I hope you'll turn with me in your copies of God's Word to Matthew's Gospel, Matthew chapter 21. Matthew chapter 21. Here in this section of Matthew's Gospel, Jesus is in the last week of his earthly ministry. Earlier in this chapter, he had the triumphal entry coming into Jerusalem. People praised him. They said, Hosanna to the Son of David. And then Jesus made quite a spectacle. He went and he cleansed the temple and he drove out the money changers and he overturned their tables. And that brings us to our passage this morning. Matthew chapter 21. We'll read verses 23 to 27. Listen to God's word. It says, And when Jesus 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. Amen. This is God's word. And before we consider it together, let's pray and ask for his blessing. God, we are thankful to be in your house this morning and thankful to consider your word together. but we need your help in order to get benefit from it. And so we ask that you would help us by your spirit. God, cause the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts to be pleasing in your sight. We pray in Christ's name. Amen. Well, as I've mentioned to a few of you, as I've gotten to know you, I'm from a larger family. I have seven brothers and sisters. And one thing that that meant was that any time that mom or dad stepped out of the house, the immediate question that at least entered my mind and became a topic of debate was, who's in charge? Who's in charge? I'm certain that my parents had left my oldest brother in charge, or if he was gone, one of my older sisters. But still we? Or perhaps I should be honest and say still I found fodder for debate. And sad to say fodder for strife and arguments. I was absolutely sure that there was not and could not be a higher authority than myself, whether I was five or 10 or however many years old. I don't think it's any profound or deep insight into human nature to observe that we struggle with authority. And we struggle with authority. In some cases, no doubt, and I want to be honest here, in some cases, we struggle because authority can be misused. And authority can be abused. And I don't want to diminish that. But I think that if we're honest, truth be told, even when it's used well, and justly, and fairly, we can struggle with authority. Haven't we all held on to the promise of the lying serpent, that we can be like God, that we can be a law unto ourselves, that we can be subject to no one. But our passage through the narrative that we just read, it urges a different frame of mind. And so brothers and sisters, the call of this passage is to respond to Jesus' authority in joyful faith, not indignant unbelief. Respond to Jesus' authority in joyful faith, not indignant unbelief. And as we meditate on this passage and this calling, we'll consider three reminders that will help us to respond well to Jesus' authority. Three reminders, and I think that you can see them in your bulletin outline. First, from verse 23, remember that Jesus' authority will be challenged. Second, from verses 24 to 27, remember the source of Jesus' authority. And third, remember that Jesus' authority is good news, which we'll see from our passage and in other materials in Matthew's gospel. Remember that Jesus' authority will be challenged. Remember the source and remember that Jesus' authority is good news. first look with me at verse 23, where we'll remember that Jesus' authority will be challenged. And this, just briefly, probably to help orient ourselves to the text and the setting surrounding it. And first, as we see that Jesus' authority will be challenged, we have a tense confrontation. A tense confrontation in verse 23, it says, And when Jesus 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? And what was this confrontation about? It was about his authority and his works. By what authority are you doing these things? I think it's clear that these leaders considered themselves to be in a position to judge Jesus' authority. This, remember, was the temple. And they were the chief priests. They were the descendants of Levi and Aaron. And we should remember what the chief priests and the elders have in mind when they mention these things in verse 23. Almost certainly they have in mind Jesus' cleansing of the temple. It says in chapter 23, verse 12, that he drove out those who bought and sold in the temple and overturned the tables of the money changers. He made quite a scene. This non-Levite, remember? Jesus is from the tribe of Judah. He's not a Levite. This non-Levite from the backwater of Nazareth had come into the temple and said in the hearing of the chief priests, my house shall be called a house of prayer. Jesus walked in and he acted like he owned the place, because he did. But certainly the chief priests weren't happy with this. He said, my house, and he overturned their tables. But they also likely have in mind other characteristic aspects of Jesus' ministry. He was receiving worship. In verse 15, the children were crying out in the temple saying, Hosanna to the son of David. And they asked him, do you hear what they're saying? He was, in verse 14, he was healing the sick in the lane. In verse 23, we see that he was teaching in the temple. And in Luke's parallel account, it says that he was preaching the gospel. And to all of these things, the Jewish leaders say, in effect, what gives you the right? What gives you the right to do these things? And our chapter shows explicitly what was in their hearts as they challenged his authority. In verse 15, it says that they were indignant. And in verse 25 in our text, we can see that they were unbelieving. They were indignant and they were unbelieving. That's the tense confrontation that we have. But we should also notice this bad faith question. A bad faith question. They said, by what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority? And we need to be clear, this is not a genuine question. This is a bad faith question. It's a trap. If Jesus had openly responded and said, my authority is divine, they would have charged him with blasphemy. That happened earlier in Matthew's Gospel in chapter 9. They would have charged him with blasphemy. And while Jesus is in the final