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Last night at Little Flowers, we had the privilege of having Pastor Terry Zimmerly from Home Street Mennonite Church sharing with us. He brought us a good word from Matthew 21, specifically about how Jesus’ authority was questioned by the chief priests and the elders:
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?” 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. John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”
They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”
So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. (vs. 23-27)
While not the focus on Terry’s teaching, this text has had me thinking a great deal. I wanted to process them here with you.
It can be easy for us to read texts like this with an attitude of dismissal for such men as the priests, teachers of the law and Pharisees. Even from Sunday school, many of us hear the stories which paint these men like comic book villains. And yet, I think we take a big risk by accepting such a shallow reading.
These men were most often among those who kept the peace with their Roman conquerors. While we (rightly) see great compromise in their choices and attitudes, we fail to see that many were likely motivated by genuine concern for the survival of their people and way of life. Without question many became selfish, exploiting their position for personal gain. Yet we must not miss that part of their intention was to keep peace with the Empire.
This is proven out by their refusal to answer Jesus’ question. To answer would have forced them to make a public declaration, either for or against John the Baptist (and by proxy, Jesus). To make either choice threatened the stability of the status quo. One answer would demand their repentance and a shift in their allegiances, while the other would have alienated them from the people from whom their own status and position had any value. And so, they took no position, pleading ignorance.
Notice that their ignorance is not genuine. This should not be read as a caution against honestly admitting what we do not understand. Rather, their claim of ignorance was motivated by calculated self-interest. In many ways, they embodied the same sin that the church in Laodicea was warned against in Revelation 3- they were lukewarm. They wouldn’t commit.
Jesus goes on to tell the parable of the two sons:
“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’
“‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.
“Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
“The first,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. (vs 28-32)
Jesus takes His point even further, demonstrating that it is not enough to claim devotion and obedience to God, but that, even if unspoken, ones allegiance to the kingdom is proven out by the way we live obediently. This raises the bar for all of us. It is not enough for us to say we love people or to claim we believe right doctrine. While not unimportant, these things have authority- note that word again- only when they produce in us the fruit of obedience. And that obedience is lives, active, incarnational.
As Christians reading this text, we must begin with the assumption that we are the chief priests and teachers of the law. We need to acknowledge the ever present impulse to compromise for the sake of peace and stability in the Empire around us. We must ask ourselves who the “prostitutes and tax collectors” in our world are and if (and, perhaps) why) they will enter the kingdom ahead of us. Jesus demands an allegiance of absolute, selfless and humble obedience. And that always comes with a steep price.
Are we really willing to pay it? What might such allegiance be demanding of you today?
