Responding to the Authority of Jesus: Mark 11:27-33

Well, we're back in the Gospel of Mark this morning.

We were diving into Psalm 100 last week, which is the promise for the month.

And I encourage you to continue to pray in that promise and seek to live it out.

Keep me accountable too.

It's been good to be steeped in that this this week.

And we return though to our series and Gospel of Mark, beginning with verse 27.

Here now the reading of God's holy word.

And they came again to Jerusalem, and as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came in, and they said to him, By what authority are you doing these things?

Or who gave you this authority to do them?

Jesus said to them, I will ask you one question.

Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?

Answer me.

And they discussed it with one another, saying, If we say from heaven, he will say, Why then did you not believe him?

But shall we say from man?

They were afraid of the people, for they all knew and held that John really was a prophet.

So they answered Jesus, We do not know.

And Jesus said to them, Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Let us pray.

Once again this morning, Lord, we ask and pray, Holy Spirit, would you take this, your word, and would you bring it so that it makes and brings forth fruit within us.

We pray that you would apply it to us, that you would help us to see, Lord, even this morning, something of your glory.

That that light might show us who you truly are, and that our hearts would be changed.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

So as we just uh read, um, we uh encounter a situation here where uh Jesus has returned to the temple.

He's not only in Jerusalem in general, but he's in specifically in the temple.

And as he's walking around the temple, he's confronted by a group of people, the representatives of the Sanhedrin.

The Sanhedrin being the supreme uh court and the administrative council of the Jews.

And we find here that the representatives from the three parties that made up the council come to Jesus and they have a question for him.

And because each of these parties are present, it tells us that this was likely a commission of sorts.

They were there to uh to take heed of what Jesus would say to this question and duly note it.

And the and the question that was hot on their minds is this Jesus, by what authority are you doing these things?

Uh who gave you authority to do what you're doing?

In other words, what right do you have to carry out what you're doing overruling our authority?

That's really what lay behind the question.

Clearly, the fact that Jesus had recently overturned in the temple the money changers' tables and the seats of those who were selling livestock lay behind their question.

And so Jesus answers the question with a question of his own.

He says, this, he says, Well, tell me, you tell me.

Was the baptism of John was that from heaven or was that from man?

Now, at first reading that might seem to us like a pretty abstract question.

Uh, is he, where is he going with that?

But it actually has significance here.

John the Baptist, you see, had proclaimed a baptism of repentance and forgiveness as the forerunner to Jesus, who is the Christ.

And so the the question then was: was the baptism from God or from man?

The point that Jesus is getting at is he's saying, you see, without repentance, you won't come to submit to my authority.

And so it really hinges on your answer to this question.

And so they huddle up and they begin to discuss it amongst themselves.

And and uh they they begin to tease out the implications of the question.

Okay, so if we say from God, then he's gonna reply to us, why then didn't you believe him?

Why haven't you repented?

And so we we can't say that, but we also can't say men, because if we were to say that, we would lose our influence with the people because they clearly believe that John was a prophet.

And so the reply to Jesus in response after thinking through the implications of both is, well, we don't know.

And so Jesus responds in effect.

He says, then neither will revealing anything more to you be of benefit.

That's that's how hard your hearts are, then nothing more will be of benefit.

And so we see how all of this really relates to who Jesus really is.

If Jesus, you see, is just another man, then he is subject to other human authorities.

But since he is the Christ, the one that John the Baptist came as a forerunner to pave the way, the anointed one, God in the flesh, his authority is divine.

And that means he has the right to rule and to act and to judge as the creator of the world.

And so there are three things for us to consider this morning concerning Jesus' authority.

The first is why is his authority challenged?

Why is his authority challenged?

Second, how is his authority challenged?

And then third, in what way does his authority influence us?

How is his authority challenged?

Uh, you, as we read the gospels, as we've been doing over these last several months, on more than a few occasions we see Jesus issues warnings about the conduct of these religious leaders.

Some of those charges concerned their love of money, their religious posturing, their willingness to preach without practicing what they preach.

Jesus said to them, he said, You guys burden people.

You lay heavy demands on them and on their shoulders, but you're unwilling to even offer one of your fingers to help lift them.

You guys shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces.

Because you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.

And so these charges were a serious indictment on their attitudes and their actions, and rather than repenting and hearing Jesus and submitting to his authority, they had only dug their heels in.

At this point, they're looking for a way in which to crucify him.

And so the question comes, why is Jesus' authority challenged?

The French theologian from the 16th century, Quinnell, his reflections are instructive.

He said this: he said, those who find themselves on the wrong side of truth generally endeavor to reject authority.

There are no persons, he says, more inclined to demand of others a reason for their actions than those who think they may do everything themselves without control.

Now that's quite a statement, isn't it?

And there are two ideas here that I think we can just spend a little bit of time unpacking.

The first, those on the wrong side of truth are generally those who will seek to reject authority.

Why?

Well, because of the fact that the pride of our hearts want to be right.

