I invite you to turn this morning to Matthew chapter 21, Matthew chapter 21, as we continue to look at this gospel of Matthew and make our way through it. Page 982, we'll be looking at verses 23 through 32 of Matthew chapter 21. Let's give our attention this morning to the Lord's powerful word, beginning at verse 23.
"And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching and said, by what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority? Jesus answered them, I will I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, From where did it come? from heaven, or from man? And they discussed it among themselves, saying, if we say from heaven, he will say to us, "Why then did you not believe him?" But if we say from man, we are afraid of a crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet So they answered Jesus, we do not know He said to them, neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. What do you think? A man had two sons, and he went to the first and said, "Son, go and work in the vineyard today." And he answered, "I will not," but afterward he changed his mind and went. And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, "I go, sir," but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father They said, the first Jesus said to them, truly I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him
And there will end the reading of God's word.
Well, beloved in the Lord, Matthew wants us to think about, at this point in the gospel, as we've moved we looked at Jesus last time showing that he is a prophet of mercy, but also a prophet of judgment. And here we have come to his judgments being exercised on the nation of Israel. And this is a very important section that we come to, because it's really addressing, in the ministry of Jesus, his issue of authority the issue of, authority that Jesus Christ has it speaks of of course, his power and his right and his rule to rule as the King, his great claims to rule and to bring in the kingdom of God on this earth, and that he is indeed the Messiah. He is indeed the Messiah who has come, the one sent from heaven, the long waited for Messiah.
And it's surprising, the responses that we have seen to him. When Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount, you'll remember that when he preached, there was something different about his preaching. There was something that captivated the masses and the crowds about his preaching. In fact, the word that is chosen when it describes his preaching says that after he preached, the peoples were literally blown out of their minds they were mind blown because he spoke as one having authority, and not as the scribes and the Pharisees. He wasn't out they weren't Jesus was not out giving little homilies jesus was not out giving things that people could sit around and and quoting all these people and and and arguing about the law and these the kind of the way that the scribes and the Pharisees did. He spoke with authority when he spoke, and it was recognized among the people.
What does that authority mean for us as followers of Christ? What is that all about? And what does it look like to come under that authority? And what does it look like to not do so? It seems to me those are the very important questions of this particular text this morning. And that becomes front and center in the theme of this text: the authority of Jesus Christ, that is being driven home. All of us should ask that great question: How have we responded to the authority of Jesus Christ? And this passage will show us what it means to reject that authority in one's life and what that looks like, and why that is the most foolish choice that one could make ever, because the very mark of being a true follower of Jesus is that we have come to him as the King, as the one who has all authority.
So that's what's before us this morning. We have a challenge to Jesus' authority, the hypocrisy of that challenge, and then Jesus gives a conclusion to that challenge, as he often does, with a parable or a teaching to solidify the main point that he is making.
In this last section, Jesus has marched right into the temple. You remember, after the triumphal entry, the next day he comes into the temple. And what a scene that was! What a scene that was! We had the prophetic cleansing of the temple. Remember, Jesus is flipping seats when he went in there. When he saw the abuse that was going on that they had made his Father's house a den of thieves and of merchandise and so the scene that we had was him one exercising judgment. And I said last time, it's amazing that's all he did. When we looked at exactly what was happening in the temple, he had made a we know In the temple cleansings, a whip of cords with strands to whip people. He had overturned the tables. He had flipped over the money bins, all over the floor. Thousands and thousands of coins flipping out over in the middle of the temple. So zealous was he for his Father's house, because it was meant to be a house of prayer for all the nations.
And you remember in that scene who came to him? It was the blind and it was the needy, and the children are the ones singing the psalms singing out to the lord the children are the ones singing hosanna psalm 118: "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." That must have been quite a moment to watch! Imagine being a disciple and seeing that, standing right there. Number one, it's just uncomfortable, but think of the level of offense that was just brought in the heart and center of all of Israel's religious activity. They were probably thinking, "What in the world are we doing here? You have just royally angered all of the spiritual authorities in Israel." And that's what makes our text so remarkable this morning.
He leaves the temple. He then went out and cursed the fig tree. The thing withers up as the symbol of Israel. And then what we have, as we come to our text this morning, is him coming right back to the temple. Verse 22 kind of says it it's just if it's no big deal. He comes right back into into the temple, he enters the temple, and then he begins to teach.
