A Demonstration of Divine Authority
(A Week Like No Other – Part 4)
#130 in Series: “The Life of Christ – in a Harmony of The Gospels”
(Thesis statement: The longings of the inner self, find their satisfaction in the Lord - His Person, His purpose, for His glory. An exposition of John 12:20-36)
We are living in a day when people love to challenge authority… Rebellion against legitimate authority is certainly not new in our day. Ever since the fall, when sin entered the world, the unregenerate heart tends to bristle at authority over them…
The motivation for such rebellion is common… There is a desire for … freedom… One typically thinks that to be out from underneath authority is to become free – free to do just what one wants to do…
That has been the deceptive lie from the beginning… To fight against God’s authority, actually results in the greatest bondage of all! Bondage to a narcissistic self, and an insatiable appetite for sin… Such bondage leads to a miserable destruction of the soul…
The irony in all of this is – when one comes to surrender to God’s authority in their lives – they begin to experience the greatest freedom they could know!
When Jesus came on the scene, those who had built an apostate form of Judaism were exposed for just what they were … hypocrites and heretics… Today, we are going to witness just how Jesus’ exposes them…
Last time we noted that John records no more public sermons from Jesus… In the balance of his gospel record, Jesus pours into the disciples the truths that are needed to prepare them for the coming days, and equipping them with the foundational truths for the church…
However, Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record more of what Jesus said publicly… What we read today was Jesus’ response to those who were continuing to challenge Him as to the authority Jesus has for doing what He has been doing…
What has Jesus just been doing? He cleansed the Temple, and He continues to present a message that exposes the heresy and hypocrisy of the Jewish establishment…
Our text today is long, but our approach will be simple… Jesus returns to the Temple - unintimidated - and He gives a series of parables in response to a confrontation between the religious leaders and Jesus… These parables are clear enough to understand, so we won’t spend a great deal of time on them.
Matthew gives a bit more detail, so we turn to his report for our text, and we begin our study by considering a -
1. Challenge to Authority
Specifically, a challenge being issued against Christ concerning the authority He has to been doing:
Matthew 21:23-27
23 When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”
I love Jesus’ rebuttal…
24 Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one thing, 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 people; for they all regard John as 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.
Don’t you just love that?... Jesus reverses the challenge! His adversaries come at Him with a … complaint! They don’t like what Jesus has been doing! He has openly exposed the hypocrisy and heresy of what Judaism has become!... In His latest demonstration, Jesus cleansed the temple, and that was an affront to the “powers that be”...
So, those who thought they were in authority – come to Jesus with a question concerning His authority… It was not a question of inquiry, so much as it was a question of … defiant challenge!
And I love how Jesus turns the tables on them!... If they would answer Him about the authority of John the Baptist, then He would answer them… They would not - so He did not!...
In his Concise Commentary on the Bible, Matthew Henry says –
Matthew Henry - “Our Lord refused to answer their inquiry. It is best to shun needless disputes with wicked opposers.”
There may be a better way of saying it, but what follows are what we will call –
2. Lessons on Authenticity
Jesus gives a series of parables directed toward His adversaries … and exposes their hypocrisy… Those who opposed Jesus, claimed to be true followers of God… They boasted of their religious fervor, but were in reality - they were not authentic - but artificial!
In this Jesus series of lessons, Jesus exposes the very heart of His adversaries!
This first is –
Matthew 21:28-32
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, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. 30 The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesussaid to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.
Jesus made the point of the story clear. God’s law, God’s will, God’s standards are clearly given… John the Baptist was a faithful prophet, proclaiming “the way of righteousness”! Those who heard and believed, are like the first son in Jesus’ story! Their lives were obviously being lived in rebellion against God’s way of righteousness - but they believed and repented…
On the other hand, the very Jewish leaders of the day claimed to be faithful - they were more like the second son in Jesus’ story… Their heart was so hard, so closed, so … blind – that they refused to see their own need to acknowledge and repent of their sin when John the Baptist came preaching…
In fact, they despised those who were actually like the first son in the parable… They despised the tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners that at first lived in rebellion to God’s authority – but then would have a change of heart and would respond to God’s authority… That is evidence of a regenerated heart!... The scribes and Pharisees didn’t have it! But many tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners did!
This parable exposes the true callousness of the heart that “talks a good game” but who’s heart is far from God!...
Matthew immediately records another parable. (Mark 11:27-12:12, and Luke 20:1-19 also record this story.) This is -
Matthew 21:33-46
33 “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce. 35 The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them. 37 But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39 They took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?” 41 They said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, [Psalm 118]
‘The stone which the builders rejected,
This became the chief corner stone;
This came about from the Lord,
And it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43 Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. 44 And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them. 46 When they sought to seize Him, they feared the people, because they considered Him to be a prophet.