Right?

I'd rather defend my position, I'd rather defend my attitudes, my behavior, than admit to someone else that I'm wrong.

Or could be or should be required to change my current way of living.

I'd rather blame someone else and deflect than to acknowledge fault.

It's owing to pride.

I'd rather shift, we can be very good at shifting blame, can't we?

To take the spotlight off me, my actions, my attitudes, my heart, and to put it onto someone else.

We challenge authority because we because change requires humility.

And we struggle sometimes to humble ourselves.

Those who are on the wrong side of truth will generally seek to reject authority.

It's just easier to reject it in some form or other than attempting to humble ourselves.

That's the first reason.

The second, or the resulting consequence, is that by rejecting authority, those who do so are more inclined to demand from others a reason for their actions.

Why is that?

Well, because by rejecting authority, people have no compass, no sensitivity to their own failures and faults.

And so they become demanding towards others while they themselves presume to be free from error.

Other words, to state it simply, in rejecting authority, they're always on the right side of the truth.

That's at the heart of why Jesus' authority is challenged.

I would rather, the human heart says, I would rather deflect, reject, or project, and defend my position than humble myself, engage my heart, and be open even to the thought that perhaps may not be the righteous way.

And so Jesus' authority is challenged.

Question is so, how is his authority challenged?

And essentially, there are two ways of challenging authority, two issues that we have with authority today.

The first is irreligion.

Irreligion, well, the approach of irreligion is to challenge Jesus' authority by assuming the role of a self-appointed authority.

Determining our own truth for ourselves.

The idea is that we should be able to pick and choose from all of the many voices around us in order to determine how to live.

That we ought to be able to pick and choose from the voices usually that we most like when it comes down to it.

And form a narrative or a worldview around those certain people or influences or thoughts.

A way of moving through life, a self-appointed authority.

That's irreligion.

Or, on the other hand, is religion.

Unlike irreligion, the approach of religion is to embrace authority, but the way in which Jesus' authority is challenged comes through a blind acceptance of authority.

The idea that we should just accept the truth that comes from someone else, to follow their practices, from anyone on authority, just because they have authority.

And so let's break that down.

Irreligion says, I want to be the one who determines truth.

From the smoggus board of ideas and experience of life.

The problem with that is we were never meant to be, we were never made to be without a clear and righteous authority that communicates to us how we ought to live.

Right?

To be clear about what it actually looks like to walk down a right path, to make good decisions, paths that ultimately lead to flourishing.

And so to pick or choose or to adopt the philosophy nowadays of you do you, that's to enter into a world of confusion and disorder.

Because it's to try to build a life and a framework on the shifting sand of speculation and theorizing.

The certainty and the and the stability that authority brings when it's rejected leads to moral decline and chaos.

Because you see, any desire in the human heart that takes ruling status over against Jesus will produce visible sins.

Sins which, left unopposed and even nurtured, will lead to greater depravity.

I mean, that ought to be clear to us just in our observation of the world.

The book of Judges is a great example of this.

We read in the book of Judges of the steady moral decline of the nation of Israel throughout that book.

And you might remember at times the Israelites cry out because of the impression of other nations.

And they cry out for deliverance, and God sends them a judge to rescue them repeatedly.

And it happens over and over again.

The cycle continues over and over again.

But you see, you get to the end of the book of Judges, and it's a sad story.

It's a really sad ending because it ends not with a story of depravity from the outside, but from the inside, from the nations of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin.

The kind of evil that disturbs even all the other tribes.

And it's the kind of a thing where they are surprised, even themselves, just at how low things have become.

The dismembering of someone that's sent out to all the tribes to say, take heed at how low things have gone.

And so the book ends with a summary of the whole situation that says, in those days there was no king in Israel.

Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.

To paraphrase, they did what they felt like doing.

You see, because the problem is that if there is no objective moral standards outside of ourselves, if there is no divine authority, then who gets to determine what is right and wrong?

Who gets to determine that what that should look like?

Who's to say that that that murder, stealing, lying, uh taking advantage of others in whatever form or fashion shouldn't be something that I can carry out?

I mean, you might reply, well, the collective good should be the standard.

But you see, that can also change from nation to nation, people to people, tribe to tribe, family to family, age to age.

Who gets to determine what is the collective good?

And so rejecting the authority of Jesus by a self-appointed authority leads to anarchy and chaos and doesn't offer what we truly desire.

That's a religion.

The second is religion.

There's a way of, another way of challenging Jesus' authority, and it's not by outwardly rejecting it, but by blindly accepting it.

The Jews in Jesus' day, right, they clearly understood the benefit of leadership and representation.

There's something good.

It had its benefits.

They'd taken that from the law of Moses.

The benefit being that you have someone who can give an impartial ruling and disputes when they arise.

The benefit of having leaders devote time to what God had spoken in the scriptures and to teach and instruct on that basis so that people would be clear on what to believe about God and what God required of them.

That was all beneficial on having leadership.