If I went to and I could never do this because I don't have this kind of authority but if I went to a compromised church and I flipped over the pulpit (if I don't have those anymore, but I flipped over the plexiglass and I threw down the offerings and I spilled the money everywhere and I flipped the pastor's chairs and I went up and confronted the elders and I got a whip and started whipping the deacons. What do you think might happen? Well, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to go back there next week. It's probably not a good idea.
That's exactly what he does. What a warrior! What a champion for truth! What a champion for God's house! This guy goes into the temple the next day and starts teaching. From their perspective, this guy i mean, it's a remarkable moment to think about. Our Lord He goes back to the temple with absolutely no fear, and he begins to preach the gospel again to the needy. And as he's doing it, all kinds of people are gathered around him. And sure enough, the massive confrontation begins.
We read that the chief priests and the scribes and the elders, you'll notice here, walked right up to him. You could imagine the scene, of course. There are temple police. There are authorities. These are the temple authorities. I emphasize the word authorities. They are the authorities of the temple. And here come all the Jewish authorities right at him. Everything has reached a boiling point.
I mean, think about it. You can put this together. He's been healing the sick. The blind have come. The lame have come. And to fulfill Psalm 8, all the children are singing And Psalm 118, Hosanna. And he says, "You won't sing, but God can raise up children from these rocks to sing praise and worshipers. Here is he is preaching the gospel to the multitudes in the middle of the temple. What a scene! And the major clash comes.
We have seen this the whole way through: the common people were able to hear him. I mean, it's just a remarkable thing. The common people, the needy people, were able to hear him. And we'll be getting to that last line that is the most jolting in the passage this morning of who enters the kingdom the common people, the needy people, the broken people the sinners. They They were able to hear him. They were they were able to to come to him. they were able to listened to him and they believed him but they weren't so impressed with these guys with their phylacteries (that's coming in chapter 23), their long robes, and their tassels. The people what's being proven here had never really been persuaded by the teaching of the scribes and the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin and the religious councils. Jesus is teaching, and they're coming. So here comes the question: "By what authority do you do these things? We want to know who gave you this authority. Who gave you the authority to flip our tables? Who gave you the authority to act like you own the temple? Who gave that to you? You don't have credentials. We want credentials. Show us."
It's serious confrontation at this point in Matthew's gospel, and very important for the strategic timing of it that Matthew has given this to us. "You don't have the authority to do what you're doing. You've never been trained in our schools. You don't have a degree. Who gave it to you?"
Now they think they've pinned him. They think they pinned him. Because if Jesus answers and says, "Well, I have no authority," they can pitch him, of course, as a self-proclaimed authority and wreck him among the people. But if he says, "I am authorized by God," he is putting himself on par with God, of which they could say, "This is blasphemy." So they they're trying to pin him into a corner here to wreck his credibility and to wreck everything that he's doing.
This is what people do all the time when they're confronted with truth. We see this in society. What they want to do first the first tactic before things ever get violent is to try to wreck somebody's credibility. Well, he's going to a cross. They're going to kill him. But this is the one of the first paths before that: is to always attack credibility and authority.
I find this this moment really important in the Gospels because it really is the question that, that i think in God's wisdom, everybody needs to wrestle with. It's the big question. Everybody needs to think about It's the important question. All peoples are called to consider the question of authority. What kind of authority does Jesus have? And who gave it to him? That might be just one of the most important questions, really, to think about Jesus and his identity in the Gospels, isn't it?
Well, what does Jesus do? That's the question at this moment. And in typical sort of rabbinical fashion, he poses a question to them.
"Jesus answered and said to them, I will answer you with one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John this is a little bit of a You have to work through this, and you have to stay with me, because it was a more challenging sermon to write in the study, and I think you'll see why. The baptism of John where did it come from? From heaven or from man
It's a brilliant moment. It's a brilliant question. It's really a simple question at face value: Where did John get his authority to baptize? Unspoken is: John was baptizing and proclaiming me. But where did that authority come from? He's out baptizing, and masses of people were coming to John to receive this. Masses of people were coming. You could sort of ask the question, I suppose, trying to draw analogy (although I think John's unique): Where does any minister get authority to do what he does? And why should it be received? Why should you sit here and listen to a pastor preach? Where does that come from?