days of his earthly ministry, still it's true what he says throughout the Gospels, my time has not yet come. Jesus will go to the cross when Jesus wants to go to the cross, and his time hadn't yet come. So he's not going to openly respond and say, my authority is divine. If Jesus had claimed that his authority was human, they could have challenged him. You see, these chief priests and these elders, they were the credentialing body. And they would have been all too happy to embarrass Jesus and say, no human authority other than us could have given you authority to teach in the temple as you are doing. The elders and the chief priests, they come to confront Jesus, to use Job's language like fault finders, contending with the Almighty. They assume that they can outsmart and out-debate the author of wisdom. We need to remember, and we shouldn't be surprised when we find, that Jesus' authority will be challenged. But we'll see the futility of this as we consider our second reminder. Our second reminder from verse 24, remember the source of Jesus' authority. Remember the source of Jesus' authority. Verse 24, Jesus answered them, I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me Excuse me. I also will ask you one question. If you tell me the answer, then I'll tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, where was it from? From heaven or from man? And I think that this may strike us as a bit odd. Why does Jesus respond in such an obscure way? It can seem like He's dodging the question. Like He's afraid of telling where His authority came from. It's true that in rabbinical debate, there was sort of a process of question and counter-question. This was a rhetorical skill that they had and that they developed. However, Jesus, he's not simply showing his debate dexterity. He is offering the chief priests and the elders an honest answer to their question in his question. I think that we do sometimes engage in a similar kind of communication. Maybe not often, but I don't think that it's completely foreign to us to use this kind of device, answering a question with a question. Imagine a man who works Monday to Friday, 8 to 5. And one Saturday morning, his boss calls him frantically at 9.25. He says, Bill, where are you? Are you coming into work today? Bill could answer his boss's question, do you know what day it is? Do you know what day it is? Or boys and girls, I wonder, have you ever asked your parents for something? You say, can I go play outside? Or can I go to a friend's house? Or can I do this or that? Maybe sometimes your parents look at you and say, is your room clean? Are your chores done? Have you completed your homework? You know that they just answered your question, but they asked you a question. And so in a similar way, Jesus, he does dodge the trap that was set by the chief priests and the elders. But he also offers them, by way of a question, the answer that they were looking for. Leon Morris, a commentator, he comments on Christ's question, he says, It is not a red herring to lead them away from their questions. For if they had answered it honestly, they would have had the answer to their own, since John had borne witness to Jesus. Jesus is saying, in effect, the source of John's ministry and the source of my ministry are one and the same. And what was the source of John the Baptist's ministry? We can read about it in John's Gospel, John the Evangelist, not John the Baptist, but in John the Evangelist's Gospel, John 1 verse 6. It says of John, there was a man sent from God whose name was John. John was a man sent from God. And Jesus is taking the divine origin of John's ministry and he is implicitly applying that same origin to himself and to his own ministry. But why did Jesus choose John? John was debatable. Not everyone agreed on him. He was not an agreed upon figure. Why not choose another divinely sent messenger on whom there could have been agreement? Why not choose Elijah or Elisha or Isaiah? I don't think it's simply because John was a contemporary. Jesus isn't saying, well, they all know who John is, so I'll mention him. Now, Jesus chose John because John's ministry was uniquely preparatory. And Jesus, one of the chief priests and the elders, and he wants you and me to consider John's ministry. To consider John's ministry. John's ministry, it was one of preparation. It was one that was always looking forward and always pointing to Christ. When John was asked who he was, he responded in John chapter 1, I am not the Christ. But he said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord. John identified Jesus as the coming Messiah. John 1 29, he said, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. In Matthew's Gospel, John had already declared the supremacy of Christ. Matthew 3.11, John says, I baptized you with water for repentance, but after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandal I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. And perhaps most famously, John baptized Jesus. And remember it was at the baptism where the father publicly professed Jesus as his son in Matthew 3. Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him. And in verse 16, And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water. And behold, the heavens were opened to him. And he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." John's ministry always pointed to Christ from start to finish. It pointed to Christ and it exalted Christ. And this is why Jesus draws attention to John. Jesus points to the man who was already pointing at Him. And He says that John's authority was divine. But because the leaders had rejected John, It would have been useless for Jesus to say, my authority is divine. They've rejected John in his divine authority. They would have rejected Jesus in his authority too. The issue of authority raised by the chief priests and the elders, it was ultimately one of unbelief. They admit as much in verse 25 of our text, they say, you know, if they acknowledge that John's authority was from heaven, that Jesus will say, Why then did you not believe? It's a matter of belief, a matter of trust and faith that's at play in our text. Jesus could have argued for the