Living Questions
Sunday, September 25th, 2005
Pentecost + 19
Jerusalem Baptist Church, Emmerton VA
Matthew 21:23-32
It was a valid question.
Coming from the standpoint of the Chief Priests and Elders of the people, the combined ruling class (apart from the Romans) of the people of Judah, they were entirely justified in their minds to be asking Jesus by whose authority he did what he did.
Today’s passage skips ahead 3 whole chapters from where we were last week. We’ve moved into Easter territory. If I didn’t know it was the end of September I’d be looking for blossoms on the trees…
I’m not familiar enough yet with the background on the lectionary to be able to explain to you why the readings are set up the way they are, but there you have it.
The passage for today jumps in AFTER the triumphal entry, AFTER the cleansing of the temple, AFTER the Sadducees and Pharisees had already joined forces in recognizing that they had to get rid of Jesus. This is one of their initial attempts to derail him. In the coming few weeks, we’ll see other examples of their attempts to trip Jesus up, but we will get to those then. For now, we study the text at hand.
The issue is authority. Coming from the ruling authorities, it was not an idle question. It seems straightforward enough. “Jesus, tell us, by what authority do you come in here and get crowds clamoring at your entrance, and then come into the temple and run amok with our vendor/partners? Who gave you the right to do those things?”
In his response, Jesus demonstrates for us that he knew whom he was dealing with – and more than that – he knew where THEY were coming from, what was motivating their question, and he asked the precise question that exposed that motivation.
What is fascinating about the exchange is that, within a few deft sentences, Jesus pulls the situation into perspective for us. It’s been about three years since his cousin John was murdered, but the message he preached is still at this point, very much alive in the lives of the people. They have not forgotten what John preached and practiced.
Jesus asks the priests and elders, ‘did the baptism of John come from heaven or is it of human origin?” Admittedly, there are times when the Gospels present what can sometimes come across as an almost-cartoon version of the characters involved in the story of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, especially when it comes to the disciples. In this case, we catch a glimpse into part of the reason WHY the Elders of the people and the Chief Priests WERE who they WERE.
They were not naïve. They were not intellectually challenged. They understood the world they lived in. They had a lot to do with why it WAS the way it was. The thought process is spelled out, again, in just a few words, from the second half of verse 25 to the first half of verse 27.
You see, that was their whole point in asking THEIR question. They didn’t REALLY want to know the answer to the question they were asking, they simply wanted to trap Jesus into (in their eyes) blaspheming, or showing himself to be a delusional egomaniac. To the innocent passers-by, the general public, their question would be an acceptable one, and to not answer it would ALSO make Jesus look bad in the eyes of the people who had been indoctrinated into believing that everything the Sadducees and Pharisees and Elders and Chief Priests said could well be AND SHOULD BE taken to be the proclamation from the Lord God of Hosts, the Almighty himself. After all, they WERE the leaders and the scribes, were they not?
What they DIDN’T count on was Jesus knowing their hearts better than they did.
When the Priests and Elders come back at Jesus and refused to answer, he also refused to answer their question. The confrontation is a draw, sort of.
Jesus goes on to drive the point home.
He tells a story.
A man has a vineyard, and two sons. He asks one son to go out and work the vineyard. The son, who is probably sitting on his bed engrossed in reading the latest Harry Potter book, answers somewhat insolently, “I don’t want to.” And the father goes on about his business, maybe shaking his head and wondering what today’s kids were growing up to be. He comes upon his second son, who is playing a video game in his room. “Son, can you please go out to the vineyard and work it for me?” The second son answers “Sure Dad!” with an eager smile on his face, “be right there!” and turns back to his game and promptly forgets what he just said as he tries to get Mario to jump up to that next level…
Meanwhile, son number one has had time to think about how he answered his Dad, and realizes he really should go out and work the vineyard after all. He marks the page, sets the book down, and heads out to do the work requested.
Jesus’ question is simple: Which one of the sons did what his father asked? The one who said “no,” and then DID, or the one who said “yes” and then DIDN’T?
The answer was obvious to everyone there. Even though he initially refused, the first son to be asked obeyed. His actions spoke louder than words. The second son’s actions spoke louder than HIS words as well, only in a DISobedient manner.
I can see Jesus shaking his head and looking at the men standing in front of him. They just answered the question, but they are totally missing the point of the story. Even though they answered it correctly, they could not fit their brains around the notion that THEY were like the SECOND son, who paid lip service to his father, but in truth couldn’t care less for what his father expected of him, and chose rather to do things HE wanted to do.
They just didn’t get it.
Jesus tries to make them understand one last time – to shock them into awareness – in bringing up the tax collectors and the prostitutes who recognized their unrighteousness, sin, and separation from God and chose to follow him. Admitting their need.
