The Authority of Jesus
Download MP3Well, good morning. We are continuing our study in Mark's gospel. We find ourselves at the end of chapter 11, and the the, beginning parts of chapter 12. It's printed there in your worship guide, but also if you wanna grab one of the pew bibles, it's on page 848, if you wanna make your way to Mark chapter 11. We're gonna be beginning with verse 27 of Mark 11.
Jeffrey Heine:I'm just gonna read, to the end of this chapter. We're gonna continue on into chapter 12, but, but as we begin, we're just gonna read these these first verses, here, as it closes out Mark chapter 11, beginning in verse 27, and let us listen carefully, for this is God's word. And they came again to Jerusalem. As he, Jesus, was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him. And they said to him, by what authority are you doing these things?
Jeffrey Heine:Or who gave you the 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.
Jeffrey Heine: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 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.
Jeffrey Heine:This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray together. Oh, lord, our god, in this day that you have made for us to live and breathe and have our being, would you meet us with your Holy Spirit and awaken us to your glory? Lord, it is far too easy that our minds drift from you and far too quick that our hearts dull to your steadfast love. So open our hearts and our minds today that we would behold you and find in you life and peace.
Jeffrey Heine:Lord, you know us, each one of us here better than we know ourselves, and yet you have set your love upon us. So aid us now as we open your word that we might seek you above all else. So would you speak, Lord, for your servants are listening? We pray this in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Jeffrey Heine:Jesus is walking into the temple. Only the day before, this uncredentialed rabbi made a whip and drove out all of the vendors in the temple who were making money selling sacrifices. So, of course, Jesus is confronted by the religious leaders of his day. Mark records that Jesus is confronted by the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. And together, these men were some of the most powerful rulers of the Hebrew people.
Jeffrey Heine:When assembled for ruling judgments, this council was called the Sanhedrin. Essentially, they were the Supreme Court of Jerusalem. And these leaders meet Jesus and His disciples, along with a large crowd of followers as they're making their way into the entrance of the building that's really the center of their reign. And so it makes good sense that as they see this rabbi who has been causing an increasing amount of trouble for them for years making his way back with a large crowd to return to the building that he just literally turned upside down, it makes sense that they would stop him at the door. And they ask him, just who do you think you are?
Jeffrey Heine:We've said throughout our study of Mark's gospel that the central question that Mark wants his readers to consider and to deeply ruminate upon is, who is Jesus? The narrative arc of Mark's gospel, it reached that apex back in chapter 8 when Jesus Himself poses the question to His disciples. He asked them, who do you say that I am? Who do you believe I am? And Peter correctly confesses that Jesus is the Messiah.
Jeffrey Heine:And immediately following this bold declaration that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus reveals to his disciples what must happen to him. In Mark chapter 8, beginning in verse 31, it says, and he, Jesus, began to teach them that the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after 3 days, rise from the dead. And so here, at the end of chapter 11, at the entrance to the temple, here comes those elders and chief priests and scribes. And keep in mind, these these men were the authority of the Jewish people. Their authority was unquestionable.
Jeffrey Heine:And Jesus, this carpenter turned unauthorized rabbi, was to them beyond suspect. They had been following his rebellious ministry for nearly 3 years, and at multiple points, they wanted to see him arrested, if not executed, for his teaching and for his actions. And now after disrupting the whole city with his actions in the temple, the authorities of the people of Israel come to confront Jesus once again, and this time with the most pertinent question they could ask. What authority do you have to do the things that you are doing? In other words, you have come into our temple and told our vendors to pack up during the busiest season for money making at the temple.
Jeffrey Heine:Who do you think you are? These leaders wanna know what you did here in the temple, what you've done for years now, blind people receiving sight, lepers being made clean, the lame being made to walk, the teaching in mysterious parables, calls for repentance, forgiving people's sins, what authority do you have to do any of this? And Jesus, instead of answering their question, offers them a surprising reply. He says, I will ask you one question. And if you answer me this one question, I will answer you.
Jeffrey Heine:I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Before they have a chance to agree to this proposal, Jesus asks his question. Verse 30, he says, was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me. By John's baptism, Jesus means all the ministry of John in proclaiming repentance, heralding the coming of the kingdom, and baptizing the repentant, all these things that ultimately led to him losing his life.
Jeffrey Heine:So these leaders of Jerusalem, the legal scholars, the the teachers of the law, the supreme court of Israel, they confer with one another as to how to respond to this question that Jesus has asked them. Because Jesus has asked them what, for them, is a very difficult question. It's difficult for them because they had rejected John, and many were pleased to see him taken out by Herod. And so they discussed their options. Option 1, we admit that John's baptism is from heaven, from God.