I mean, this is a little awkward. You think about the whole setup here. I still can't get over it. Every time I do it, I mean, I'm from Lemore. Come on. Do you know where that is? No. If you do, then you know that's even worse of a case. You've all come here today, and you sort of have two options with this ministry: Either I'm doing this on my own authority, right? Chris Gordon's authority that I took to myself, or this is commissioned by God. How do you know? How do you know, right? I mean, this is kind of a big, big moment, isn't it?
Well, you could start by saying, "Who am I proclaiming, right? Myself or somebody else? What am I proclaiming? Why am I proclaiming it? What is the aim?" You could ask those kind of questions. But you have sort of two options here.
As Jesus moves to John, the last and great of the Old Covenant prophets either John made it all up himself, or he was sent by God himself. And you see, Jesus just forced them by reasoning to think about John's authority for a minute.
Here was the problem: Everybody knew John was a prophet. Notice down in 30 verse 32: "Everyone counted him to be a prophet in Israel." Indeed. So they're faced with this question: "What do you say about John's authority? He's baptizing. What about that baptism? He had a baptism of what repentance toward who? And for who? To lead to who? Where did he get it? Where did he get that authority?"
Well, here's what they do. They uh they get together essentially they have a huddle for a minute. Time out. And they uh they get together, and this is a real conundrum for them. This is a real conundrum. They huddle up, and they start thinking, "How do we answer this? How do we answer? We got to answer this really carefully here."
Here's what they come up with. Here's here's the reasoning that they use: "If we say it's from heaven, he will say, then, why didn't you believe him because they, these authorities, rejected John. "But if we say it's from men, notice what it says, they feared the people, for all the people counted John to be a prophet."
This is a kind of remarkable moment, isn't it? I don't want you to miss what just happened. There's a whole history of prophets who came and who spoke God's word, right? Throughout Israel's history. And John sort of climaxes the end of the Old Covenant prophets. John was the last. Everyone knew that John came with the same kind of authority that every prophet of God had throughout history. Where did any of the prophets get authority? And you see, the people believed this. Well, who believed it? That's the question. Who believed it? Who really believed it? And how did that happen?
So you're really stuck with this question: Is there any authority in this life that you can be certain of, and where does it come from? Where? They all believed it was from heaven. That was the right answer. But they didn't believe him. Why?
Well, they said, "We can't say it's from men because we fear the people." But they counted John as a prophet. If they believed in Christ, that would mean they'd have to be brought under his authority. If they believed in John's baptism, that would mean, by logical conclusion, since John was preaching him, that they would have to come under his authority. But if they refused that authority, that would mean, now notice this, they lose notice the issue. here, They lose control over the people. Well, there's an authority issue. they lose control over the people. And that's what made them false, right there. Because it was about them. The real issue, what is the real issue we're dealing with? It was the claim of Christ's authority and who receives it.
They won't believe him. But if they say it's false, they lose everything. Do they really? Do they really? Well, they definitely lose their own authority. And isn't that the point?
What a moment. If you reject Christ, what authority does it say you're living under? You have choices. You're living under some authority. If you reject the claim of Christ and his authority, what authority are you living under? And the great conclusion that you have to draw, if you reject him, is that you're living under your own authority. You've made yourself the authority.
Because see, the Scripture's great claim is: There is no other name under heaven given by which anyone can be saved. No other name.
So they say, "We're not going to say." And a lot of people lie in life just like that. They lie. They sit in churches, and they lie. They really don't believe, but they'd never tell anyone, because the truth of the matter is they're living under their own authority.
And that leads to this important question: Why don't people come to Christ? What kind of authority is this? It's unlike any other authority. See, he leaves people with two options. Jesus claims the authority is his. If we will not believe him, then we have made ourselves the authority. And that ultimately is the problem of pride. And that's exactly of control over people that we see with the religious leaders. They want to run their lives their way. They want to build the authority structures around their laws. They want to build life their way.
Think about what happened in Israel. The whole thing became corrupted based on their own authority, so that they made their own laws and ruined the whole nation.
