Matthew 21:23-32

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Introduction

The Authority of Jesus Challenged

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?” 24 Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

28 “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. 30 And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. 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. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.

This week we move on from the fig tree incident and back into the Temple. If you’ve been with us over the last couple of months you’ll remember that we’re in the middle of 4 chapters that focus on Jesus’ judgments against Jerusalem and her religious leaders. Throughout the entire Gospel of Matthew rarely are the scribes and Pharisees painted in a positive light, they’re usually portrayed as self-righteous, and almost always at odds with Jesus. However, in chapters 21-24, Jesus’ primary focus becomes his judgement against them. No longer are there small caravans of scribes and Pharisee coming from Jerusalem to engage the itinerant preacher from Galilee, instead, now, Jesus is on their turf challenging them. Challenging their religious systems, claiming to be their Messiah and overturning the tables of those buying and selling inside the Temple. He even curses a fig tree to illustrate is frustration with Isreal and her leaders, who give the appearance of bearing fruit but are found to be without any figs. And while Jesus came to bring salvation, he also came to bring judgement against his enemies.

Jesus stirs the pot

So on a Tuesday morning, after Jesus’ disciples have marveled at the withering of the fig tree, Jesus enters the Temple inside Jerusalem again. And Matthew tells us there in verse 23 that,

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?”

Now remember, over the last two days, Jesus has made his way into Jerusalem on a donkey, claiming to be the Israel’s Messiah and king, overturning the tables of the money changers, healing the blind and the lame who came to him inside the Temple, teaching the people and preaching the gospel of the kingdom. So there’s no doubt about it, Jesus has stirred the pot, and his actions haven’t gone unnoticed by those who are in charge, the chief priests and the elders of the city. Many of his actions and his words have been a direct indictment against their own stewardship of Temple worship in Israel, and a challenge to their own authority.

Jesus’ response in 3 parables

So they approach him and ask him,

“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”

Now, before we look at Jesus’ response, I want to point out that this text is not isolated from the verses that follow it. In fact, from verse 23 all the way to chapter 22, verse 14 we find a single cohesive body of text that builds upon itself. In other words, the question that the chief priests ask here in verse 23 will spark not only Jesus’ initial response, but three additional parables that end in 22:14.
What we’ll see is that Jesus will not answer their question directly at first, but over the course of several parables, as a part of the same incident, will articulate his answer. And the reason he does this, as we’ll see more clearly here in a minute, is to avoid the trap they’ve set for him with their question. So in one sense he will evade their intention to trap him while simultaneously answering their question with three vivid parables. And while we won’t be able to tackle all three parables today, I want to make sure we have that framework in our minds as we move forward, and realize that verses 23-32 should not be read in isolation from the verses that come after. We’ll only be stopping today for the sake of time.

Show us your credentials

Now, when the elders and chief priests approach Jesus and ask, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” they’re essentially approaching Jesus and demanding to see his credentials. You might imagine the situation like a couple of Secret Service agents coming up to someone they don’t recognize on the grounds of the White House and asking for their credentials. However, the difference is that someone is the President of the United States, and they do in fact recognize him. Which means their question isn’t sincere.

Insincere question

But to the naive bible reader, one might assume the Pharisee’s question is sincere, and even warranted, or out of concern, because you can’t just have anyone waltzing into Jerusalem like they own the place, riding on a donkey, stirring up the crowds and disrupting Temple business. However, we find out very quickly that their inquiry is not sincere, instead it’s a challenge. In fact, your Bible may even add a paragraph header above verse 23 that reads something like “The Authority of Jesus Challenged”, and when we reach verses 25 and 26 we’ll see this more clearly.

Counter-questioning

So let’s continue there in verse 24,

24 Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.”

So Jesus answers their question with a counterquestion instead of a direct answer, which wasn’t necessarily seen as being evasive, and it’s something Jesus had done before. In fact, history appears to indicate that this was a common and accepted practice within rabbinic debate, where the second question was intended to further open up the subject raised by the first. (R.T. France, Matthew, p. 798-799) Which is precisely what Jesus appears to be doing; he doesn’t change the subject, he isn’t being evasive, but he does intend to get at the reasons behind their question, so he asks them,

25 The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?”

They question his authority so he counters and asks them whether John the Baptist was a true prophet or not, whether his authority came from heaven or from man.

John testified about Jesus

Now, why would Jesus counter with this question? How is the validity of John’s ministry connected to Jesus’ authority to overturn Temple tables? What does John’s authority have to do with Jesus’ authority? Well, the answer is, that it has everything to do with whether Jesus had authority to do such things. It’s not that Jesus received his authority from John, but that John testified to Jesus’ authority. In John 1:29, very early on, we’re told that while John the Baptist was baptizing at the Jordan river that,

he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

John the Baptist bore witness that Jesus was the Lamb of God, who would take away the sin of the world, that he had seen him, and borne witness that Jesus was indeed the Christ. Therefore, if John is a true prophet, then by his reliable testimony we can know that Jesus is the Christ. So Jesus asks the elders and chief priests essentially this, “Was John a true prophet?”, “Was John right to preach repentance?”, “Was the baptism of John from heaven?”, “Did John’s authority come from God?” Because if it did, then Jesus has all authority, in heaven and on earth, to do these things.

The trap of blaspheme

However, Jesus knows the elders and chief priest won’t be able to answer his question, because he knows their hearts, he knows why they asked him the question in the first place, because they wanted to trap him. They wanted him to say plainly, “I am the Christ”, so that they could charge him with blasphemy and get rid of him, but Jesus is aware of their schemes. So when Jesus asks them about John, Matthew writes,

And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.”

In other words, we really don’t care whether you’re the Christ or not, or whether you have the authority to do these things, we just want to have some charge against you, in order to get rid of you. They don’t discuss amongst themselves what they believe to be true, instead they discuss how they’re going to answer Jesus based on the consequences of what they might say. They don’t care about the truth, they just want the expedient answer, an answer that won’t harm their position, but Jesus’ counterquestion ruins their attempts to challenge him.

Between a rock and a hard place

When Jesus asks them about John, they become caught between a rock and a hard place. If they concede that John’s baptism was from heaven, then they must concede that they should believe in Jesus, but if they publicly denounce John the crowd might attack them, because the crowd held John to be a prophet. In fact, when recording the same event, Luke wrote that they said,

if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.”

You see, John the Baptist was wildly popular in Israel. The famous Jewish historian even wrote about him in his book, the Antiquities of the Jews, and wrote,
“Now many people came in crowds to him, for they were greatly moved by his words. Herod, who feared that the great influence John had over the masses might put them into his power and enable him to raise a rebellion (for they seemed ready to do anything he should advise), thought it best to put him to death.” [18.118]
So the leaders in Israel rightly feared the crowds. Not that it wasn’t already known that they were against John and his ministry, but if they were to publicly condemn him they might pay for it dearly. And while they wanted to destroy Jesus, they couldn’t, for fear of their own lives.

Unable to acknowledge John’s baptism

So, to acknowledge John’s authority would mean they would have to acknowledge Jesus’ authority, because John testified about him. And if they acknowledged John’s authority they would have had no basis on which to challenge Jesus’ authority. And if they acknowledged John’s authority they would have condemned themselves for not believing in John themselves, because they didn’t.

27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Since they’re unable to come up with an expedient answer, they’re forced to give up and say, “We don’t know.” Jesus holds their feet to the fire and forces them to falsely plead ignorance. He exposes their hypocrisy and their disinterest in the truth, therefore he will not dignify their question with an answer, since they’re unwilling to answer him.

Answered with a parable

Now, as I mentioned earlier, there are three parables that follow this section, and all three of them are prompted by this initial interaction between Jesus and chief priests. We’ll cover the first today and tackle the others later. The parables seem to build upon each another, and climax with the final parable at the beginning of chapter 22. The first and third parables that Matthew includes are actually only found here, Mark and Luke only record the second, the Parable of The Wicked Tenants.

Unwilling to respond to John’s ministry

Now, the first parable picks up on Jesus’ attention to John the Baptist. Jesus points out that while the people believed in John, the religious leaders would not, so Jesus intends to illustrate this to their shame in verses 28-32 in his Parable of The Two Sons. We read,

The Parable of the Two Sons

28 “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. 30 And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. 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. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.

So the point of this parable is not particularly hard to understand, but it’s to show that the religious leaders did not respond properly to John’ ministry - that they rejected him.

Two sons, two ways

The simplicity of the parable is also illustrated by the chief priest’s ability to know the right answer to Jesus’ question. They understand which of the two sons had done their father’s will. Whether or not the son refused at first didn’t matter, if afterward he changed his mind and obeyed. And they knew that it was not obeying their father’s will if they agreed to obey but then never did. But what they didn’t seem to understand at first is that Jesus was talking about them.
Those who seemed the most resistant and unlikely to heed John’s call for repentance (tax collectors and prostitutes) changed their minds and believed in him. They came and left their sin, and responded to John’s call for repentance and baptism, but the religious leaders would not. The lifestyles of the tax collectors and prostitutes defied God’s law, but when John came they changed their minds, and responded, they repented. We read in Matthew 3:1-6 that,

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

3 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord;

make his paths straight.’ ”

4 Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

and then later in Luke 7:29 when Jesus tells the crowd that “among those born of women none is greater than John”, Luke adds,

29 (When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John,

but then listen to what Luke says only one verse later,

30 but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

which is why John rebuked the Pharisees so harshly back in Matthew 3:7-10 when he wrote,

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

The Pharisees and the chief priests were like the son who said he would go, but when John came they wouldn’t. They believed they had no need for repentance. Their lifestyles appeared virtuous, and in accordance with God’s law, so they scoffed at John, but by scoffing at John they scoffed at God. They believed that John’s ministry of repentance was beneath them. The last thing they would ever do would be to acknowledge themselves as sinners. They were supposed to be stewards of God’s kingdom, but yet they refused to obey him when John came preaching the way of righteousness. And so Jesus says there in verse 31,

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

The very people they looked down their noses at would enter the kingdom God before them, because when John came to them preaching the way of righteousness, they did not believe him, and even when they saw him, they still would not change their minds.

Conclusion

R.C. Sproul rightly said, “It is often said that the church is full of hypocrites. No, the church is full of sinners. Only people who claim not to be sinners are hypocrites.” (Sproul, Matthew, p. 617) The sad irony of this parable is that the answer the elders and chief priests gave Jesus was absolutely correct, yet by their own words they condemned themselves. How terrible it is for us to say we believe, and to say we will follow, but to never go. There will be many who profess the name of Christ, but who will never follow him, so may our confession be accompanied by submission and repentance.

Prayer

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