By What Authority Audio
The story is told of a ship's captain during the war, who was sailing along on a dark night and saw a light on a collision course. So he got his signaller to flash a message: "Alter your course 10 degrees west." The reply came back "Alter your course 10 degrees east." The captain then signalled "Alter your course 10 degrees west. I am a Commander." The reply came back "Alter your course 10 degrees east. I am a seaman third-class."
By this time the ship's captain was getting furious. So he signalled: "Alter your course 10 degrees west. I am a battleship." The reply came back almost instantly: "Alter your course 10 degrees east. I am a lighthouse."
That story addresses the issue of our passage today. That is, the issue of authority. Where does authority come from and how do you respond to it? Sometimes it comes from rank or status, as the commander in that story obviously assumed. But sometimes it comes from something innate like the immovable nature of a lighthouse set above a cliff. So where do you look to for authority for your life? That's not an easy question to ask in this day and age. Life has changed so radically in the last 50 years that what was taken for granted 50 years ago can no longer be assumed. Truth is all relative, we're told. Conspiracy theories are rife. Alternative facts are the go. Authority comes in various shapes and forms.
In politics, we see various elected leaders who wield their authority as power; who use twitter because they don't trust the traditional media, or better yet their own communication app; who, even when large sections of the electorate show their dissatisfaction, continue to confuse leadership with autocratic rule. Or in our case, here in Australia, we see elected leaders who are forced to follow the wishes of one particular faction in their party, even if it undermines their authority.
So we're led to ask, is their authority authentic?
Well, that was the very question the Pharisees and Elders and the Chief Priests, the spiritual leaders of Israel, put to Jesus. Jesus had not only been outspoken about the social inequities of his time, he'd gone the next step of physical protest. Earlier in this chapter he'd come into the temple and cleared it of money changers and merchants. He'd healed people who came into the temple to find him. The children who were there started crying out "Hosanna to the Son of David" echoing what they'd heard people calling out on Palm Sunday and Jesus accepted it, quoting Psalm 8 when the chief priests complained about it. And now as Jesus again comes in to the Temple and begins teaching people, presumably about the kingdom of God, those same chief priests want to know by what authority he does all these things.
For us the question might be, do I, do we, have any authority for insisting that the moral and social rules that God has given us should be followed? Where do we look for authority for our lives? Do we take God's word seriously or do we allow ourselves to be swayed by the world around us, the clamouring voices of popular media.
Well, the answer to that question, I think, is very close to the answer that Jesus gives here.
Mind you, the answer isn't all that straightforward is it? He doesn't just come out and say, "God told me to do it." "I'm on a mission from God." No, he's aware that they're trying to trap him. If he says "God sent me" then they've got all the evidence they need for a charge of blasphemy. No, rather than give them a direct answer, he instead gives them an answer that allows them, in fact forces them, to answer the question for themselves. He says "I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me."
Now why ask that particular question? What does John's baptism have to do with Jesus' authority?
Well, you might need to go back to Matthew 3 where John first appears with this message: "2Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." Matthew goes on "3This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, 'The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'"
You see, John came to prepare the way for the Lord; that is, for the coming Messiah. So if he was sent by God, what does that say about the one who followed him, the one he proclaimed? Well, those with eyes to see and ears to hear will answer he must be the Messiah, God's anointed one. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it's probably not a chicken.
But that isn't all. What happened at Jesus baptism? As he was coming up from the water he saw the Spirit descending on him like a dove and a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."
John didn't pull his punches either. Do you remember the way he spoke to the Pharisees? "3:7You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Bear fruit worthy of repentance. 9Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 10Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."
So Jesus' question is a powerful one, isn't it? They know how the people felt about John so they can hardly disagree, but at the same time John's message was a dire warning especially to the spiritual leaders of Israel. In a sense, Jesus was asking them whether they'd taken any notice of this prophet's message. Had they repented? Had they changed their ways? Or were they no better than the priests in the Old Testament who oversaw the spiritual decline of the nation to the point where God sent them off to Babylon?
