The story is told of a ship’s captain during the war who was sailing along on a dark night and saw a light on a collision course. So he got his signaller to flash a message: "Alter your course 10 degrees south." The reply came back "Alter your course 10 degrees north." The captain then signalled "Alter your course 10 degrees south. I am a Commander." The reply came back "Alter your course 10 degrees north. I am a seaman third-class."
By this time the ship’s captain was getting furious. So he signalled: "Alter your course 10 degrees south. I am a battleship." The reply came back almost instantly: "Alter your course 10 degrees north. I am a lighthouse."
That story addresses the issue of our passage today. That is the issue of authority. Where does authority come from? Sometimes it comes from your rank or status, as the commander in that story obviously assumed. But sometimes it comes from something innate like the immovable nature of a lighthouse set above a cliff. So where do you look to for authority for your life? That’s not an easy question to ask in this day and age. Life has changed so radically in the last 50 years that what was taken for granted 50 years ago can no longer be assumed. Truth is all relative, we’re told. Authority needs to be earned.
One example of this of course is the republican debate that just won’t go away, even if it has quietened down recently. ’Should we give authority to a monarch who isn’t even an Australian?’, we’re asked. Many of those of the older generations and some from the younger generations see no problem with that. The monarchy has served us well. The queen’s authority seems indisputable. In fact a hereditary monarchy is seen by many as preferable to an elected leader because it’s free from the risk of corruption and political bias. On the other hand, argue the republicans, an elected leader has an authority given by the majority vote.
In politics, we see elected leaders who wield their authority as power; who, even when the electorate shows their dissatisfaction, continue to confuse leadership with autocratic rule. So we’re led to ask, do they have the authority to do what they want to do?
And this is just as true when we Christians criticise the actions of others in public life. When the Archbishop of Melbourne or someone like Tim Costello get up and speak out on some public issue of the moment like the reconciliation debate, by what authority can they do it?
Well, that was the very question the Pharisees and Elders and the Chief Priests, all the leaders of Israel, put to Jesus. Jesus had not only been outspoken about the social inequities of his time, he’d gone the next step of physical protest. He’d come into the temple and cleared it of money changers and merchants. And now they wanted to know by what authority he did such a thing.
They want to know who gave him the authority to do this. I sometimes get people asking me what authority I have to tell them about the things that God requires of them. Who made me the arbiter of human behaviour. Well, the answer to that question, I think is very close to the answer that Jesus gives here and in the second passage from chapter 12.
Mind you, the answer isn’t all that straightforward is it? He doesn’t just come out and say, "God told me to do it." "I’m on a mission from God." No, he’s aware that they’re trying to trap him. If he says "God sent me" then they’ve got all the evidence they need for a charge of blasphemy. No, rather than give them a direct answer, he instead gives them an answer that allows them, in fact forces them, to answer the question for themselves. He says "I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me." Now why ask that particular question? What is it about John’s baptism that points to Jesus authority?
Well, let’s think about it for a moment. Perhaps we need to go back to the start of Mark’s gospel to refresh our minds. You may remember that the gospel begins with people being amazed at the authority with which Jesus taught and cast out demons. So it’s like Mark has framed his gospel with this theme of the authority of Jesus. But that’s just an aside. Let’s think about John’s baptism. What was it all about? (Mk1:4) "John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins." What was the point of this repentance and forgiveness. That’s told us in the preceding quote from Isaiah: "As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, "See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; 3the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ’Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’" John came as one who was to prepare the way for the Lord; that is, the coming Messiah. So if he was sent by God, what does that say about the one who followed him? Well, those with eyes to see and ears to hear will answer he must be the Messiah, God’s anointed one. But that isn’t all. What happened at Jesus baptism? As he was coming up from the water he saw the Spirit descending on him like a dove and a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."
So the Baptism of John was significant, not for itself but because of what it heralded. Here was the epoch changing event that the people of Israel had been waiting for, for 700 years. Here was the promised Messiah coming to rescue the nation from their sin.
But that still doesn’t fully answer the question of Jesus’ authority does it? Where is Jesus pointing us for that answer? Well, he’s certainly pointing us back to the start of his ministry, and the time of John the Baptist. As I just said, if you go back to the start of Jesus ministry, and in fact throughout his ministry, ordinary people were very quick to pick up on the obvious authority with which he taught and healed and cast out demons. There was an inherent authority about Jesus ministry, like there is with a lighthouse. You probably know people like that. People who when they speak, others take notice. Not because they bully people into subjection, but because they seem to have a natural authority about their person. Well, clearly Jesus was someone like that. The things he taught rang true, and obviously his healing power spoke for itself. But there was more to his authority than just that, and that’s why he points to John the Baptist.
