Intro

By What Authority Are You Doing These Things?

Jesus had been preaching and teaching for three years. He had entered Jerusalem for what would be His final week leading up His death. He had gleaned many followers and many enemies. Powerful enemies! Among these were Jewish leaders who wanted Him out of the way. During most of His ministry they had tried to discredit Him and stop Him from Him work but with no success. They had now begun to resort to extreme and final measures to either stop Him or kill Him.

That brings us to our text. Matthew 21:23-27, on what was probably Monday as Jesus entered the temple the chief priests, scribes and elders came to Him and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?” (23). A study of the ministry of Jesus shows that He had answered their question and given them plenty of evidence in times past. At this time they wanted a straightforward answer so that could know how to proceed in dealing with Him. I suspect they knew what He would answer and they were ready to act on that answer. Rather than giving them the answer they wanted Jesus presented them with a question saying that if they answered Him, He would give them the answer to their inquiry. Jesus asked, “The baptism of John – where was it from? From heaven or from men?” (24-25). We are told the leaders discussed how to answer the question reasoning that if they said it was from heaven, Jesus would say, “Ten why didn’t you believe him?”; If they answered from man, they feared the people because they saw John as a prophet. (25-26). So the Jewish leaders answered, “We do not know”, not willing to face the consequence of either answer. Because of this Jesus responded saying, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” (27) Once again, in His divine, consistent manner, Jesus proved Himself to be the Master Teacher from whom we can learn so much about teaching and dealing with others.

But I ask, was their question a legitimate question? Did they have the right to demand authority from One who was calling into question their actions and teaching their need to change from the Law of Moses? The answer is YES! In fact the Old Law demanded that a prophet (a messenger from God) prove himself. Having confirmed to Israel toward the end of their wilderness journey that God would send them a Prophet whom they needed to listen to, Moses then gave guidelines for determining if a prophet was truly form God. In Deuteronomy 18:18-22 the Lord said to Moses, “I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.' And if you say in your heart, 'How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?' — when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.” In this we find a precedent demanding that when one spoke the Israelites, particularly the leaders, needed to verify the message and the messenger. Throughout the prophetic writings we find at times these standards were either accepted or ignored. At times, we find false prophets that the people listened to over the true prophets sent from God. AND the Lord sent warning to reject such men (cf. Jeremiah 23:16, Ezekiel 13:2).

As leaders in Israel, the scribes and priests needed to confirm the prophets. BUT the problem with this occasion is that they were not honest. These leaders did not WANT to hear the truth. They simply wanted words by which to accuse Jesus. Their motives were corrupt and insincere. The day before He had cast the moneychangers out of the temple, condemning the way they conducted business (and probably a portion of their livelihood). During His ministry He had pointed out their hypocrisy, favoritism toward the prestigious, and twisting of the Law to suit their own desires. These are things that one who is NOT honest will resent and retaliate against. During His ministry, Jesus had given them plenty of evidence that He was whom He claimed to be. The gospel of John gives a number of discourses in which Jesus established His deity and authority. On one occasion (John 5:31-47) He presented four “witnesses” that confirmed His ministry – 1) John the Baptist (the one Jesus was asking about in our text), 2) the works He did (miracles), 3) the scriptures (the Law of Moses & the prophets), and 4) even Moses himself (in the verse mentioned above). They simply did NOT want to accept that evidence and the change it demanded!

I am convinced that had these leaders been honest (and Jesus knew their hearts – John 2:25, Luke 9:47, 5:22) in their question, Jesus would have gladly answered them plainly. But instead He exposed them with a question of His own. Did He have the right to refuse to answer their question? YES! Not because it was not legitimate but because they did not really want the answer to learn from it. Jesus knew authority was important and even demanded that we have authority for all we do. Jesus kept the Law of Moses (but not the binding traditions) and called for obedience. In the Sermon on the Mount He said the Law would remain, ALL OF IT, until all was fulfilled (Matthew 5:17-19). Jesus did not just refuse to answer the question, He also PROVED their insincerity by asking them a question which they REFUSED to answer. Thus His answer was equally justified.

Thus we have established that the question was legitimate and so was the answer Jesus gave because of their attitudes. But is it a legitimate question for us today? I believe it is not only a legitimate question; it is also one that will have an impact on our salvation. It is a question that we need to ask in all that we do. Colossians 3:17 says, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

In coming weeks we want to discuss the importance of authority for all that we do.