Rudy Ross and I record videos at his restaurant on Wednesdays. As we studied the passage of scripture for today, I asked Rudy what he would think if he arrived at his store and found someone had placed an “under new management” sign in the window without him knowing it.
Rudy said, “I’d like to let them work here for a while.” The truth is, it would be a shock for him, just as it was a shock for the religious authorities for Jesus to act like the temple complex was under new management instead of theirs.
It is understandable that they wanted to know why he was acting as someone with authority over religious matters.
When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” (Matthew 21.23).
The issue of authority, or “Who is in control here,” will be a consistent theme until the time the religious leaders conspire with the Roman government to put Jesus on the cross.
The second Psalm identifies the human tendency to break free from God’s authority and be in control ourselves.
Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and his anointed, saying,
“Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast their cords from us.” (Psalm 2.1-3)
Humans rebel against God’s rule, but Jesus invites us to find rest under his guidance.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
“For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11.28-30).
We wear ourselves out trying to run the world and make it operate according to our own wishes.
Jesus knows how that will tire us and invites us into his rest – the rest of surrendering the rulership of our lives to him and following his teachings.
A couple of thoughts need to change before we are willing to surrender control of our lives to the Lord.
First, we need to contemplate how we have run our lives. What have self-will and selfishness accomplished for us? What will happen if we follow Jesus’ guidance instead of our own?
Second, think about how Jesus loves us and is the wisest person in the universe. Isn’t it reasonable to ask him to be in control and see where it leads us?
Jesus’ Answer
Jesus’s full answer regarding his authority didn’t come until his trial before the religious authorities. When he told them why he was acting as he did, they used that against him as the reason to crucify him.
Jesus answered their question with a question of his own with interesting results.
Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human?
And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why, then, did you not believe him?’
“But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for all regard John as a prophet.”
So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.”
And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things” (Matthew 21.24-27).
The religious leaders didn’t appreciate the authority of John the Baptist any more than they did of Jesus.
He was proclaiming the baptism of repentance and forgiveness of sins. They believed that what took place in the temple was the only place where that could take place. Thus, they rejected John the Baptist.
They knew the crowd was in favor of John, and so in fear of the crowd, they told Jesus they didn’t know how to answer. In turn, Jesus told them, “I won’t answer you.”
What is tragic is that these men of God didn’t recognize the Son of God who was in their midst. They were so intent on retaining control over their domain that it blinded them to the person who was before them.
The best way we can experience Jesus is by surrendering to Him and following His leadership. The best way to be blind to Him is to retain control of our lives with a tight-fisted grip on our self-will.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 