Text: Mark 11:27-33, Title: Authorized Personnel Only, Date/Place: NRBC, 9/28/08, PM
A. Opening illustration: All the signs that say “authorized personnel only,” the ones at the Jacksonville Zoo that said “only snakes and authorized humans.” And those signs on interstate crossovers…
B. Background to passage: back in chapter two, Jesus really began ruffling the feathers of the established religious authorities. And He began to display his authority over an against theirs. But they had hoped that maybe this young up and coming, would up and go, and be no more in a few weeks or months. So by the time of the final move toward Jerusalem, they were really on edge that it was all coming to a head. And it was! The clearing of the temple was the last straw. But Jesus’ authority (exousia) is was separated Him from other rabbis and teachers and prospective messiahs. The bible testifies to that authority on numerous occasions: Matt 7:29, 28:18, Mark 1:27, John 5:27, 7:17, 7:46, 12:49, 14:10, 17:2. And with this exchange He clarifies His authority and its source over the temple, the teachers, the torah, and the traditions.
C. Main thought: Jesus has the authority to do anything that He wants!
A. The Showdown (v. 27-28)
1. Jesus was in the temple (the most authoritative place in Israel), walking around teaching others as He walked. And the Sanhedrin Court (the most authoritative body in Israel), made up of the priests, scribes, elders just couldn’t take it anymore. Jesus has on about every front challenged their authority, demonic authority, common traditions and prejudices, everything. Jesus was a powerful man, although He never raised a hand to strike, nor had anyone put to death. These three groups collaborated on a scheme that would cause Jesus to commit blasphemy, and sent three representatives to accost Him. So, in front of everyone they want to make Him declare God as His authority. They asked Him from where and from whom did He derive such authority. They were saying, “who do you think you are?” For the tradition was, later codified in the Mishnah, that to act under a false religious authority was grounds for capital punishment.
2. 1 Pet 3:15, Matt 20:25, 8:9-10,
3. Illustration: the battleship admiral and the lighthouse seaman third class, the coach and the parent,
4. You could almost feel the tension in the air. High noon at the OK corral. Many of us have authority in our homes as parents, in our jobs, some socially or politically, but how do we exercise such authority? Do we use that authority in a Christ-like fashion? Do we use it to point people to Christ? Another question for application is, do we do things that cause folks to wonder under what authority we are acting? We are called to be a peculiar people, acting in a fashion that goes against the grain of the world. But usually we are the first to blend in. Are we just as comfortable under authority as we are wielding it?
B. The Answer (v. 29-30)
1. The answer given seems like a diversionary tactic (like much of what was said in the debate on Friday night). But it is a well-crafted answer that silenced them, as well as forced them to show their cowardice, and it still answered their question. It was fairly typical for rabbis to answer questions with questions, but clearly in this case, Jesus was going on the offensive, demanding an answer—“…answer me!” He questions them about the baptism of John, and asks a very pointed question: was it of God or of men? Now think back to John’s baptism of Jesus. At that moment the heavens opened, the Spirit descended upon Him in a visible form, and God spoke to earth from heaven in a public fashion announcing that Jesus was His beloved Son, in whom God is pleased in every way. And remember some of the religious leaders were there. But Jesus was in a sense pointing them to the very answer they wanted out of him, but in a less direct fashion, and in such a way that silenced them. God the Father told everyone where Jesus was deriving his authority.
2. 2 Sam 12:3, Matt 22:41-46, Luk 13:17, 14:6, 20:21-26, 38-40,
3. Illustration: kid with the T-shirt that said, “My Dad can arrest your Dad,” impersonator, caught, FBI
4. Can you diffuse a situation with a wise question or story? Jesus had an uncanny ability to use God ordained wisdom to ask piercing questions to quell many situations. Sometimes we act with anger or domination-type authority and actually worsen situations. I wonder what a debate would look like if Jesus were running for president? All authority is derived authority. If you are a government official, power comes from God. Parents, husbands, teachers, etc, all derive any authority we have from God. Therefore we must be careful to use that authority in a fashion that pleases God. Once you as a husband or parent begin to exercise your authority inconsistent with scriptural principles, you lose it. Always take the high road, always control yourself. God empowers those individuals to exercise authority, who submit to Him in the way they rule. Be careful what you blame on God. Let us always be careful what we blame on God. Tell about conversation that the pastor and James Merritt had about the church.
C. The Cowards (v. 31-33)
1. With that question, the religious leaders really didn’t see the significance of the answer. All they saw was the quandary that Jesus put them in. They really wanted to catch Jesus in blasphemy, but what he said was not good enough, but to get Him to say it, hey would either have to affirm John’s ministry, which would strengthen Jesus’ case, or condemn John’s ministry as being from man (for those were the only two choices He gave them). And so they decided to bail on the question, which was a lie. Obviously they had opinions on John, but were afraid of the crowds. They were people who went with the popular opinion.
2. Luke 10:19, Titus 2:15,
3. Illustration: "Parents must not cowardly abdicate their authority...In the struggle, the child will acquire experience; he will learn how far he may resist and at what point he must submit."
4. I love men who are willing to be wrong. Men and women who will say what they think and receive ridicule and loss because of something they stand for. And this doesn’t mean that we are unwilling to hear alternatives, nor be unteachable. But if they believe something, speak up. I also love men who are humble enough to admit they were wrong on something. But they didn’t and they weren’t. So to those who would not commit themselves to Jesus, He gave a principle by example. He will not reveal Himself to them. If you will not commit yourself to Jesus, He will not commit Himself to you. Can you imagine the wealth of their loss because they refuse to commit.
A. Closing illustration: the longest book report I have ever written, dealt with Baptist and the Bible, and it dealt with three things, the third being the surprise: inerrancy, infallibility, and authority. this one guy who every time he saw something in a passage that did not correspond to his philosophy of life he would say, “That’s not my god, he would never do that, my god would never act that way”. I would always respond, “Your right Tom, your god would never act that way, but that is because your god is not the God of the bible, it is the god of your own imagination. All Tom was doing was refusing the authority of the Scriptures over his life, so he could continue to justify the sin in his life.
B. Recap
C. Invitation to commitment