There’s nothing wrong with these Pharisees ears - or their cognitive abilities… They immediately understood that Jesus was not only talking to them - but about them!...
This is a more detailed story, with a few more moving parts… Notice that there are 6 main characters in this parable:
1) the landowner – which represents God,
2) the vineyard – is Israel,
(The Old Testament often uses the picture of a vineyard to represent Israel (Deuteronomy 32:32, Psalm 80:8, Jeremiah 2:21, Isaiah 5:1-7)
3) the vine growers / tenants /or farmers – are the Jewish religious leaders,
4) the landowner’s servants, who are sent by the Owner – are the faithful prophets who remained obedient and preached God’s word to the people,
5) the son – in this story is none other than Jesus, and
6) the other vine growers – are the Gentiles.
Jesus is the cornerstone, given by God – and though rejected by man – He is indeed THE “chief cornerstone”. This is a truth repeated a few times throughout the NT.
Peter later preaches that Jesus –
He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone.
having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,
Again, Peter writes –
6 For this is contained in Scripture:
“Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone,
And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”
7 This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve,
“The stone which the builders rejected,
This became the very corner stone,”
8 and,
“A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”;
for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.
“The builders’ rejection of the stone is a reference to Christ’s crucifixion. The Lord’s choice of the stone to be the cornerstone is a reference to Christ’s resurrection. God chose His Son, despised and rejected by the world, to be the foundation of His church…”
Listen to –
For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Therefore thus says the Lord God,
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone,
A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed.
He who believes in it will not be disturbed.
The Pharisees immediately understood – that Jesus was accusing them of being the … evil-hearted vine growers in the story who were guilty of killing God’s prophets - and will be guilty of the death of God’s Son!...
They should have understood that because of the evil in their hearts, they deserve nothing but the judgement of God!...
The reality is … so do we… We need to be careful in our study of God’s Word that we don’t merely seek understanding of the text – but that we also examine our hearts in light of God’s Word!
Here are some questions we all need to answer:
First, have you come to acknowledge the evil of your heart?... Do you recognize your need for the Savior?
What follows is -
Matthew 22:1-14
1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. 3 And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. 4 Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are allbutchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’ 5 But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, 6 and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. 7 But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. 8 Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’ 10 Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.
11 “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, 12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Such a story sounds a bit strange to our ears today… We don’t typically do weddings like this in our culture… But Jesus speaks of a practice well understood by His audience. When a wedding feast was planned, word would be sent out to invited guests. They would get the date, but not the time… When that day came – and only when everything was ready, would the word go out that it is time to come.
Jesus elevates the importance of this wedding feast, because it is being hosted by … a king!... Citizens of a kingdom … should not ignore the king!
Those initially invited, end up disrespecting the king, trivializing his invitation, and ultimately killing his messengers… They would pay a high price for their sin…
We all love how Jesus ends this story with those who would have never otherwise been welcome to such a feast – becoming the … especially invited guests!
David Guzik – “In this sense, we can say this is a parable about grace. Those who were invited – and who came – were utterly undeserving of the invitation, much less the wedding feast itself.”
There is a particular part to Jesus’ parable that troubles many … and should.
Let’s review it again –
Matthew 22:11-13
11 “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, 12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
This part of the story especially related to the religious… They “go through the motions”, but they have no heart for the King!...
Spurgeon says it best –
C.H. Spurgeon – “He came because he was invited, but he came only in appearance. The banquet was intended to honor the King’s Son, but this man meant nothing of the kind; he was willing to eat the good things set before him, but in his heart there was no love either for the King or his well-beloved Son.”
There is a great lesson that needs to be taken to heart… This story clearly demonstrates that those who are indifferent to the gospel, those who become antagonistic against the gospel, and those who are unchanged by the gospel – share the same outcome. None of them enjoyed the King - His Son – or His feast!
Look at the final verse for a moment:
Matthew 22:14
For many are called, but few are chosen.”
This statement of Jesus, in this context, brings a … balance to truths – paradoxical truths… “the choices of man and the choosing of God”...
Why did they not come to the wedding party? Because they refused the invitation. Why did they not come to the wedding party? Because they were called, but not chosen.
There is one final passage that I believe we should take to heat:
I first learned if in the KJV:
2 Peter 1:10a (KJV)
Therefore brethren, give diligence all the more to make your calling and election sure…
Questions to Consider in Community Group:
