#48 The End Begins Series

#48 The End Begins

Series: Mark

Chuck Sligh

August 1, 2021

NOTE: A PowerPoint presentation is available for this sermon by request at chuckcsligh@gmail.com. Please mention the title of the sermon and the Bible text to help me find the sermon in my archives.

TEXT: Please turn in your Bibles to Mark 11

INTRODUCTION

Illus. – Who would win World War II hinged on many decisions and battles, but none was more important than the Normandy Invasion of Europe on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Had D-Day failed, historians have speculated a number of resulting scenarios, from a second offensive later on, to a retreat in the U.S. to isolation, to the horrific possibility that the first atomic bomb would be dropped in Germany, not Japan. The build-up to D-Day was one of the most massive military accomplishments in history, carried out in almost complete secrecy. One thing is for sure for the war to be won: it had to happen, and it had to succeed. D-Day was the beginning of the end of World War II and pointed to the dawn of a new era in Germany after the war had ended.

In today’s text, Jesus is in Jerusalem on the Temple mount and over the next few days He will be verbally attacked relentlessly by the religious establishment, ending eventually in a battle of cosmic proportions on the cross. The cross had to happen, and it most certainly would succeed, and it too pointed to the dawn of a new era for humanity.

The conflict actually began the day BEFORE today’s text—when Jesus purged the Temple. This was His D-Day attack, the opening salvo of the verbal clashes to come. Right after the D-Day invasion, the Germans responded bravely and fiercely in 3 decisive battles before Germany’s final defeat in Berlin: The Battle of the Bulge on the Western Front, the Battle of Stalingrad on the Eastern Front, and the Blitzkrieg, not a battle per se, but a warfare tactic that kept the German forces off balance.

And coincidentally, there are 3 decisive verbal battles leading up to Jesus’ final victory on the cross: 3 counterattacks by the Jewish religious leaders, all of which ended in failure, enraging the religious establishment even more.

That first counterattack is found in Mark 11:27-33, where the Jewish leaders confront Jesus, hoping to trip Him up, followed by a parable in verses 1-12 of chapter 12 that exposed the Jewish leaders as the frauds that they were.

We’ll look at the other two verbal battles over the next two weeks.

I. WE SEE IN MARK 11:27-33 AN ATTACK ON JESUS’ AUTHORITY.

Look with me at verses 27-28 – “And they came again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the Temple, there came to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders, 28 And said unto him, ‘By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things?’”

As Jesus walked into the Temple grounds, He was immediately accosted by a delegation of 3 religious groups, members of the Sanhedrin, a group of 71 religious men from all the Jewish religious sects of the day which ruled Jerusalem.

They asked him by what authority he did “these things.” The things they were referring to were, most immediately, His purging of the Temple the day before, which enraged them, and more broadly, all the authoritative things He had said and done during His three-year ministry. He had exercised complete and immediate authority over all demons He encountered. He accepted sinners and fellowshipped with tax collectors, a big no-no to the religious leaders. He presumed to forgive sins and redefine the Sabbath, and so on.

If Jesus possessed no official status, the Sanhedrin wanted to know by what authority He taught so authoritatively, often in direct contradiction to their own teachings, and performed what appeared to be official acts. As we say down South, they wanted to know, “Just who do you think you are, anyway?”

Look at how Jesus answers in verses 29-30 – “And Jesus answered and said unto them, ‘I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? Answer me.’”

It was a common rabbinical tradition to answer a question with a question, but there’s a note of impatience and an ADDED display of authority in His answer. He asks His questions, but then he says authoritatively, “Answer ME!”

Illus. – Have you ever done that with your kids?: “Jimmy, did you take Micah’s apple or not? Answer me.” You wouldn’t say such a thing to a superior, like your boss, would you?: “General Johnson, did you receive my report? Answer me!” How would that go over?