Jeffrey Heine:But then Jesus is gonna say to us, why didn't you believe Him? That would mean that Jesus has publicly caught them saying that jeez that John indeed was a prophet of God, and yet they rejected him and did not believe him. So option 1 doesn't work. Option 2, if we say that John's ministry was not from God, but was from man, well, there's a massive crowd of people here in Jerusalem who all believe that John truly was a prophet of God, and they will turn on us in a heartbeat. It's an ancient catch 22.
Jeffrey Heine:We look like fools for not believing a prophet of God or we deny that he was from God, and we risk getting ripped to shreds by the crowd. So they choose a third option, a third option, one that still makes them look foolish, perhaps even more foolish and inept. Verse 33, it says, they answered Jesus, we don't know. The great leaders of Jerusalem, the wise sages of the people, they just don't know. Saint Augustine reflected on this passage in the 4th century writing, fearing a stoning, but fearing more an admission of truth, they answered the truth with a lie.
Jeffrey Heine:Jesus responds to the deceitful leader saying, well, neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. They chose not to answer his question. The deal is off. And one would think that the matter is over. But in a manner that we've come to expect in Mark's gospel, Jesus begins to teach this gathered crowd a parable, And it includes these people, these Israelite leaders.
Jeffrey Heine:They're listening to his teaching, and he teaches this parable. It's sometimes called the parable of the wicked tenants. It's set the story is set in a newly constructed vineyard. The landowner planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it to protect it, and he dug a pit for a wine press, and he built a watchtower.
Jeffrey Heine:These are all the normal common steps for creating a vineyard, but it's also a sequence that echoes what would have been a a very well known prophecy from Isaiah 5, which begins, let me sing for my beloved my song concerning his vineyard. Many of these hearers of the parable would have seen this intentional mirroring of Isaiah's words. Jesus goes on, once construction is finished, the vineyard owner leased the vineyard to tenants to work the fields, and he went on to another country. And when the time came and the season was there for harvest, the vineyard owner sent a servant to the tenants to bring back some of the fruit. But the tenants took the servant of the vineyard owner, and they beat him, and then they sent him back to the vineyard owner with empty hands.
Jeffrey Heine:And so again, the the vineyard owner decides to send a servant. And again, the the tenants, they struck him down. They strike him in the head. They treat him shamefully, and they send him back to his master empty handed. And then the vineyard owner sends another servant, but this time, they beat the the servant to death.
Jeffrey Heine:And so it was with many other servants. Some they beat, and some they beat to death. The vineyard owner still had one more person to send, not a servant this time, but his beloved son. And he sent him to the vineyard, saying, they will respect my son. But the wicked tenants said to one another when they saw the son coming, this is the heir.
Jeffrey Heine:Come, let us kill him, and his inheritance will become ours. And so they took the son, and they killed him. And they threw him out of the father's vineyard for the beasts and the birds to consume. Jesus pauses his story to pose a question to the crowd of listeners. He asks them, what will the owner of the vineyard do now?
Jeffrey Heine:And after letting the question hang in the air, he supplies the answer. The father will return, and he will destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. In Matthew's account of Jesus teaching this parable, it says, The father will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their season. Both Matthew and Mark record that that Jesus goes on to quote Psalm 118, our opening scripture this morning. In Mark chapter 12 verse 11, it says, have you not read this scripture?
Jeffrey Heine:The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This was the lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. Mark continues by writing, and they, the leaders, were seeking to arrest Jesus, but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them, and so they left him and went away. It's one of the few times where Jesus' veiled teaching in a parable was understood by these Pharisees and these leaders. They perceived what he was talking about.
Jeffrey Heine:I think he's talking about us. And this time, these leaders had ears to hear, at least in part, because Jesus was absolutely talking about them. He said he wasn't gonna answer their question, and then he tells a little parable and answers their question. The vineyard, like Isaiah's metaphor, it represents Israel. The vineyard owner is God the Father.
Jeffrey Heine:The fruit is righteousness and justice. The tenants are the leaders of Israel, the the priests, the scribes, the elders. The servants are the prophets of God, particularly John the Baptist. And lastly, the beloved son is the only begotten son, Jesus. He's told them exactly where His authority comes from.
