In The Footsteps Of The Master: The Life and Times of Jesus Christ Jesus’ Authority Questioned March 11,

Introduction We are in Jesus’ last week on earth It is Passover week and Jerusalem is crowded with pilgrims Yesterday, He entered the city on a donkey to shouts of praise He threw the moneychangers out of the Temple area Today, we find him back in the city, teaching at the Temple 2

Jesus Questioned Matthew 21:23-27 – 23 When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while 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 thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?” And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 26 “But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the people; for they all regard John as a prophet.” 27 And answering Jesus, they said, “We do not know.” He also said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” 3

For Discussion The Jewish leaders interrupt Jesus while He is teaching in the Court of Gentiles –The Temple proper would have been filled with animal sacrifices They demand to know the source of His authority –He’s not a sanctioned Rabbi –He’s not from Jerusalem –He’s not part of the establishment –He spends His time with the wrong people 4

For Discussion Yet, yesterday he took control of the Temple area and threw out the moneychangers Today He is teaching and the people hang on His every word The leaders demand an answer as to the source of His authority What was His answer? Answering a question with a question was a standard Rabbinic teaching method 5

For Discussion Why are the leaders uncomfortable in answering Jesus’ question? By refusing to answer their question – as they refused to answer His – Jesus clearly connects His mission and ministry to that of John the Baptist Not an outright claim to be the Messiah, but certainly a claim to continue John’s ministry –The people considered John a Prophet 6

Parable of Two Sons Matthew 21:28-31a – 28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. 30 The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” 7

Parable of Two Sons Matthew 21:31b-32 –They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.” 8

For Discussion Jesus continues His discourse, directed at the Jewish leaders –This portion appears only in Matthew He tells a parable about two sons –Both are called to the work –One says “no”, then goes –The other says “yes”, then fails to show up Who do the two sons represent and what is the point of this parable? 9

For Discussion The first son represents the sinners who initially spurned God’s call, but turned at the message from John The second son represents the leaders who claim to work for the Father, but have actually have turned away and are failing to “show up” Jesus puts tax collectors and prostitutes ahead of the priests, scribes and elders in the Kingdom 10

Parable of the Vine-Growers Matthew 21:33-34 – 33 “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce.” 11

Observations This would have been a fairly commonplace arrangement –There were numerous tenant farms in Judea with absent landowners –The farmers tended the vineyard and paid rent to the landowner from the produce of the land Note that this parable focuses on the actions of the vine-growers, rather than the performance of the vineyard 12

Parable of the Vine-Growers Matthew 21:35-36 – 35 “The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them.” When the landowner sends slaves to collect the fruit that is rightfully his, the vine-growers mistreat, beat and kill them 13

Parable of the Vine-Growers Matthew 21:37-39 – 37 “But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39 They took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.” The vine-growers believe that by killing the son, they can obtain the position that they feel is rightfully theirs 14

Parable of the Vine-Growers Matthew 21:40-41 – 40 “Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine- growers?” 41 They said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.” In similar fashion to King David with Nathan the Prophet, the leaders are quick to condemn the action 15

Parable of the Vine-Growers Matthew 21:42-44 – 42 Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘The stone which the builders rejected, This became the chief corner stone; This came about from the Lord, And it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43 Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. 44 And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.” 16

Observation Some would translate “given to a people, producing the fruit of it” as “given to a nation” –This may provide additional insight into the meaning of the parable 17

Understanding the Parable What does the vineyard represent? What/who do the vine-growers represent? What/who do these slaves represent? What/who does the son represent? What/who does the stone represent? Who is the landowner? What is the overall message? 18

The Leaders’ Reaction Matthew 21:43-46 – 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them. 46 When they sought to seize Him, they feared the people, because they considered Him to be a prophet. This highlights the gap between the leaders and the people to whom they were supposedly providing spiritual guidance Again, Jesus stops short of claiming Messiahship, but the inference is clear 19

The Wedding Feast Matthew 22:1-4 – 1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. 3 And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. 4 Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’ 20

The Wedding Feast Matthew 22:5-7 – 5” But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, 6 and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. 7 But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire.” Some find a prophetic message about the destruction of Jerusalem in Jesus’ words 21

The Wedding Feast Matthew 22:7-10 – 8 Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 ‘Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’ 10 Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.” 22

Understanding the Parable What/who is the king? What/who is the son? Who are those invited to the feast? What/who are the slaves? Who are the new invitees? What is the overall message? 23

The Wedding Feast Matthew 22:11-14 – 11 “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, 12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.” 24

Understanding the Parable Why would the king reprimand the guest without wedding clothes? –After all, wasn’t he just invited in from the street? “ For many are called, but few are chosen.” “Faith without works is dead.” The invitation is open, but how we respond matters

In Closing The gloves are off! Jesus rebukes the Jewish leaders for failing in their duty to provide righteous leadership to the people He warns them that the Kingdom will be taken from them and offered to all nations He stops short of declaring Himself to them as the Messiah, but the inference is unmistakable 26

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