But the problem was the abuse of authority in these religious leaders.

And Jesus takes all of that seriously and he doesn't back down.

And it teaches us that spiritual blindness can be in the hearts of those in positions of spiritual authority.

The New Testament admonition is that leaders are to keep a close watch on themselves.

Why?

Well, because the person who is not under a higher authority often has no idea how oppressive their manner can be.

And to tell you often when they're of the opinion that they're exempt.

And personally, as someone who's been called to teach the word of God, I've been called, I haven't been called to give you my thoughts, my laws, my opinions, but to present to you the words of Christ and to make him and his purposes and his heart known.

Someday I'll be required to give an account for my life and the way in which I've done that.

And you'll be given it called to give an account too.

And that means that in teaching his word, my will will at times be crossed.

And so will yours.

Because we all need to be conform to his word but not have his word be conform to us.

And so just as a self-appointing authority is not the answer, neither is a blind acceptance of human authority.

So in what way does Jesus' authority influence us?

What is it that we need?

When we hear the word authority, it may conjure up a variety of responses when you think about that.

Some people they Hear that word, they bristle.

All right?

They might tend to think of its abuses.

We might think of someone who is authoritarian, a dictator, a tyrant, someone who uses power to stamp down any questioning or opposition.

But we see a different kind of authority demonstrated by Jesus.

In this age, Jesus' authority isn't exercised to condemn, but to win submission to a perfect authority.

What we need is a truly benevolent and righteous trust.

Jesus, you see here, he's showing the need for a true temple, a perfect priest to be established.

Only in him is there no weakness, no failure, no shadow of wrongdoing in all wisdom.

And so the gospel reveals to us in Jesus an authority that has all of the qualities of righteousness.

Right?

One who is principled and yet patient.

One who is honest and yet gracious.

One who is humble and yet bold.

It's an authority that doesn't give in to you, but it doesn't give up on you.

It's an authority that's willing to call us to greater righteousness, but is also willing to help us.

From one who knows what the right path is, and he had to walk those paths himself, and who knows and has faced temptation.

And so he is willing to walk with us even through those paths.

And even when those paths might at first feel somewhat foreign to us.

All of this Jesus does.

He calls us to greater righteousness.

And so if someone were to look at your life, could they tell that you're trusting in this righteousness?

Jesus is clear that he must have a say in how you think about work.

He must have a say in how you think about rest, how you speak and relate to others.

What's weightier in regard to the use of your time?

All of that and much more, Jesus must have the final say.

The reason being we see people respond positively to good authority because it gives them a clear sense of direction, doesn't it?

Right?

It's stabilizing, it's dignifying.

The ability to thrive is founded on stability, on good authority.

A clear sense of right and wrong.

And so Jesus calls us to greater righteousness.

It's a loving thing to do.

But he is also willing to help us.

Right?

How does he lend us his hand?

Well, he does it by bringing his authority to reign in the lowest and most intimate parts, places within our hearts.

Right?

Because here's the thing about Jesus' authority and influence.

Where morality is just skims the surface.

And whereas many might be content to respond to threats and commands and fears, Jesus' authority pours out his spirit, who serves us not by convicting, not only by convicting, he does convict, but also by bringing the gospel and his love into the deep caverns of the heart.

Have you ever been to Lorray Caverns?

Seeing how deep those things are?

I mean, the heart is like those deep caverns, and he brings his spirit and his influence into those deep caverns in order to help us, in order to melt it and change our desires.

And so let's consider this for a moment.

Is there an area of challenge to his authority in your life?

Is there something that he's requiring of you that feels weighty or overwhelming?

Lord, please, would you please give me the want to?

Lord, that you're asking something of me that that I know I need to do and to change.

Would you please give me the want to?

I tell you, he can melt even the strongest resistance.

Right?

As heat melts metal into a puddle, he can melt even the most metallic heart only to reshape it into his likeness.

He can reshape your loves.

The question is, are you willing to humbly submit yourself to receive his influence?

Are you willing to ask him to align your heart with his?

That's what the scriptures mean when they say that he leads us in paths of righteousness.

Is there any other authority on earth or in heaven that works to serve us so humbly and faithfully?

Not one.

He calls us to greater righteousness, but he also willingly helps us in the deepest way possible.

And so true Christianity is a life of willing service, a joyful obedience to the authority of Christ.

It's a life that works from the inside out.

And because of that, it's a principled life.

Not swayed by appearances and opinions of others, but that arises from the deepest and greatest principle of love toward God and man.

May we all have courage to live with such humility and trust.

Amen.

Lord, we confess that too often we are blinded by imperfect voices, authorities in which we struggle with at times.

And yet, Lord, we know that it is good.

And so, Lord, we ask, we pray, would you give us increasing glimpses of your good and perfect authority?

Help us to rely on you, that we might receive more and more of your goodness, of your righteous rule and reign, to walk in the paths that are good and fruitful and right and lead to flourishing, and that you might be glorified in it all.

Amen.