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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 of human origin?”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, ‘Of human origin’—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. 28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ 29 “ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. 30 “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. 31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”“The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. (Matthew 21:23-32 NIV Bible)
It's an old story, aka joke, of the city slicker came to a rancher and said he was there to inspect the rancher's operation. The rancher, naturally, asks who gave him the authority to demand such a thing? The city slicker pulls out a badge and shows it to the rancher, "By the authority behind this badge I can make such a demand!" The rancher said, "If you say so," and the city slicker climbs over a fence and the rancher said, "I wouldn't do that if I were you!" The man again shows him his badge and jumps into the field and walks a few steps and then hears the bull snorting and pawing at the ground in anger. The bull then begins to run after the city slicker and the man begins to run and scream in fear. "Show him your badge!" yells the rancher.
Okay, I hear the groans and moans, and that's okay. But it does remind us that there are times when people expect and demand to know the power or authority behind some things, and here the chief priests and the elders of the people come to Jesus and demand to know by what authority did He use to do the things that He did. "Who gave you such authority?" You could understand why, because the traveling preacher and wandering rabbi that Jesus was known as, comes into town on that day we call Palm Sunday to much acclaim by the crowds, and then has that Money-Changers table moment, so yes, "Who are you, and why did you do what you did?" This sets them up for a great question from Jesus. He asks them, "Uh, the things that John the Baptist did, like baptizing people who obviously needed it, where did he ge that authority? Was it from Heaven or from human origin?"
Hmm, they were stuck as their discussion shows. "If we say from Heaven, we will be challenged as to why we didn't believe? If we say it was a human thing, they will surely seize us because the people believed John to be a prophet." So, the only response we can give is, "We don't know." And so Jesus says, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things." And Jesus adds a story to further drive home His point: A man had two sons and goes to the first to ask him to go and work in the vineyard. This son says, "I will not!" But changes his mind and goes and does the work. The father goes to the second son and says the same time and this son says, "I will, sir," but did not. Who did the Father's will, Jesus asks? They answered, "The first son." Then Jesus says, to their surprise, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the Kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him."
Here are our takeaways: The first is that it is not enough to profess our faith or make promises without backing them up with our action. These religious leaders, like the second son, did their best to appear pious on the surface, but failed to align their lives with God's will. Compare that to those who were deemed by the religious as sinful and disobedience, but it was this group who responded in faith to John the Baptist's message and repented of their sins.
The purpose of John the Baptist was to prepare the way for the Lord Jesus and to call people to righteousness. It was the tax collectors and prostitutes who despite their past sins, recognized the need for change and embraced God's message of redemption. They chose obedience over their previous way of life and entered the Kingdom of God.
I hear the challenge from this passage for our lives to be in line with obedience. We should not be like the religious leaders who profess their faith but fail to live it out. We are called to surrender to Jesus our past lives and sins, and recognized our need for transformation and respond to God's call to repentance and righteousness.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we come before you with humble hearts, recognizing that true faith is demonstrated through obedience. Help us, Lord, to be like the first son in the parable, willing to change our minds and follow your commands. Forgive us for the times we have merely given lip service to our faith. May we be people who not only profess belief but also live it out in our actions and attitudes. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Surrender to Jesus and be made new!
Receive my blessings of love and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