Jeffrey Heine:He is the son of the father. The leaders perceive that they are the wretched tenants in the parable. And even though they get that, even though they understand it, their next move after this prophetic warning is to live out what he just dramatically had spoken of them, that they would conspire just like the tenants to seize the father's beloved son and kill him. And within 72 hours, this is precisely what these men will do. They asked him, what authority do you have to do these things?
Jeffrey Heine:Who gives you the right? Who do you think you are walking around this temple like you own the place? Well, he's the son of the father, the owner of the vineyard, And the vineyard has fallen into the hands of wicked tenants, who beat and kill the servants, the prophets of the father, prophets like John the Baptist. These leaders, they had questions about the authority of Jesus because they had problems with the authority of Jesus. And it is important for each one of us this morning to recognize that whether you follow Jesus or not, whether you consider yourself a Christian or not, we all have problems with Jesus' authority.
Jeffrey Heine:It is easy to see these chief priests and the scribes and the elders in a bad light because they lived in a bad light, but it's also easy for us to read of their foolishness and think of ourselves as being so much wiser, so much more understanding, so eager and ready to give to the beloved son all that he asks of us. But if we are honest with ourselves and with God, we have issues with the authority of Jesus. The primary issue is that we the primary issue that we have with the authority of Jesus is that it directly conflicts with our pursuit of our own authority. Because whether we recognize or not, we all long to be the masters of our own lives, to be in total control of ourselves and everything and everyone around us. And we might have gotten good at concealing it, but it's absolutely there.
Jeffrey Heine:And of course, every now and then, perhaps in shameful ways, it shows itself. Spend time with a 3 year old, and you will see what tiny tyrants we all are. And you are still that 3 year old dictator, no matter how old you are. You've just learned that there are more successful and more socially acceptable ways of expressing your dictatorial drive than lying on the floor in a Target screaming. But have you seen an adult in an airport lately?
Jeffrey Heine:It's like COVID permitted everyone to act like 3 year olds again. Every week, there's a new viral video of a public tantrum. But where do we see these videos happen? Where do we see these public tantrums happen? In places where people aren't in control.
Jeffrey Heine:A flight gets canceled. An order is wrong. A delivery is late. Someone cuts someone off in traffic. They are scenes of public failures of control, a failure to be the authority of everyone and everything.
Jeffrey Heine:So it's not only with Jesus. We have an authority problem with everyone, but it's especially seen when Jesus shows up and is the rightful heir to everything. The news that Jesus is King bears with it the life altering challenge to our prideful and control hungry hearts. If Jesus is King, and he alone has all authority under heaven and on the earth, that invariably means that you aren't King. You aren't in control.
Jeffrey Heine:You aren't the authority, and you never will be. No matter what title you've achieved, no what no matter what status you have, you will never be the supreme authority. Jesus says, that's mine, That means that we have a problem, a problem so big that it must be addressed. And for every follower of Jesus, the Lord will address this problem throughout the course of your lives in countless ways. That means that some of the challenges that you are facing right now are a result of your problems with Jesus' authority.
Jeffrey Heine:But graciously, those problems are also the result of God's steadfast love confronting and refining the authority problem for your ultimate good. Surrendering to Jesus' authority is a daily practice, because like dew gathering on the grass in the morning, our flesh awakens, renewed each day, wondering if it might finally be the day when when we will be in total control. Maybe today is the day when the world will bend to my will, and and all that I desire will finally be delivered into my hands. Surrender is a daily practice because the pull toward our own power and authority is a daily temptation. It's hard to admit that everything we have and everything we are belongs to the vineyard owner.
Jeffrey Heine:It's hard to believe that we are temporary tenants who must yield to the desires of our master, and it is hard to surrender to the reality that the authority of the Son is total and we are not our own. If you are in Christ, if you are a follower of Jesus, then your life is not your own. Our wills, our desire, our plans, our priorities, our expectations from our bodies to our souls. Our lives are not our own. That is hard to admit, it is hard to believe, and it is hard to surrender to.
Jeffrey Heine:But but there is good news, eternity altering news, in the truth that we are not our own. Because only if we are not our own do we belong to Christ. The good news in our powerlessness is the power of Christ. The good news in our weakness is His immeasurable strength. The good news in our lack of authority is the supreme sovereign authority of Jesus over all things.
Jeffrey Heine:The authority of Jesus is bad news for our sinful striving for power, but it is good news for everyone who has come to the end of their rope, to the end of their strength and resolve, who has reached the tragic limits of their character and good works, the person who has broken down and collapsed in failure, who knows their neediness, who has reached the end of their authority to control anything or anyone, especially themselves. There is inexhaustible good news in the reality that Jesus Christ himself has all authority in heaven and on earth. Our passage today, this account of Jesus and the confrontation with the religious leaders, it's not a mere history lesson. When the great British pastor Charles Spurgeon preached on this passage 137 years ago in 18/87. He said, I'm not going to preach this morning merely to Greece a piece of ancient history that has no bearing on today.