perfection of his teaching. He could have said, show me the mistake in my preaching. He could have pointed to his kind and good and charitable works. But to those whose hearts were hardened in unbelief against his authority, it would have had no effect. Jesus said to them, essentially, you know where I got my authority. John told you, but you didn't listen. You hardened your heart in rebellion. Our confession, speaking about the Word of God, says in chapter 1, paragraph 15, our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth and divine authority of the Word of God is from the inward working of the Holy Spirit, bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts. What these elders and what these chief priests needed was not a patent simple answer to their question, well, my authority is from God. I'm thankful that you asked. No, what they needed was the working of God's Spirit to make the Word of Christ effectual in their hearts. And it's a working that they were actively suppressing. And before we leave this reminder of the source of Jesus' authority, we ought to take a moment and examine our own hearts, shouldn't we? Brothers and sisters, how is it that you respond to Christ's divine authority? Is it possible? Is it possible that you're tempted to come to Jesus in the same attitude as the chief priests and the elders in our passage? Do you come like that fault finder contending with the Almighty? Do you say to Jesus, you take a seat in the dock, I'd just like to ask you a few questions? You can say, I'll accept your authority once you've answered to my satisfaction the problem of evil. I'll accept your authority once you've explained why it seems that your general and your special revelation aren't adding up in a way that I can understand. I'll accept your authority once you answer for all the evil that men and women have done in your name." Is that how you respond to Christ's authority? Let me be clear. The issue in our text is about how we bring our questions to Jesus. The issue is not that they ask them a question, but the posture of their hearts as we do it. You can and should bring every question that I just asked and a hundred more to Jesus, but don't bring them like a lawyer examining a defendant. Bring them like a child going to his mom or his dad with a question. John the Baptist, whose ministry Jesus had just praised, he asked a question in Matthew's gospel. I wonder if you remember it. In Matthew 11, John's in prison, and he's about to be martyred. And he sends two of his disciples to Jesus, and they ask him a shocking question. Are you the Christ, or should I look for another? John said, this ministry isn't working out the way that I thought it would. Are you the Christ? I thought you were the Christ. I was pointing to you. Of course, Jesus, He answers him graciously. He answers him winsomely. But John asked the question, but in the posture of a child ready to receive an answer. We can ask questions. Think about the Psalms of Asaph. I heard that maybe how Lou mentioned those for you last week. The Psalms of Asaph, Psalms 73 to 83. Read those this afternoon or sometime this week and count the questions. God, how long are you going to reject our prayers? God, why aren't you going out with our armies? God, why does it seem like you're not listening? But they brought those questions in faith. Christian friends, the caution of this passage is not against asking Jesus hard questions, but it's against asking Jesus hard questions in a heart of pride, in a heart that says that you are in a position to judge Him, that you want to debate His authority. So far we've seen in our first two reminders that although Jesus' authority is divine, It's going to be challenged. But still, this can leave us with unresolved tension. It's not a full enough picture to simply say, don't challenge Jesus' authority. We need help with this. Help to do what is decidedly unnatural for us, who are fallen creatures. But friends, the scriptures, they give us rich encouragement for us as we respond to Jesus' authority. And so we'll move to consider our final reminder. Remember that Jesus' authority is good news. Remember that Jesus' authority is good news. And first notice that Jesus' authority is good news because it is operative on your behalf. Jesus has never, and He will never misuse or abuse His authority, but He only uses it to bless and to benefit. Maybe this is a word of encouragement to any of you here who've been on the receiving end of an abused authority. You may say, my problem with authority, it's that I've been subject to it, that it's pushed me into the ground in a way that it ought not to have been used. And if that's your experience, dear Christian friends, you look at Jesus. He is a Savior who is clothed with divine authority, but He's gentle and lowly, and He doesn't break bruised wreaths. You need to know that Jesus does not abuse His authority. In Matthew's Gospel, Christ's authority, it's a thread that runs through the entire book. In the Sermon on the Mount, do you remember how it ended? How did the multitudes respond after hearing Christ's exposition of the law and explanation of the Christian life? Matthew 7, 28 and 29. And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching. For he was teaching as one who had authority and not as their scribes. we see that Jesus, He has the authority to heal and the authority to forgive sins. In Matthew 9, Jesus says to the paralytic, take heart, my son, your sins are forgiven. And there, when the scribes grumbled and charged Jesus with glass, He responded, which is easier to say, your sins are forgiven, or to say, rise and walk? But that you may know that the Son has authority on earth to forgive sins. He said to the paralytic, rise, take up your bed and go home. Jesus has authority over demons and over unclean spirits, an authority which he delegated to his disciples, Matthew 10, 1. And Jesus called to him the 12 disciples, and he gave them authority over unclean spirits to cast them out, to heal every disease and every affliction. Think of the end of Matthew's gospel. After Jesus has risen from the dead, after Jesus has defeated sin, death, and the devil, he comes to the