Introduction

Welcome church! Today we’ve got an interesting passage about the authority of Jesus and the inability of the Pharisees to see Jesus for who He is. And, smack dab in the middle of it all there is a parable about 2 sons. How are these things related? Why is authority important and what role does pride play in it all?

If nothing else, I think we can all agree that pride is a dangerous thing… It can blind us from seeing things for what they really are. And for the Pharisees/Scribes/Religious leaders specifically, it blinded them from seeing Jesus for who He truly was. As we now know, Jesus is the Messiah, the savior of mankind… But to many of the leaders of His day He was seen as a threat to the system. He disrupted the status quo and even shared meals with prostitutes, tax collectors, and various sinners. It was, in a word, unbelievable.

But that’s part of what makes Jesus who He is. He’s an unbelievable, miracle-working, sinner-loving, gentle, lowly, and meek King who traded His royal position so that we could have a redeemed position with God. When we ask the question, Who’s in Charge Here?!, I sure hope the answer is Jesus… He’s the one we need.

When we ask the question, Who’s in Charge Here?!, I sure hope the answer is Jesus… He’s the one we need.

Main Teaching

To help set the scene for our passage it’s important that we turn back to the beginning of Chapter 21. It’s here we see that Jesus has already entered Jerusalem as a King. Matthew 21:1-11 gives us the traditional Palm Sunday reading; Jesus coming into Jerusalem on a donkey and the crowd shouting “Hosanna! Hosanna!” To follow that up, in Matthew 21:12-17, Jesus enters the temple and overturns the tables of the money changers. If that wasn’t an impressive enough display of authority and power Jesus then curses the fig tree and it withers - never to bear fruit again. (Matthew 21:18-22)

It’s after all this, if you can even imagine, that the religious leaders and scribes confront Jesus back in the temple with their questions.

The Question of Authority

It makes sense that after all the events recorded in Matthew 21 that the religious leaders would have some questions for Jesus. As I mentioned earlier, He disrupted the status quo. He literally turned over tables in the temple and drove people out. So the leaders and elders come to Him saying, “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?” One bible scholar says, “They could not deny the miraculous acts, so they attacked the source of His authority.” But this is where the story gets tricky.

As you can see in verse 24, Jesus responds to their question with a question ... View this full sermon with PRO Premium