Jesus’ Authority: Displayed, Questioned, Proved.
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?” (Matt 21:23)
Warm greetings to you in the Name of Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord!
It is important to acknowledge and submit under the authority of our Saviour Jesus Christ. Have you heard people boldly question Jesus’ authority before? A good national security system must have detectives – many of these are policemen in plain clothes; they carry concealed authority as opposed to their uniformed counterparts who are more conspicuous. When he is to arrest someone, a detective will flag his identity card, and it will be revealed that he is not a common man like the others similarly dressed plainly. The detective he could even wield more power than a uniformed officer! In today’s lesson, it sounds like Jewish chief priests and elders were asking Jesus to flash his identity card to show what authority he carried. He looked like a common man yet did wonders! In his life, Jesus’ authority was manifested and displayed, challenged and question, and later proven and displayed even more clearly.
In Matthew 21:23-27 is the antagonistic discussion between Jesus and those who questioned his authority. Unlike the plain clothed officer, Jesus’ authority was more conspicuous, especially through his actions and the prophecies that pointed to the Messiah. Earlier that week he had entered Jerusalem in triumphal pomp amidst shouts of ‘Hosanna!’ from an excited crowd. He cleansed the temple courts by casting out businesses almost violently and unquestionably. He then cursed a fig tree for unfair reasons and it dried completely; and he taught daily in the temple courts as one with authority indeed. Even today we see the power of the Lord Jesus Christ as we listen to testimonies from various believers; indeed Jesus’ authority is clearly manifested and displayed for all to see and believe without a shadow of doubt.
When the chief priests and elders challenged and questioned the source of Jesus’ authority, it sounded like the mocking Israelites who from time to time challenged and questioned Moses’ authority; at one time they asked: ‘Is the LORD among us or not?’ (Exod 17:7) Yet in all cases God not only proved the authority in action but also addressed their needs for knowledge and physical nourishment. Jesus used a rhetorical question to answer his challengers: in the same way they knew John’s baptism was from God yet they did not believe it, now they would know that Jesus’ authority was from God, and hence be challenged about their unbelief.
Many times those who challenge noble things actually know the truth but simply stubbornly or selfishly refuse to believe it. ‘For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.’ (Hab 2:14) May the Lord give us grace accept the divine truths revealed and submit under the authority of our Saviour Jesus Christ.
God bless you all.