So there's your options, right? And they see Jesus as the greatest threat. to ever come on their knees and believe in the one sent from heaven who is Lord over all.
Now, Jesus made claims everywhere. "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." That is an ultimate claim of authority.
Remember what Jesus said in John 5? When we wrestled with the heart of issue as to all the testimony of his authority that's everywhere. It's everywhere. Jesus essentially said, "Just open your eyes and think about it. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe me on account of the works themselves. If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness about me. And I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. You sent John, and he has borne witness to the truth. You sent to John. Now that the testimony that I receive is from man, not that the testimony that I receive is from man. But I say these things so that you may be saved. John, he was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John, for the works that the Father has given me to accomplish. The very works that I am doing bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard. His form you have never seen. And you do not have his word abiding in you, but you do not believe the one whom he has sent."
See, Jesus is essentially saying, "Many things have bore witness about me, the works, my Father,
The Spirit, and my word. But it doesn't abide in you. the reality is, bringing it back today, those who refuse the authority of the one who came, it's not that there's no evidence. And we see the evidence here. This is the remarkable thing about our passage today. We see the evidence in who comes. Who comes? The tax collectors and the sinners. They get it. They see it. They accept it. And they rejoice in it. Because this is the name.
Now what is needed is just what Jesus said in the previous verses: "Truly, truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, it will be done for you." It's faith. Do we believe in the one who was sent to us? Do we understand the authority of the one who was sent to us? And what does that look like?
Matthew has helped us the whole way through on this. This is where I had to think: How does Matthew showcase this? And Matthew has helped us the whole way. It's a major theme in the book. The issue of authority came right after the Sermon on the Mount in his ministry. Remember the centurion? Oh, what a great text! Remember the centurion? He comes to Christ, this man, this head of an army. He comes to Christ, and he tells him that his servant was home lying paralyzed. Jesus says, "Well, I'll come. I'll come and heal him." And the man says, "No, no, no, no, that's not what I'm asking. Lord, I am not worthy for you to come under my roof. I am under authority with soldiers under me. I say to one, go, and he goes. And I say to another, come, and he comes. And I say to my servant, do this, and he does it."
It's coming here at the parable in a second. "I believe you have all authority over all. So just say the word. Just say the word. I believe you have authority over all sin, sickness, death, everything. So just say the word, and he'll be healed, because I understand authority. I understand authority. I have authority in my position."
And Jesus makes the biggest moment of this in Israel. Probably in the Gospel of Matthew. Remember what he said? "I have not found such great faith in all of Israel."
This is what I'm after, isn't it? interesting? He makes that kind of statement in relation to his authority. That's the single great issue. What do you believe about him? What does coming under his authority look like? Who gave him that authority?
And Matthew has shown us throughout the book that when Jesus spoke, it happened. "Follow me." They came. Remember when he forgave the sins of the man in Matthew 9? "Remember, son, forgiven are your sins." And all the leaders are standing there, and they said, "Blasphemy." Here's how that passage ended: "When the crowd saw that the man who had been forgiven get up and walk get up and walk at Jesus' command, they glorified God who had given such authority to men."
Whoa. Who gave it? Who recognized it? Following is not something you ever do in your own power. That comes with his authority in your life. That when he summons, you get up and you come. When he calls, you follow. But they wouldn't come.
So now Jesus tells a parable to conclude this on this issue of authority.
"What do you think? A man had two sons."
We've already been here in the vineyard parable, hadn't we? He kind of comes back to it.
"A man had two sons and went to the first and said, son go work in the vineyard today
Remember the first workers and the latter workers? And the first workers were mad because they didn't receive the same pay at the end as the ones who came in at the end. Well, here we are. We're picked up again with it.
"What do you think? A man had two sons, and he went to the first and he said, go work in the vineyard today He says, I will not no not going i mean, that's defiance. But afterward, he repented. He changed his mind and he went. Then he went to the other son said the same: go work in my vineyard today He says, sure I will go. but he didn't go So he lied.
Jesus says, which of the two did the will of his father? Submitted to that authority? Which honored the authority of the father?
They said, well, it can't be the last one, because he said he would go and then he didn't go. But it's got to be the first one, who at first said he wouldn't go, but he actually repented and then he went. Even though at first he didn't go, he ended up going into the family vineyard, and he worked.
