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ 29 And he answered and said, ‘I will, sir’; and he did not go. 30 And he came to the second and said the same thing. But he answered and said, ‘I will not’; yet he afterward regretted it and went. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The latter.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I say to you that the tax-gatherers and harlots will get into the kingdom of God before you.’”

Jesus was likening the priests and elders to whom Jesus was speaking to the first son. The one who said he would do the will of his father, but did not. The first son had no intention of doing it. The tax-collectors and harlots were likened to the second son, the one whose first reaction was defiance, but then he regretted his knee jerk obstinance, repented, and went and did the father’s will.

So let’s be clear about what Jesus is talking about here. He is talking about repentance. Repentant sinners regret our former obstinance. That was the very thing that the priests and elders weren’t–repentant. That was also what the books of Moses called for and what all the other prophets preached.

Their refusal to repent and to hear the Word of God and receive their Messiah was seen in their rejection of John’s baptism, of John’s call to repentance, of John’s testimony concerning Jesus.

In the parable both sons sinned. One son, the second son sinned in the first half of his story and the other son, the first son sinned in the second half of his story. What separated them was that one had remorse for his wrong followed by compliance.

There exists in each of us the child who says “no,” then does it and the child who says, “yes” then doesn’t. But Jesus is not like either son. In this regard he is not like us. When sent by the Father He agreed immediately and obeyed perfectly. So there on the Cross of Good Friday, we have the both the first and second son of the parable crucified. Jesus was the Son who said “yes” to the command and will of His Father, then without hesitation or doubt did it in our stead.

In the hymn Dear Christians, One and All Rejoice, stanza six has us sing the following, “The Son obeyed His Father’s will, was born of virgin mother; And God’s good pleasure to fulfill, He came to be my brother. No grab or pop of power He wore; a servant’s form like mine He wore to lead the devil captive.”

This reading and the parable began this morning with a question that was put to Jesus. ‘By what authority are You doing these things.” That same question is often asked of Christians and the Christian church. “By what authority do you call certain things sin? By what authority do you absolve and retain sin? By what authority do you say only those who believe in Jesus Christ will be saved? By what authority and who sends you to tell us to repentant?

Well, Jesus finally did answer the authority questions of the elders and priests. He answered those questions on Ascension Day when just before He was taken up into heaven He instructed His disciples 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:18-20)

We are children of our heavenly Father. He as sent us into the vineyard to do the work of the church and to live our lives as Christians. For all those times we say yes and don’t or no and do, He remains our forgiving and sending Father. Our Father who sent His Son Jesus Christ to say yes to and who did the will of His Father in our stead.

AMEN

May the Peace that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Pentecost 17, 2020 – By What Authority?

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