Authority

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

AUTHORITY

Matt 21:23-27

23 Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. "By what authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you this authority?" 24 Jesus replied, "I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25 John's baptism — where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or from men?" They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Then why didn't you believe him?' 26 But if we say, 'From men'-we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet." 27 So they answered Jesus, "We don't know." Then he said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 

NIV

Jesus is going to continue this discussion with the chief priests and the elders by giving them a couple of parables to ponder on. But first he gives them a rebuttal to their question. We would have to conclude they really did not want to know by what authority he was doing what he did but rather were attempting to trap him into saying something they could charge him with blasphemy. Jesus certainly could have told them all he did was by his own authority.

Matt 28:18

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

NIV

But they would not have believed him, as well as that would have given them a reason to charge him with what they considered blasphemy. So he puts them on the spot with a question. The following discussion among themselves is self-explanatory and needs no notation. They simply could not decide how to answer so they answered that they did not know. Although this is another example of the divine nature of Jesus, having full knowledge of their agenda and being able to counter it so skillfully, it might serve to give us a method of rebuttal on some unbelievers when they try to trap us by some out of context truth of scripture to prove their case for not believing. It might also be helpful in our discussion with others who profess to believe, however have a misguided understanding of scripture. Instead of simply spouting off a whole bunch of scripture to prove our beliefs, we might simply ask them how to they deal with this truth or scripture. Let them bring the answer. If it confronts them such as the chief priests and elders were, then they have to ponder and realize then cannot answer unless they reveal they own misconceptions. But we need also be to aware we may well be the one with the misconceptions and need to ponder a question posed to us. Certainly that type of question would not come from an unbeliever, however perhaps another believer might cause us to ponder our thoughts by a stimulating question that requires a definitive answer. Nevertheless, even if we might find a lesson in the question rather than a statement idea, we are still given enough information here to once again be assured of the totally divine all-knowing God in the flesh. If nothing else this should strengthen our faith in Jesus being the Son of God, God in the flesh. The one with all the authority in heaven and on earth. That should again give us reason to submit to his authority in our lives. His authority means we do not have any authority over our own lives. Sometimes, being “I” centered we mistakenly think all his authority is there to meet our needs, to either heal or bless us in some material way. We consider those words, “ask anything” and we become inward in our thinking. But his authority is over our lives, so then we should be asking what we can do for him, for his kingdom, rather then what can he do for us. It is about his authority. Do we, like those chief priests and elders ever question his authority in our lives? Could every time we do what we want to do because we want to do it, be questioning his authority? Could every time we make a decision without seeking his counsel be challenging his authority? Could it be that when we disregard some aspect of the scripture because it disagrees with our way of thinking, it is questioning his authority? Is not all scripture, not some, profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness? Then we need to recognize his authority in every aspect of our lives.