At the same time Jesus is also pointing them back to the start of his own ministry to remind them of what he's been doing. The teaching and healing miracles, the casting out of demons, point to an inherent authority that Jesus bears. Only someone who comes from God could do what he's been doing. Why can't they see it? The innate authority of Jesus is shown in his response to them: "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things." He refuses to accept their authority because their failure to answer honestly means they've forfeited the right to question him.
At that point Matthew recounts a parable that Jesus tells that reflects on this question of their response to his authority.
He says: "What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' 29He answered, 'I will not'; but later he changed his mind and went. 30The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, 'I go, sir'; but he did not go. 31Which of the two did the will of his father?"
This is no trick question from Jesus. The answer is clear and they say so. "The first." But can they see his point?
Who do the two sons represent? Well, they're both described as sons of the father. So they both represent Jews of Jesus' day presumably. But which is which. The first group, represented by the first son, are those Jews who were looked down on because they weren't outwardly godly, respectable, spiritual. The great unwashed we might call them today. They didn't appear to take much notice of what God expected of them. They were not regular attenders at the temple or synagogue. Until John came along they just went about their lives as though religion wasn't that important.
On the other hand the second son represents the religious hierarchy of the day. They saw themselves as the spiritual authorities of the nation. They knew what God wanted and gave an outward assent to all his laws. In fact they went to great lengths to ensure that they were keeping that law to the tiniest degree. Yet they failed in following through and obeying the spirit of the law.
Can you see the difference in the response between the two brothers. One ignored his father's command yet later changed his mind and did it. The other outwardly acknowledged his father's authority but didn't do anything about it. And that is the crux of Jesus' judgement on them.
It's interesting that when you read through Matthew's gospel you find he puts a strong emphasis on the connection between faith and action, between believing and doing. Think back to the Sermon on the Mount. It's full of warnings about doing what is right. Think of the parable of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25. There God's judgement is based on the way a person cared for those in need: the hungry and thirsty, the foreigners and those in prison.
The religious leaders knew their scriptures, they knew the law down to the tiniest details, yet when God's Messiah stood before them they refused to recognise him. The tax collectors and prostitutes on the other hand, when they heard John the Baptist warning them of the coming of the Messiah, immediately repented and asked for baptism as a wiping away of their sins.
It's very easy, as well taught Christians, to think that we have the truth of the gospel. We can know our scriptures well, we can understand the theological arguments that arise from time to time but unless that great knowledge translates into action it doesn't actually do much good.
We saw that in the first reading today: "Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." It isn't enough to be united with Christ or comforted by his love. That has to flow out into being like-minded, one in spirit and of one mind, doing nothing out of selfish ambition but rather considering others above ourselves, looking to their interests not our own.
That's quite counter cultural isn't it? Particularly in today's context where everything is about me. It's a challenge that Jesus gives us. Will we be those who put our faith into action; who take seriously Jesus' call to go out into the vineyard and take up his work?
And it's not just a challenge that he gives us, it's also a warning. Look at what he says at the end of the passage: "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32For 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." A couple of sayings spring to mind at this point: "Put your money where your mouth is" or "Actions speak louder than words". Both are applicable I guess.
So we're left with two basic questions to answer: do you accept Jesus' authority over your life? Is he and his teaching the benchmark for your ethics, your personal relationships, your behaviour towards others?
And secondly, assuming you're one of his disciples, are you taking your belief in him and acting on it. Does it impact on your daily life? What are you doing that can demonstrate God's love to those around you? What could you do to influence your world, to bring God's standards to bear on what happens in it?
It doesn't need to be a huge thing. Thinking about Jesus' parable, the son was probably going into the vineyard to do some pruning, a fairly humble task, but one that was essential to ensure the best harvest. At the church I normally attend we have a tub for people to put in a few extra groceries they've bought that'll be sent to the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre to be given out to people who have come as refugees but are still waiting for permanent residency. It's a small thing to add to a week's grocery shopping but it adds up to a lifeline for these people who are in such a precarious situation.
It would be good to think about your daily life, the interactions you have with people, the work you do, and to ask how can your faith in Jesus be translated into work for him in those situations.
