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Matthew 21:23-27 (Jesus’ authority questioned)

INTRODUCTION: Our message series is called Jesus in Jerusalem, and in this series we are looking at the final week of Jesus’ life before he went to the cross. So far, we have looked at Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the cleansing of the temple and the cursing of the fig tree. In today’s passage the religious leaders confront Jesus in the temple.

This is the first of a number of confrontations between Jesus and the religious leaders that take place during this final week in Jesus’ life. And these passages are so much fun, because the religious leaders think they’re so smart. They always think they can get the better of Jesus. And Jesus beats them every time. Sorry, I know I should have said “spoiler alert” first, so, let me try that again: “Spoiler alert! Jesus always wins!” (Read Matthew 21:23-27 and pray.)

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“Who’s in charge here?” How many times have you had to say that or one of the many variations on the theme? “I’d like to speak to the manager.” “May I speak with your supervisor then?” Or my personal favorite: “I would like to speak with someone who can actually help me with my problem!”

Who’s in charge here? It’s an important question to answer for any group of people – whether it’s a family, church, small business or a nation. Who’s in charge? (Pssst, I’ll give you a hint. When it comes to families, it works a whole lot better when the parents are in charge than when the kids are in charge. I heard one couple say: “We’ve decided we’re not going to have children. We plan on telling them tonight after supper.”)

Who’s in charge here? That’s the question that the religious leaders were struggling with when it came to Jesus. Before Jesus came along, it was obvious who was in charge. They were! They were in charge of the temple and the traditions and the teachings. But then Jesus comes along and totally upsets the apple cart. Jesus was saying and doing things that no one had ever done before. So, who’s in charge here? Let’s find out!

I. Confrontation (23)

Our passage today can be broken into three sections: confrontation, counter and closing. So, let’s begin with the first section on confrontation. Here the religious leaders come and confront Jesus in the temple. Look at verse 23 with me:

Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?” (Matthew 21:23)

   A. Jesus teaches in the temple

So, Jesus is teaching in the temple, and the religious leaders come right up to him while he is teaching! They interrupt him while he is teaching and start asking him questions. Can you imagine if someone did that to the preacher while he was preaching? (On second thought, don’t! I don’t want anyone to get any ideas!)

Once again by entering the temple and teaching, Jesus is forcing their hand. Jesus knows this is their territory. He knows he is stepping on their turf. But he also knows that he has come to Jerusalem to suffer at the hands of the religious leaders, to die on the cross for sins and to be raised again on the third day. And so, Jesus continues to force the religious leaders’ hand.

   B. The religious leaders question Jesus’ authority

So, Jesus is teaching in the temple when the religious leaders come up to him and question his authority. They ask him: “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?” (Matthew 21:23)

So, what are “these things” that Jesus has been doing? Oh, just riding into Jerusalem on the donkey as king, receiving the people’s acclamation of him as Messiah, driving the buyers and sellers out of the temple, healing the blind and the lame in the temple, affirming the praises of the children in the temple, and now teaching in the temple courts.

Once again, Jesus is invading their territory. They thought they were the ones in charge of the temple. As far as they are concerned, they are the authorities. So, they raise the question to Jesus, “Who’s in charge here?”

II. Counter (24-26)

The religious leaders confront Jesus, and now Jesus counters the religious leaders. Look at verses 24-26:

Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 John’s baptism – where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or from men?” They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From men’ – we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” (Matthew 21:24-26)

   A. Jesus counters their questions with a question of his own

And so, Jesus counters their questions with a question of his own. They have confronted him publicly in the temple, and so now Jesus counters them publicly in the temple. It’s as though he is throwing down the gauntlet. “Do you really want to do this? Right here? Right now? Okay, let’s do it. Here we go!” (You can almost hear the announcer in the distance: “Let’s get ready to ruuuu-mmm-ble!”)

And so, Jesus counters their questions with a question of his own. “I will answer your questions, if you answer mine!” By the way, this is perfectly reasonable, perfectly fair. In fact, it is more than fair. Remember, they asked Jesus two questions. He’s only going to ask them one.

