Issue 1405 – By What Authority – March 26. 2024
It’s the Tuesday of Easter Week. Jesus returned to the temple to teach. I’m sure the money changers were nervous seeing him after He had overturned their tables the day before.
Soon after his arrival, the religious authorities pounce on Him and question his authority. He is growing in popularity and threatening their Power base.
They need to discredit Jesus quickly before things get too out of hand. They are blunt in their questions, but Jesus exposes their hypocrisy and turns the tables on them.
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.” Matthew 21:23-27
After that, Jesus went on to tell the Pharisees and assembled crowds a series of parables about Himself and events to come. He also warned the crowds of the Pharisees’ hypocrisy and sternly rebuked them. That must have embarrassed the religious leaders greatly, as their plan to trap Him had already publicly failed.
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Matthew 23:1-12
To read the rebuke, read Matthew 23:13 -36
What’s the big deal? Does it even matter what authority Jesus has or claims to have?
The question has enormous ramifications. If Jesus does not represent the Father, if He is not God incarnate, then we can ignore His teaching. If He is a fraud or delusional, what He had to teach doesn’t matter.
But, if He is who He claims to be and Jesus is the Son of God, we dare not ignore what He teaches. If He is not the sacrificial lamb that takes away the world’s sin, we must rely on someone or something else to pay for our sins. In that case, we are lost for this life and forever more.
The Pharisees would continue and intensify their persecution of Jesus in the days to come, finally succeeding in having Him killed. From our vantage point in time, we know that the grave could not hold Him, and He was resurrected.
Jesus would prove His authority. We need to listen and heed what He has to teach.
Be blessed
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word
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Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)
Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. Your value in God’s eyes is so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that his plan for heaven will not be complete without you.
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the English Standard Version (ESV)