Jeffrey Heine:There is tremendous bearing on today. And I wanna point out 3 practical places where we experience the good news of Jesus' authority. There are certainly more, enumerably more, but 3 practical everyday places where the reality of Jesus' authority is good news for us. Here they are. 1st, our prayers are not in vain.
Jeffrey Heine:Because of Jesus's authority over everything, our prayers matter. We pray because Jesus is sovereign. His authority and his sovereignty does not lead us to pray less, but to pray more. Because when we pray in His name, our prayers are not to some vague deity who may or may not possess the power to accomplish what we are asking, whose power is unknown, Christ has power over all. So when we pray, it is not a question of if He can, but to align our wills with His will.
Jeffrey Heine:Every prayer is a defiant, confident act of surrendering to His perfect authority. Because of the authority of Jesus, our prayers are not in vain. Number 2, our worship is not in vain. When we worship, when we sing together, when we praise the Lord with thankful hearts, when we declare His goodness, we are worshiping the one who alone is worthy. When we offer our entire lives to Him as living sacrifices, when we worship Him through loving obedience, through laying down our lives before Him, that is reasonable worship, not because it's easy or because we see immediate benefits and gains.
Jeffrey Heine:It is reasonable because He is worthy. The authority of Jesus means that your worship is not in vain. When you seek to honor the Lord in your friendships, in your dating, in your marriage, in your parenting, in your work, in your study, in your finances, in your craft, in your sickness, in your sorrow, in your successes, when you seek the Lord and to honor Him in all of life, you are seeking to honor the one who is worthy of it all. Your praise of Jesus is never effusive. It's never too much.
Jeffrey Heine:It's never overboard. It's never gratuitous. He is worthy of it all. And because of His authority, your worship will never be in vain. 3rd, our hope is not in vain.
Jeffrey Heine:The authority of Jesus means that He can ascend the hill. He can open the scroll. He can set the captives free. The authority of Jesus means that He has the ability to do everything that God has promised His people. Your hope that God has a future where His goodness and His righteousness reign is certain because Christ is authoritative.
Jeffrey Heine:In the 5th chapter of John's revelation, the book of Revelation, we read of John's vision of the great day of the Lord, and I wanna read just a portion to you from Revelation chapter 5. This is from John's perspective. He says, I saw in the right hand of him who is seated on the throne a scroll, written within and on the back, sealed with 7 seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals? John says, no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to even look into it.
Jeffrey Heine:And I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, weep no more. The lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered so that he can open the scroll and the 7 seals. And between the throne and the 4 living creatures and among the elders, I saw a lamb standing as though it had been slain with 7 horns and 7 eyes, which are the 7 spirits that God sent out into all the earth. And he went and he took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.
Jeffrey Heine:And when he had taken the scroll, the 4 living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain. And by your blood, you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. The authority of Jesus means that he is worthy and able to do what no one else in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to do, rescue you. He rescues, redeems, reconciles, restores, and ransoms.
Jeffrey Heine:He sets the captives free from the tyranny of sin and death. Your hope is not in vain, because Jesus' unbridled authority is to do all that God has promised His people that He will do. We all have issues with Jesus' authority because it confronts some of the darkest parts of our sinfulness. But in that confrontation, we are rescued into the goodness and graciousness of His power. You are not your own.
Jeffrey Heine:You have been bought with a price, a price only Jesus could pay, and because of His power, He has paid in full. May the Spirit plant these truths deep into our hearts today. Your prayers to Christ are not in vain. Your life of worship to Christ is not in vain. And your hope and the promises of God are not in vain, because the Father has given all authority in heaven and on earth to His beloved Son, our Savior and our King.
Jeffrey Heine:Let's go to Him now in prayer. O Jesus, it is You. It is You whom we speak of, boundless in power, infinite in majesty. O Spirit, give us eyes to see, to behold the graciousness and greatness of our God. Even in this hour, help us to turn.
Jeffrey Heine:Turn from seeking our own way, our own power, our own authority, and to rest in the power of Jesus. Oh, Spirit, would you take in this time our hearts and turn us for thy dear son's sake to trust in Jesus? We pray these things in the name of the father, the son, and the spirit. Amen.
