Sermon Tone Analysis

****CBC CREED****

Last week as Jesus entered Jerusalem, he also entered the last week of his earthly life.

On Sunday he came to Bethphage, On Monday he rode in on a donkey to the shouts of Hosanna! (save, rescue, savior), and he was welcomed in the city as a King.

On Tuesday he entered the temple and didn’t like what he saw.

People doing business, cheating people.

He scattered the tables and said that the temple is a house of prayer.

In doing this he showed his authority.

He showed that he had the right to do what he did because he had the authority to do it.

SO this morning we will continue where we left off in Matthew.

It is now Wednesday of Jesus’ last week.

In two days, he would stand in front of Pilate and later be hung on the cross.

He is back in the temple teaching, and some of the religious priests and elders came to him and asked a simple question:

Matthew 21:23 (ESV)

23 And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”

But look at Jesus answers their question.

he answers it with a question of his own.

Jesus asked them, When John baptized me, was the baptism from heaven of from man?

This question put these religious leaders in a tough place.

They couldn't say it was from man, because the people believed John was a prophet and John said it was from above.

And also they couldn't say it was from God, because then, they would be saying they reject God because Jesus was the Messiah.

So how did they answer?

They didn’t.

They simply said, we don not know.

Not taking one side or another.

Jesus knew what they were doing and he would not let them.

But here is the thing.

There will always be questions about Jesus.

But here is the difference in the questions that are asked about Jesus and Christianity.

There are questions that are asked by people who are truly seeking truth.

A truth, that when answered will allow the Holy Spirit to begin to pull them to God.

Then there are questions that are asked that are simply questions of unbelief.

The person is not truly asking to understand or seeking to understand what Jesus did, they are simply asking for an argument.

Those questions don’t lead knowing God, knowing Jesus, or even redemption.

We need to be careful not to get caught up in mindless questions that really don’t matter.

Don’t allow the unbelief and the opinions of others (believers) to get us off our focus of submitting to Jesus Christ.

By the way, in our final message on Matthew in December, Jesus will answer who has the authority:

This was the risen Lord speaking these words.

He had conquered death.

He had authority because he was God!

So Matthew then gives us three different parables where some reject the authority of God:

Rejection of the Authority of God

The Parable of the Two Sons (Matthew 21:28-32)

The Parable of the Tenants (Matthew 21:33-46)

The Parable of the Wedding Feast (Matthew 22:1-14)

Speaking to these religious rulers and elders, Jesus isn’t done exposing their real question about John the Baptist.

So this man had two sons.

He asked the first one to go out to the field and work, he no, but later went out.

He asked the second son to go out and work, he said yes, but never did.

I this parable, the second son who aid yes and never went out are those of the Jewish people who are not accepting Jesus as the Messiah (even these religious leaders).

They say they know the Scriptures, they give money in the temple, they look religious, they say they love God with their lips… but their heart says something else.

But look who he says are the people of the first son who said no, but eventually went out....the prostitutes and the tax collectors.

Dirty, evil people.

Women who sold their bodies for sex and men who cheated people out of their money.

What did Jesus say about them?

Matthew 21:31 (ESV)

31 Which of the two did the will of his father?”

They said, “The first.”

Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.

Why?

Because first they rejected the gospel, but then turned to it, but the second son (the religious people) never turned to the Messiah.

This is a story of dead faith without repentance.

And this is what James talked about:

James 2:14–26 (ESV)

14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?

Can that faith save him?

15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?

17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.”

Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

19 You believe that God is one; you do well.

Even the demons believe—and shudder!

20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?

21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?

22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.

24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?

26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

If all the identification of a Christian that you have is the words… I am Christian.

Then I would ask, are you?

Show.

Show me your faith.

Show me your works.

We are not saved by works, but our faith should ignite our works.

Making it so that everyone will know that we are His, even before we open our mouth.

The second parable is seen in Matthew 21:33-46

Again this is a story of rejection.

The master of the house was rejected.

He owned some property and it was tie for the cultivation.

He would receive part of that cultivation.

It was his.

So he sent his servants.

The people at the land killed the servants.

They wanted the cultivation for themselves.

So he sent his Son.

They rejected and killed the Son.

So Jesus asks the religious leader what should the owner do?

They answered:

Matthew 21:41 (ESV)

41 They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

Jesus had one again drawn these religious leaders into a story and exposed them for their rejection.