As we’ve seen before, tax collectors and prostitutes were the epitome of what the Priests and Pharisees wanted NOTHING to do with. They were categorically unclean, beyond redemption, and therefore not worthy of attention, or time, or addressing, to say nothing of sitting down to a meal together.
That was, if you recall, what Jesus had gotten in trouble with so often before. For having treated people as … PEOPLE, regardless of what they’d done. His ‘socializing’ was what scandalized the self-righteous pillars of the community. The completely missed the fact that in engaging EVERYONE, Jesus called them into obedience to the heart of God. He did not leave wrong as wrong. He didn’t tell the woman caught in adultery ‘go on about your business’, he told her ‘this way your living is going to kill you … it almost DID, just now. Go and sin no more.’
Frank Stagg, New Testament professor at Southern Seminary, put it this way:
“Radical demand and limitless mercy come together in the teaching and manner of Jesus”
Radical demand. The word ‘radical’ means ‘root’. Think “Root canal”, think “radical change”, “the root of the problem”. Jesus is not playing around with window dressing when he deals with our lives. He is not making cosmetic changes so we will appear more acceptable to society… or to other churchgoers. He is dealing with our hearts, our innermost being.
So what does this mean for Jerusalem Baptist Church at Emmerton?
What is our response to Jesus’ question? After all, Jesus is asking us the same questions today. That is why they are living questions. They are being asked of us today, and have been asked of every believer over the last two thousand years.
Who has the authority in your life? Are we going to pay lip service to the father, put on the good face, say we’re going to do this and that, eloquently describe what it means to be children of God, be a light to the nations, be a factor of change in our community, and then just come and sit on Sundays?
Or are we going to put our words into action, recognizing that we have failed and will fail time and again, but that isn’t the point. The point is that we are and can all be recipients of God’s limitless grace if we only ask for it! The message of the story is that it doesn’t matter what’s come before. There is a second chance and a third chance and a fourth chance for all of us. God’s grace does that.
God wants us obedient, not pretty.
Let’s pray.
Sunday, September 25th, 2005
Pentecost + 19
Jerusalem Baptist Church, Emmerton VA
Matthew 21:23-32
23 When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?’ 24 Jesus said to them, ‘I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?’ And they argued with one another, ‘If we say, “From heaven,” he will say to us, “Why then did you not believe him?” 26 But if we say, “Of human origin,” we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.’ 27 So they answered Jesus, ‘We do not know.’ And he said to them, ‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
28 ‘What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, “Son, go and work in the vineyard today.” 29 He answered, “I will not”; but later he changed his mind and went. 30 The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, “I go, sir”; but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 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 after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.
It was a valid question.
Coming from the standpoint of the Chief Priests and Elders of the people, the combined ruling class (apart from the Romans) of the people of Judah, they were entirely justified in their minds to be asking Jesus by whose authority he did what he did.
Today’s passage skips ahead 3 whole chapters from where we were last week. We’ve moved into Easter territory. If I didn’t know it was the end of September I’d be looking for blossoms on the trees…
I’m not familiar enough yet with the background on the lectionary to be able to explain to you why the readings are set up the way they are, but there you have it.
The passage for today jumps in AFTER the triumphal entry, AFTER the cleansing of the temple, AFTER the Sadducees and Pharisees had already joined forces in recognizing that they had to get rid of Jesus. This is one of their initial attempts to derail him. In the coming few weeks, we’ll see other examples of their attempts to trip Jesus up, but we will get to those then. For now, we study the text at hand.
The issue is authority. Coming from the ruling authorities, it was not an idle question. It seems straightforward enough. “Jesus, tell us, by what authority do you come in here and get crowds clamoring at your entrance, and then come into the temple and run amok with our vendor/partners? Who gave you the right to do those things?”
In his response, Jesus demonstrates for us that he knew whom he was dealing with – and more than that – he knew where THEY were coming from, what was motivating their question, and he asked the precise question that exposed that motivation.
What is fascinating about the exchange is that, within a few deft sentences, Jesus pulls the situation into perspective for us. It’s been about three years since his cousin John was murdered, but the message he preached is still at this point, very much alive in the lives of the people. They have not forgotten what John preached and practiced.
Jesus asks the priests and elders, ‘did the baptism of John come from heaven or is it of human origin?” Admittedly, there are times when the Gospels present what can sometimes come across as an almost-cartoon version of the characters involved in the story of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, especially when it comes to the disciples. In this case, we catch a glimpse into part of the reason WHY the Elders of the people and the Chief Priests WERE who they WERE.
They were not naïve. They were not intellectually challenged. They understood the world they lived in. They had a lot to do with why it WAS the way it was. The thought process is spelled out, again, in just a few words, from the second half of verse 25 to the first half of verse 27.