You see, when we think about John the Baptist and the one calling in the wilderness "Prepare the way of the Lord", we’re pointed back to Isaiah aren’t we and to other things he said? Let me read you a little bit from Is 9 for example: "For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom" This child whose birth we’ll celebrate in a few weeks time is a person of authority - authority given to him by God and foretold by the prophets. And of course having gone back to Isaiah, we’re reminded of the rest of the OT as well, where we find various references to the coming Christ. In fact someone has said that Jesus runs right through the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi. Indeed, without Jesus, much of the Old Testament doesn’t really make sense.
But you know as we read on we come to this interesting conversation in chapter 12 with an unnamed teacher of the law who is so unlike his colleagues. He’s truly interested in what Jesus has to say. His mind is open to what God might teach him. He’s like a breath of fresh air in a very stale room. Unlike the other Pharisees who won’t answer Jesus’ question in case they get caught out, he asks Jesus what seems to be a genuine question: "Which commandment is the most important. Jesus answers, not from the 10 commandments or the Mosaic code of ethics, but with two summary statements from Deuteronomy and Leviticus. (Mark 12:29-34 NRSV) "Jesus answered, "The first is, ’Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31The second is this, ’You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these." These are the foundational laws on which all the others are built. It’s been said that if you do the first the rest comes naturally. If you truly love God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, then the natural outworking of that will be love for your neighbours. In a sense this is the real answer to the Pharisees’ question. You see, if they truly loved God in this way they wouldn’t have to ask where Jesus authority came from. Rather they’d delight in the things he said and did. They’d think it natural to follow him. Rather than plotting for his death they’d be seeking how they could learn from him more about living in the Kingdom of God. Like this teacher of the law they would have said "you are right, ’to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ’to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’ -- this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."
I wonder do you follow this law in your life? Do you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength? Or are you like the Pharisees who followed the letter of the law outwardly while ignoring God inwardly. Like the little boy who finally sat down after resisting his parents’ command to do so, and said to them "I’m sitting down on the outside, but I’m still standing up on the inside!" Are you doing what God says on the outside while on the inside resisting his will with all your strength? Or is your whole heart turned to loving God and the rest of his creation in turn? Is your heart filled with bitterness or is it filled with the overwhelming love of God? If not the latter then you should repent of your hardness of heart and seek God’s forgiveness right now. Ask him for the ability to change on the inside and to live the way he wants you to.
But let’s go back to the question we started with. Where do we look for authority for our lives? Where do we point people who ask on what authority we do or say things? Let me suggest that Jesus’ example is a good one. First we point them to what they see. That is to those examples of the church’s life that speak for themselves. That’s why it’s so important of course that we live lives that are open to examination. Why it’s so important that we be people of integrity. People who love God on the inside as well as doing his will on the outside. But then we point them back to the stories of God’s involvement with his people in history. Back to the New Testament, to the stories of Jesus, to the teaching of the early church. Back even further to the stories of God’s plan for salvation as it’s revealed throughout the pages of Scripture. We can point them to the centrality of God’s place in the life of his people throughout history. To the centrality of God’s place in the life of the church today and in the future. And finally we can point them to the central imperative of loving God before all else and our neighbour as ourselves. There’s a self-authenticating aspect to the gospel as it unfolds through the story of God’s redemption of his people. As they hear of God’s saving acts, what’s called a ’plausibility structure’ builds up that becomes self evident. The authority on which we work is the authority of God’s self revelation, culminating in the appearance of Jesus Christ to fulfill all of God’s prophecies about him. For those who will listen the answer will be clear. For those whose ears and minds are closed the truth will be lost. I guess that’s why Jesus refused to answer their question in the end. They refused to face up to the question of John’s Baptism. They knew the answer but refused to give it, because they had already made up their mind about Jesus. They were opposed to him and wouldn’t listen to him. And so their opportunity was lost.
Are you someone who isn’t sure about the authority of Jesus over your life? If you are then make sure you’re like the second teacher who was willing to listen and learn from what Jesus said. Don’t close your mind because you’re afraid of the truth. Rather seek out the truth. Ask God to open your mind so you’ll know whether Jesus speaks with authority or not.
Are you someone who wants to convince others of the truth of the Gospel? Then make sure you know the story of the Bible, the story of salvation, well enough to tell it to others. And pray that God will open their minds to see the truth about Jesus.
And whatever your situation, take seriously the words we say most Sundays here, "you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." and "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