disciples and he commissions them. And what does he say? All authority, all authority on heaven and on earth has been given to me. And that's just in Matthew's gospel. If we expand out to the New Testament, we see that Christ has authority over His own life, death, and resurrection. John 10, 18, Jesus says, No one takes away My life from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. Jesus has authority to destroy the works of the devil. Revelation 12, nine and following. John sees this vision and he says, the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent who is called the devil and Satan. And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come. For the accuser of our brethren has been cast out. Friends, where's the bad news in that? Dear Christian friends, every benefit that you enjoy as a child of God, the remission of your sins, freedom from the devil and his agents, the help and aid of Christ as you fulfill his commission, the sure hope of resurrection glory. Friends, these are all yours because your Savior is clothed with authority that he employs on your behalf. Dear Christian friends, Jesus' authority is good news. And since Jesus' authority is good news, since it's operative on your behalf, we need to see that Jesus' authority calls for faith and obedience. Jesus' authority calls for faith and obedience. The conclusion to this interaction which we saw. It's really found in the parable that follows. We won't consider that parable in detail, but still we see it in the conclusion in the parable of the two sons. The first son, remember, he promised disobedience. The father comes and he says, go work in my vineyard. And he says, no thanks, dad. But later he repented and he went and he worked in the vineyard. And remember, the father comes to the second son, and he goes and he works, and he says, do you want to work in my vineyard? He says, sure thing, dad. But then he doesn't follow through. He disobeyed. And Jesus, of course, he makes a shocking comparison, that the repentant tax collectors and prostitutes enter the kingdom of heaven, but not the self-righteous chief priests and elders. Jesus calls for faith and belief and he says to the proud, verse 32, tax collectors and prostitutes believe John. But when you saw it, you did not relent and believe him. That could be you did not repent and believe him. There's a call for faith. But there's also a call for obedience. And I think that we understand this authority. It calls for obedience. This is illustrated in the parable where the hearts of the two sons are demonstrated not primarily in what they professed, but in what they did, their obedience or lack thereof to their father. And so what's the application? Certainly to respond to Jesus' authority and faith and obedience. I must confess that that's a little nebulous. If the application of a sermon is, obey Jesus, OK, I already knew that. Let me suggest for you two areas for obedience where I think it's all too easy for us as Christians to reject Jesus' divine authority. First, give obedience to your civil leaders as those appointed by God. Give obedience to your civil leaders as those appointed by God. Romans 13 1. Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God in which have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed. No doubt in the last three years, each of us have thought deeply and seriously about what should and should not be rendered on this year. Nevertheless, the truth expressed in the words of our confession still stand. Westminster Confession, Chapter 20, Paragraph 4. They, who upon pretense of Christian liberty shall oppose any lawful power or the lawful exercise of it, whether it be civil or ecclesiastical, Civil or in the church, they resist the ordinance of God. Give obedience to your civil leaders. Secondly, give obedience to your church leadership. Give obedience to your church leadership. The writer to the Hebrews says, Hebrews 13, verse 17, obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls. You members of Springs Reform, take seriously the vow that you've taken. Do you promise to submit in the Lord to the teaching and government of this church? In case you should need correction in doctrine or life, do you promise to respect the authority and the discipline of the church? And I think that perhaps this applies especially to you who are leaders in the church, to you who are elders and deacons in the church. Meditate on the vow that you've taken, vow nine, Do you promise subjection in the Lord to the courts of this church? How many examples could we multiply in church history of instances when harm was done because a proud man or a proud woman assumed that the call to submit and obey didn't apply to them. God has made no one a law unto themselves. Hebrews 13, 17, Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be no advantage to you. Give obedience to your church leadership. This can be, I think, a challenging passage. It's challenging in our sinfulness and our pride to be confronted with divine authority. We can be tempted to respond like the elders and the chief priests. Where did you get this authority? Who gave it to you? Why should I listen to you? And that's why we need to remember Jesus' divine authority. It's not from men, it's from God, and it's superior to all human power and authority. But perhaps especially we need to remember that Jesus' authority is full of good news. It's an authority that He engages on behalf of His people. And so, brothers and sisters, respond to Jesus' authority in joyful faith. not indignant unbelief. Amen. Let's pray and ask for his help to do that. Heavenly Father and our God, we confess each one of us that we are sons and daughters of Adam, that we have listened to the lie of the devil, that we can be like God, would you kill in each of us, kill in me that pride that says I don't need to submit to anyone, that I can be a law unto myself. God, instead, work in us the the position of a child, one who looks to you as his father, trusting that you know what is best, trusting that you will only bless and benefit your people. God, I pray that you would help us do this for your glory, for we ask it in Christ's name. Amen.