‘If we say, “From heaven,” he will say to us, “Why then did you not believe him?” 26 But if we say, “Of human origin,” we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.’Here we have their discussion – certainly among themselves – it would be interesting to know HOW Matthew got the scoop on what they were saying, wouldn’t it be? Perhaps an elder who later became a follower of Christ, or a temple priest who, like Saul, at some point later on came face to face with the risen Lord. In any case, here’s their dilemma. Jesus has them coming and going. There is no way they can answer this question and come away winners. The polling data is not coming back in favor of either answer.
You see, that was their whole point in asking THEIR question. They didn’t REALLY want to know the answer to the question they were asking, they simply wanted to trap Jesus into (in their eyes) blaspheming, or showing himself to be a delusional egomaniac. To the innocent passers-by, the general public, their question would be an acceptable one, and to not answer it would ALSO make Jesus look bad in the eyes of the people who had been indoctrinated into believing that everything the Sadducees and Pharisees and Elders and Chief Priests said could well be AND SHOULD BE taken to be the proclamation from the Lord God of Hosts, the Almighty himself. After all, they WERE the leaders and the scribes, were they not?
What they DIDN’T count on was Jesus knowing their hearts better than they did.
When the Priests and Elders come back at Jesus and refused to answer, he also refused to answer their question. The confrontation is a draw, sort of.
Jesus goes on to drive the point home.
He tells a story.
A man has a vineyard, and two sons. He asks one son to go out and work the vineyard. The son, who is probably sitting on his bed engrossed in reading the latest Harry Potter book, answers somewhat insolently, “I don’t want to.” And the father goes on about his business, maybe shaking his head and wondering what today’s kids were growing up to be. He comes upon his second son, who is playing a video game in his room. “Son, can you please go out to the vineyard and work it for me?” The second son answers “Sure Dad!” with an eager smile on his face, “be right there!” and turns back to his game and promptly forgets what he just said as he tries to get Mario to jump up to that next level…
Meanwhile, son number one has had time to think about how he answered his Dad, and realizes he really should go out and work the vineyard after all. He marks the page, sets the book down, and heads out to do the work requested.
Jesus’ question is simple: Which one of the sons did what his father asked? The one who said “no,” and then DID, or the one who said “yes” and then DIDN’T?
The answer was obvious to everyone there. Even though he initially refused, the first son to be asked obeyed. His actions spoke louder than words. The second son’s actions spoke louder than HIS words as well, only in a DISobedient manner.
I can see Jesus shaking his head and looking at the men standing in front of him. They just answered the question, but they are totally missing the point of the story. Even though they answered it correctly, they could not fit their brains around the notion that THEY were like the SECOND son, who paid lip service to his father, but in truth couldn’t care less for what his father expected of him, and chose rather to do things HE wanted to do.
They just didn’t get it.
Jesus tries to make them understand one last time – to shock them into awareness – in bringing up the tax collectors and the prostitutes who recognized their unrighteousness, sin, and separation from God and chose to follow him. Admitting their need.
As we’ve seen before, tax collectors and prostitutes were the epitome of what the Priests and Pharisees wanted NOTHING to do with. They were categorically unclean, beyond redemption, and therefore not worthy of attention, or time, or addressing, to say nothing of sitting down to a meal together.
That was, if you recall, what Jesus had gotten in trouble with so often before. For having treated people as … PEOPLE, regardless of what they’d done. His ‘socializing’ was what scandalized the self-righteous pillars of the community. The completely missed the fact that in engaging EVERYONE, Jesus called them into obedience to the heart of God. He did not leave wrong as wrong. He didn’t tell the woman caught in adultery ‘go on about your business’, he told her ‘this way your living is going to kill you … it almost DID, just now. Go and sin no more.’
Frank Stagg, New Testament professor at Southern Seminary, put it this way:
“Radical demand and limitless mercy come together in the teaching and manner of Jesus”
Radical demand. The word ‘radical’ means ‘root’. Think “Root canal”, think “radical change”, “the root of the problem”. Jesus is not playing around with window dressing when he deals with our lives. He is not making cosmetic changes so we will appear more acceptable to society… or to other churchgoers. He is dealing with our hearts, our innermost being.
So what does this mean for Jerusalem Baptist Church at Emmerton?
What is our response to Jesus’ question? After all, Jesus is asking us the same questions today. That is why they are living questions. They are being asked of us today, and have been asked of every believer over the last two thousand years.
Who has the authority in your life? Are we going to pay lip service to the father, put on the good face, say we’re going to do this and that, eloquently describe what it means to be children of God, be a light to the nations, be a factor of change in our community, and then just come and sit on Sundays?
Or are we going to put our words into action, recognizing that we have failed and will fail time and again, but that isn’t the point. The point is that we are and can all be recipients of God’s limitless grace if we only ask for it! The message of the story is that it doesn’t matter what’s come before. There is a second chance and a third chance and a fourth chance for all of us. God’s grace does that.
God wants us obedient, not pretty.
Let’s pray.
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