   B. “John’s baptism – was it from heaven or from men?”

Now, it’s only one question, but it’s a doozy. “John’s baptism – where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or from men?” (Matthew 21:25) They asked him a question about authority, so he asks them a question about authority. Where did John the Baptist get his authority for his ministry? Was it from God or from men?

Remember now John the Baptist was Jesus’s forerunner or predecessor. John’s whole ministry was a baptism of repentance in preparation for the coming Messiah. And then when Jesus came along, John specifically pointed to him as the coming Messiah. So, by whose authority was John doing all these things? Was his authority from God or from men?

It is a masterful question. If John’s authority was from God, then Jesus’ authority is also from God, because John pointed to Jesus. But if John was just operating on his own, then perhaps Jesus is also.

I like what Michael Green says about John the Baptist and Jesus in his commentary on this passage: “John was [Jesus’] messenger, sent to prepare the way. They will never understand who [Jesus] is until they recognize who John was. John’s message, ‘Repent’, is the precondition for Jesus’ message, ‘Believe.’” (Michael Green, The Message of Matthew, p. 225)

   C. The religious leaders find themselves caught in a dilemma

And so, the religious leaders find themselves caught in a dilemma. And they are not only caught in a dilemma. They are caught in a dilemma of their own making. They did this all by themselves. How many times do we get ourselves into trouble with God all on our own? Well then, you can relate with the religious leaders and how they must have felt at this time.

And their dilemma was simply this: “How do we answer?” Because this is a lose-lose proposition for them. If they say John’s authority came from God, Jesus will ask them, “Then why didn’t you believe him?” But if they say John’s authority was just from men, they risk upsetting the people who all hold that John was a prophet.

Notice they aren’t remotely interested in answering the question honestly. Instead, they are carefully weighing the options, testing the winds, running advance straw polls in their minds. They are acting more like politicians here than religious leaders! And perhaps that’s part of the problem. So, Jesus counters the religious leaders’ questions with a question of his own, and the religious leaders find themselves caught in a dilemma of their own making. How will they answer?

III. Closing (27)

Let’s look at the closing of this whole incident now. The religious leaders have confronted Jesus; Jesus has countered the religious leaders; it’s time for closing arguments. How do the religious leaders answer Jesus’ question? Look at verse 27:

So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.” (Matthew 21:27)

   A. The religious leaders refuse to answer Jesus’ question

The religious leaders decide to play it safe, and they refuse to answer Jesus’ question. They know that no matter how they answer Jesus, it’s not going to look good for them. They don’t want to affirm John’s ministry, and they don’t want to offend the people, so they take the easy way out: “We don’t know!” Talk about wishy-washy. Talk about cowardice. Talk about refusing to take a stand. It’s like the person on the witness stand who answers every question with “I don’t recall.”

Of course, answering “We don’t know” wasn’t a good option either. They were not just in a lose-lose situation. They were in a lose-lose-lose situation! John the Baptist was the most important religious figure to appear in Israel for centuries. And the religious leaders don’t even have an opinion on him? Here they are ready to judge Jesus when they cannot even pass judgment on John!

   B. Jesus refuses to answer theirs

The religious leaders refuse to answer Jesus’ question, and so Jesus refuses to answer theirs. Remember, Jesus had offered them a trade: “I will answer your questions, if you answer mine!” If they had followed through and answered his question, you can be assured that Jesus would have followed through and answered theirs.

Jesus is more than ready to answer all our questions as long as we are ready to receive his answers. But they didn’t ask in good faith. They didn’t ask in faith at all. They asked out of an unbelieving heart and a challenging spirit. Both their manner and their questions displayed a stubborn refusal to believe either Jesus or John.

But notice that either way Jesus still achieves his objective. If they had answered his question, he would have answered theirs: “I am doing these things by the authority of my Father in heaven.” And if he said that, they would have immediately gone out and started plotting against him. Instead, they refused to answer him, so he refused to answer them. Which means they will immediately go out and start plotting against him.

You see, either way the religious leaders lose. And either way Jesus wins. Which is pretty much the story every time someone goes up against Jesus.

