From Heaven or from Man?

September 25, 2011

GOSPEL LESSON: Matthew 21:23-32 [Jesus' authority is questioned.]
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 also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also 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 the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet." So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And 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."
P: This is the Gospel of our Lord.
C: Praise to you, O Christ.

When everyone wears a uniform or badge, it is easy to see who has authority. In the military, the uniform shows everyone's rank and then everyone knows who has authority and whom to obey or to whom one can give orders to. In companies, the name badge usually says who the manager or superintendent is. Company managers and military officers have authority because it is given to them by their superiors. And so workers below them have to recognize this authority and do what they are told. When everyone wears a uniform or badge, it is easy to tell who is an officer, even if we have never met the person before. But if everyone is wearing civilian clothes, we do not know who is in charge. If we are told to do something by a stranger, we might wonder, "Who are you? Why should I do what you tell me to do? Who are you to boss me around?" Children say, "Who made you my mother? What right do you have to tell me what to do?"

This is exactly the question we ask Christ: "Why should I do what you tell me to do?" It was the question that the chief priests and elders asked Jesus. "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?" This is an important question, because Jesus was teaching new things about the Kingdom of God. The Jewish authorities wanted to know about the authority of Jesus because they wanted to know if they had to follow the teaching of Jesus or not. If Jesus has authority, then they must follow him. If he is just a noisy trouble maker, speaking his own ideas about God, then they can ignore him. Or maybe then they should move to silence him. In the good sense, they were taking their job seriously. They were the religious authorities. They had the responsibility to make sure that the Word of God was being taught correctly. But we also see in this dialogue that they did not want to lose that authority, either! No matter where Jesus got his authority they did not want to accept it. That was the way they were with John the Baptist. Although many people thought John was a prophet sent by God, the authorities in Jerusalem did not accept John. If they had accepted him, they too would have repented and been baptized by him. In the end, Jesus did not answer their question about his authority. That is because no matter how he answered, they would not accept his authority anyway. They had already decided in their hearts that Jesus was a troublemaker who needed to die. If Jesus had said on that day that he was a prophet of God, then they would probably have stoned him on the spot. But Jesus must wait until he has a proper trial before the Roman governor and executed on the cross. In that way, the sacrifice of Jesus would be for the sins of the whole world.

We must ask the same question about Jesus. Where did his authority come from? From God in Heaven, or was Jesus just an imposter? Was Jesus speaking the Word of God, or just the philosophy of his human heart? It is a faith question. Is Jesus the Messiah, my Lord and my God? If so, then our lives should change. If so, then there should be repentance. Repentance is more than just feeling sorry for our sins. It is having those sins forgiven. Repentance then means following Jesus in our lives. Following Jesus means that we live according to his teaching. We live according to the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord's Prayer is our constant prayer, and the Lord's Prayer gives us full trust in our Father who is in Heaven because He has the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Then Jesus tells the parable about the two sons who did not want to work in the father's vineyard, but the first son later changed his mind and did go to work. Jesus means that the chief priests and the elders of the people said that they would do the work of God, but since they did not accept Jesus that they were not doing the work of God. Then there was the group of sinners who at first did not want to believe in God or follow his way of life, but they heard the preaching of John the Baptist and the teaching of Jesus, and they changed their minds, they decided to follow God and work for God. Jesus said this latter group of sinners was the tax collectors and the prostitutes who believed in him. Those were the groups who were vilified in Jesus' day. Today those vilified folks might be the drug users and drug sellers, the gays and cohabiters, the crooks in business and politics, and whoever you do not like. But when sinners realize they are sinners, believe in Christ, and heed the call to work in the vineyard of God, then they are doing the work of God. That is what gladdens the heart of God.

We know where Jesus came from and from whom he received his authority. He is the Only Son of God, He is he Savior. After today's parable, Jesus spoke this way in Matthew 21:43, "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it." We are those Gentiles. With the help of Jesus, we are happy to work for God in his vineyard.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church

Home Index Page