10/1 Sermon - By Whose Authority?

By Whose Authority?

Matthew 21:23-32

- We’ve all dealt with difficult people, right? the person at work, our neighbor our family who demands control. Demanding, bossy, rude. We think to ourselves, “What gives you the right to do this? By whose authority do you act?

- Jesus acted a little bossy sometimes. Just days before our reading, he entered Jerusalem as a king. He over-turned the tables in the temple, scattered the money changers. So, the leaders asked him, “What gives you the right to do this? By whose authority do you act?”

- By whose authority do you act?” It’s a vital question! If your co-worker got promoted, you got to listen to them. If they didn’t, you can ignore them (kind of 😊). “By whose authority, Jesus, do you do all these things?”

- Jesus answers in his sly way. “I’ll answer you… if you answer me. John’s baptism, was it from heaven or from earth?” In other words, was John a prophet sent from God? Jesus knew what he was asking.

- The priests and elders did not believe in Jesus. They did not care about God. They didn’t not want to live under God’s authority. Sadly, they didn’t even answer Jesus.

- If they admitted John was a prophet, they would need to repent and follow Jesus, whom John pointed to. That looked bad. If they admitted John was just a man, the people wouldn’t like them, and that looked bad too. They wanted to stand on their own authority.  

- Jesus takes this point and drives it home. He tells a story.

- Two sons. The father told them to work. First was no, later yes. Second was yes, later no. Both changed their answer.

- Takeaway: neither son listened to their father, both disrespected his authority, but the first repented and listened.

- Jesus warns in this reading, “By whose authority do we live?” In this story, who am I?

1) We say “yes” to God here in church. “I believe in you, I trust you.” What’s going to happen this coming week? We’ll say ‘no’ to him with our lives and live by our own authority.

- We know that our words can cause pain to others, but that’s not going to stop us this week, will it?

- We know that selfish, uncaring attitudes harm others and disobey God, but that’s not going to stop us this week, will it?

- We know that our actions can be lazy, rude, unhelpful, but that’s not going to stop us this week, will it?

- The list could go on and one, We could talk about all the small little ways we disobey God every week, not live under his authority.

2) We love praise of this world, our own authority, more than living under God’s authority and seeking his praise.

- The priests and elders cared more about the people’s opinions about them, not admitting they were wrong, than God’s authority and praise.

- We care what others think about us, if we’re foolish or smart, right or wrong, and not always what God thinks about us. Cf. social media.

- It’s hard to admit our mistakes, to say those dreadful words, “I’m sorry, I messed up, do you forgive me? I cared more about myself or others, than about God and his authority.”  

- Jesus warns us. So does Ezekiel 18. “The soul who sins is the one who will die.” If we refuse to live under God’s authority, if we don’t see our need for a Savior, eternal hell waits for us. “Turn,” Ezekiel pleads, “turn from your sin, repent, and live.”

- These readings talk about repentance in a unique way. Repentance means we turn from sin toward God. These readings urge us to turn from our own authority towards God’s authority.  

- What do we find there, under God’s authority? It’s not as brutal or judgmental as some people might think…

- Look at v. 31. What did Jesus say? “The tax collectors and prostitutes are entering heaven ahead of you.” Wow! These horrible people, sexually immoral, thieves, betrayers, thugs… are saved. How? Through Jesus.

- Jesus preached that he himself had come to take away the sin of the world, to make us right with God, to give life everlasting.   

- These sinners who had said “no” to God so much, heard about Jesus’ forgiveness, confessed their sins, turned from their sin toward God’s authority. There they found the forgiveness and life of Jesus.

- These sinners who said “no” to God, all the people who have lived terrible lives but who find the forgiveness of Jesus, they enter the kingdom ahead of you. Not instead of you, ahead of you. That means there is still room for you! There is always room by Jesus for us, not matter how terrible our sin might be.

- By whose authority do we live? Brothers and sisters in Christ, we live by Jesus’ authority, and that means we live with forgiveness and love.

- While we do not want to live under God’s authority and we sin, Jesus was perfectly obedient to God in every respect. Philippians 2 tells us just obedient he was: he listen to God, even following his Father’s plan set aside his power, become a human, suffer, and die on the cross. Therefore, God raised him from the dead, and made the perfectly submissive one king over all things. 

- If we put Jesus in our parable, he would be the son who says “yes” to his father, then actually goes out and works! Perfectly submissive.

- Jesus promises us exact same blessings that he promised those those tax collectors and sinners. Through the life, suffering, and death of Jesus we have forgiveness for sin, we are made right before God, and we have life.

-   This gospel message makes our hearts alive, it works faith in our minds, and we then are able to repent, to turn to Jesus, to have faith.

- Through faith in Jesus, his perfect life counts as my own. Through faith in Jesus, my sins are washed away. Through faith in Jesus, I have the assurance of eternal life in heaven.  

-  This is the authority of Jesus. This is what happens when we stand under his authority, we stand in grace, life, salvation, forgiveness given through our Lord, Jesus. Our sinful natures, the world, our minds try to tell us how horrible it is, to stand under Jesus’s authority. But it is a grace-filled, forgiveness-flowing place to be. 

- We live under Jesus’ authority for our daily lives as well. Every day, as Christians, as those who trust in Jesus for salvation, we live by his authority.

- It’s tough to live under his authority. It is a daily battle! This struggle, this fight, won’t end until we’re in heaven. 

- Here’s what Martin Luther said once, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ``Repent'' , he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”

- That’s the unique flavor of this text. What does repentance look like? It means daily taking ourselves away from our authority and intentionally living under God’s authority. Each and every day. Here’s some help.

1) Our baptism gives us power for a godly life: Jesus has washed away our sins by his blood and the Spirit now lives in our hearts through baptism. We do have the ability to say “no” to sin.

- And each day, we can pray to God and drown our sinful desires and live by the Spirit of God, to live in the forgiveness of Jesus.

2) It helps to get in a rhythm, a rhythm filled with the Holy Spirit, a rhythm that daily, weekly breathes in the Spirit of God.

- Daily devotions & prayers, weekly church services. It helps to build a habit with these.

- I’ve heard it said that we are only as strong as our habits. We can start something, and be as joyful as we want about it, but once life gets busy, everything seems to slip through the cracks. But once something because a habit, and it’s a beneficial thing, we do it and draw strength even in the tough times. It’s the same thing with breathing God’s Word.

- They seem so small and inconsequential. But once we get in that rhythm and breathe God’s on a daily basis, then we start to focus more and more on his Word, on his grace, on his promises…

- Then we start to ignore our own thoughts and this sinful world and listen to God.  

- Then we start asking ourselves, every day, “What can I do today to love God, to love my neighbor, to love my family?” and not seek our own good.

3) There’s benefits! When we live under God’s authority, it actually brings more joy into our lives. Here’s how.

- We are honest about our sin. We’re mess up. We’re selfish, lazy, rude. And our loved are the same! There will always be problems.

- Once we confess that, then we can live in Jesus’ forgiveness. We can forgive and be forgiven, we can focus on loving, and not hiding sin or letting resentment build up. We have peace through Jesus Christ.

Jesus, the perfectly submissive, obedient one, promises us forgiveness for our sins, he promises to make us right before God by his perfect life.

Under his authority, we have life and peace.

So, today, this week, ask yourself this: “By whose authority will you live? Yours? Others? Or the grace-filled authority of Jesus?”