APPLICATIONS: Let me close now with four applications for us from our passage today.

   1) Don’t go up against God (Psalm 2:1-6)

First of all, don’t go up against God. Remember, he’s God and you’re not. Just a word of advice here – never engage in a battle of wits with God because you will always lose. The religious leaders thought they were setting Jesus up. Instead, Jesus set them up! They thought they were putting Jesus in a no-win situation. Instead, Jesus put them in a no-win situation. And he put himself in a win-either-way situation.

We read in Psalm 2 in the Old Testament: “Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One. 3 ‘Let us break their chains,’ they say, ‘and throw off their fetters.’ 4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. 5 Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, 6 ‘I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.’” (Psalm 2:1-6)

God cannot be intimidated, cornered or manipulated. So, that’s the first application. Don’t go up against God. Because God never loses. He always wins.

   2) Choose your side carefully! (Psalm 2:7-12)

Which leads us to the second application: Choose your side carefully! Do you want to be on the winning side or the losing side? Usually, it’s risky choosing sides because you don’t which side is going to win. But in this case, we already know. There’s an old song that goes like this: “He wins, he wins, hallelujah he wins. I read the back of the book, and he wins! God wins, God wins, hallelujah God wins. He wrote the back of the book, and he wins!”

We read the first half of Psalm 2 just a minute ago. Let me read you the second half now: “I will proclaim the decree of the Lord: He said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have become your Father. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.’ 10 Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” (Psalm 2:7-12)

Once again, remember: he’s God, and you’re not. So, choose your side carefully. That’s application number two.

   3) God doesn’t owe you anything, but he already gave you everything (Romans 8:31-32, 11:35)

Application number three is this: God doesn’t owe you anything, but he already gave you everything. God doesn’t owe you anything. He doesn’t owe you any explanations. He doesn’t owe you any answers. Remember, he’s God, and you’re not. Job never found out why he suffered. We don’t always know why certain things happen in our lives either. I believe we will know one day in heaven. But God doesn’t owe us anything.

Romans 11:35 says: “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” (Romans 11:35) It’s rhetorical question, but the answer is “No one.” No one has ever given to God that God should repay him. God has no obligations outside of his own freely given promises, which he was free to give or not to give in the first place.

God doesn’t owe you anything, and yet he already gave you everything! As we read in Romans 8: “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32) God gave you his Son. What more could he give?

God doesn’t owe you anything, but you owe him everything. You owe him your life, your worship, your thanksgiving and your praise. You owe him your faith, your trust, your loyalty and your obedience. God doesn’t owe you, but you do owe him. You can never repay him, but you can confess your sins to him and put your trust in Jesus his Son. That’s a real good start. In fact, it’s the only place you can begin with God.

   4) God’s in charge, so trust him! He’s got you covered! (Psalm 31:14-15)

Which leads us to the fourth application: God’s in charge, so trust him! He’s got you covered! I love the words of David in Psalm 31: “But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ 15 My times are in your hands.” (Psalm 31:14-15)

So, those are our four applications this morning: 1) Don’t go up against God – that’s foolish. 2) Choose your side carefully – that’s wise! 3) God doesn’t owe you anything, but he already gave you everything. 4) God’s in charge, so trust him. Leave it in his hands. He will take good care of you.

CONCLUSION: So, who’s in charge here? Praise God, it’s God! Praise God it’s not you or me! Right? How good a job do you think we would do running the universe? I mean, let’s be honest, how good a job are we doing just running our own lives, never mind everyone and everything else?

How would you like to be responsible for running a nation, or the planet, or the solar system? Do you really want to be in charge of the wind and the rain and the orbits of planets and the swirling of the stars and the galaxies? Do you want to be in charge of people’s lives and salvation and all of human history as well as the future destiny of mankind? Let’s face it, we wouldn’t last a day on the job!

Praise God that he’s in charge. He’s God, and we’re not. Let’s remember that next time before we get ourselves into trouble like the religious leaders did. Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18) Who’s in charge here? God’s in charge. Jesus is in charge. Let’s follow his lead.

© Ray Fowler

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