You ready for the conclusion? It's a big conclusion. It's a shocking conclusion. Truly I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom before you.
Whoa. Who's he saying this to? For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and the prostitutes Prostitutes believed him. Notice this: and even when you saw that when you saw all those people believe that and enter,
You didn't change your minds after. Still. You feel the effect of that? Today I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes enter before you.
And where Jesus said, "Parable of the vineyard, the last shall be first."
This is the issue this morning of the passage. Jesus came to this earth preaching the gospel of the kingdom. And that message was repent and believe. The first ones represented here said, "I'm not going to come." The sons of the kingdom said, "I'll come," but never entered in themselves. And those first ones in this parable, who are representative of the whores, repented and came under that authority. And the world has seen it. The world has seen it. The world can testify of sinners to this truth.
And see, that's the great question the text is pressing upon us today: What's your authority in life? Is it you?
These guys stay quiet. After just being pinned to the wall, they stay quiet. They just won't come. Hiding in their hearts that they reject Him as the authority.
What a tragedy to have the eternal Son of God come to this earth and announce the Gospels for sinners and yet many people refuse to have any authority in their life except themselves and reject an authority like this!
And then you stop and you ask: What kind of authority is this? What kind of authority is he exercising for us?
See, the great truth coming in Matthew is, at the resurrection, the end note of the book is what? "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me."
What a claim! "Go, therefore, and preach the gospel. Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to observe what? All that I have commanded."
That's authority. "I'm the king," says Jesus. "And guess who I've come for?"
You know, if this were an oppressive tyrant, we would all be terrified of such an authority. But the marvel of it is: What kind of authority is he exercising over us?
Remember what Jesus said? "You know that rulers, Gentile rulers, what do they do when they get authority? They lord it. What am I doing?"
I thought the Heidelberg's so good on this. "Why is he called Christ the Anointed One? Because he's ordained by God the Father and anointed with the Holy Spirit to be our chief prophet and teacher, fully revealing to us the secret purpose and will of God concerning our redemption."
You know what this authority wants to exercise and tell you about? All you need to be saved.
"To be our only high priest, having redeemed us by the one sacrifice of his body and ever interceding for us with the Father."
So you're coming under the authority of the one who would lay down his life for you and redeem you and intercede for you and pray for you and our eternal king who governs us by his word and spirit and defends us and sustains us in the redemption that he wants.
That's the authority you get. It's amazing. But they'll have nothing to do with it, because they're their own authority.
I'm going to ask that question: Are you the only authority in your life, choosing how you will live and doing what you will do, and sinning when you want, and turning away from this? Then here, the prostitutes enter the kingdom before you.
One day the king will return. He has all authority to judge every thought, word, and deed done against him. He has all authority in heaven and on earth because He's God's eternal Son. Salvation is found in no one else. There is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. And He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom He has appointed. And of this He has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead.
You know how many people believe that? You know how many sinners have believed that? You know how many people today believe that? And still people won't come?
Don't be one of those on the last day who Christ says, "Look at all the prostitutes and sinners who entered the kingdom before you."
And yet with this comes a gracious call: "Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. I'll give you rest for your weary souls. Are you weary? I'll give it to you. Are you burdened by sin? I'll help you. Come to me. My hands are outstretched."
I close with this from Mark. "The Son of Man has, remember what he said? Son and daughters, your sins are forgiven you. I want you to know that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins."
What a wonderful, gracious King who rules us with a gracious coming under his gracious rule. That he has authority today when you come to him to forgive all your sins. Why would anyone not come? Why would anyone not come to a King like this?
Come to him today in faith and enjoy His authority and rule over you and a gracious reign that will preserve you and keep you till the end.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you for showing us the authority here of the Lord Jesus Christ. May we receive that kingdom and come to the Savior, recognizing, oh Lord, how much we need Him. May we be all like the tax collectors and prostitutes, for that's who we are. needing much grace in our lives. Needing much help. This is the authority, the name given: "All authority in heaven and on earth." We are so thankful for the rule and the reign of Jesus Christ, kingdom without end. And in that confidence, we pray to you today. So thankful for the gracious reign we have come under of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. May we all come. In Jesus' name, amen.