EDITOR'S NOTE: On Oct. 23, 2021, I was ordained as a minister of word and sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and installed as pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. I also served the same church for four years from October 2017 to October 2021 a synodically authorized minister. The journey together these past four years has been an amazing one, full of learning, growing and a deepening of my theological mind. This sermon took place on Oct. 1, 2023.
The gospel this week: Matthew 21:23-32
The Authority of Jesus Questioned
23 When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why, then, did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for all regard John as a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 “What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 He answered, ‘I will not,’ but later he changed his mind and went. 30 The father went to the second and said the same, and he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him, and even after you saw it you did not change your minds and believe him.
The message:
How many people here at one time in their life had an elder tell them, “Your actions speak louder than your words?” … I’m betting a good many of us.
The message being, you can talk a good game, but if you don’t follow through with your actions, then your talk is meaningless.
If I were to write a summary of today’s gospel, it’s exactly that old adage that I would use to describe it one sentence: Jesus essentially tells the chief priests and elders of the synagogue, “Your actions speak louder than your words.”
And what does he mean? … That their actions are not pretty … that they’re not representative of the Kingdom of God.
There is much more to this gospel, of course. … As with nearly every of Jesus’ parables there are layers to unpack.
But if you take nothing more away from worship today, please know that as Christians, we can talk a really good game but if we are not following it up with our actions, then our talk is meaningless.
If that sounds like a hard line, then maybe it gives us a little insight as to how concerning this exchange must feel to the chief priests and elders in today’s gospel.
After all, I don’t believe that the religious leaders of Jesus’ synagogue were bad people at heart.
In fact, I believe that they were doing their best to live out lives based on the scriptural guidance that was given to them by their own elders through the Hebrew Bible.
And, I think as faithful people, we may carry similar fallible human religious traditions of our own. … So, as they say, I do feel their situation is relatable.
So, as we often see in Jesus’ parables, when he holds up a mirror to the hypocrisy of those first century righteous religious leaders, I believe that he also is trying to demonstrate to us that … it is very easy for us to say the all the right things … and then turn around and do all the wrong things.
But before we get ourselves too far in front of ourselves … let's back up and take a look at this scene in today’s gospel.
And, honestly, this is where the text notes above the gospel in your bulletin are very handy. The notes today remind us that Jesus is back in Jerusalem. … Right? … Matthew chapter 21. … So we’re getting late in Jesus’ ministry timeline.
And so why is that important?
Well, Jesus is no longer traipsing through the countryside, healing the sick and feeding the masses. Performing what might seem like whimsical miracles such as turning water into whine, and loaves and fish into bountiful meals for the masses.
No, I daresay that the whimsical part of Jesus’ ministry -- if there ever was one -- is over. … Now, he’s back in Jerusalem, teaching at the synagogue and he means business. … He knows the end is coming. He’s feeling the pressure to shake up the faithful.
In fact, right before this scene, Jesus had chased out the moneychangers from the temple in the infamous scene that often is depicted by Jesus overturning the tables in the synagogue.
And then, once Jesus has chased out those who said were profaning the temple of God with their corruptible commerce, then HE sets up shop … hangs out his shingle as a resident rabbi … a religious teacher.
And that, Faith Family, is what sets up this contentious encounter with the chief priests and elders of the synagogue … who have been offended by what Jesus has been teaching in the synagogue.
So, being human and therefore spiteful, the chief priests and elders conspire on a plan that will place Jesus in a pickle.
They go to him and ask, “by what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”
Now, on the surface, these two questions could seem pretty innocuous, right? … Hey Jesus, what gives you the right to step into our synagogue and teach things that are opposed to our teachings, upending what we’ve been teaching for generations.
Where do you draw your authority to do this? … Or in our words today: What gives you the right?
You see, if Jesus’ accusers can catch him saying something like, “I get my authority from God because I am his son” … or anything similar. …. Well then, the leaders of the synagogue will have trapped Jesus because they can accuse him of heresy … they can accuse him of claiming to be God. And then they could be rid of him. … Problem solved.
But Jesus smells the plot from a mile away. … He knows what the religious leaders’ questions really mean … and deflects them with a question of his own.
“When John the Baptist was out in the River Jordan baptizing one and all in the name of God, where did HIS authority come from?”
And with a swift stroke, Jesus has turned the trap on the religious leaders themselves.
If they say that John did not have God’s authority to perform the baptisms, they know that the people of the synagogue will turn on them. It won’t be pretty. The people of the synagogue saw John as a divinely inspired prophet.
And if the chief priests and elders say that his authority was indeed divine … granted by God … Jesus will ask them why they didn’t support John and they themselves go get baptized.
So the priests and elders … realizing that they are boxed in … essentially punt the ball. … Ahh, we don’t know, they tell Jesus.
And given the religious leaders' attempt to dodge … Jesus then refuses to answer their questions as well. … You see, Jesus seems to say, two can play the game, and he whupped them at their own deviousness.
And that brings us to the parable of the two soons. … Jesus’ coupe de grace in this instance.
Not quite finished with the priests and elders, Jesus tells the parable of the two sons: A story in which the sons’ actions certainly spoke louder than their words.
The father told both sons to get out in the vineyard and work. The first son defiantly said he wouldn’t, but later changed his tune and reported to the vineyard.
The second son told his father to his face that he would indeed go work in the field, but never does.
And even the priests and elders easily understand that the son who ultimately did as their father wanted was the one who went to work in the field … despite his initial defiance.
Faith Family … and that becomes … game … set … and match. Jesus turns the story to point it back to the priests and elders to reveal their own behavior in regard to John the Baptist’s ministry … to reveal their own behavior in regard to Jesus’ ministry as well.
Jesus pointedly unveils to the religious leaders that while the tax collectors and prostitutes were willing to wade into the River Jordan with John, confess their sins and repent … the religious leaders were not. … They just stood on shore and made John out to be a heretic.
So this is a great story isn’t it, Faith Family. A worthwhile and weighty topic to dive into this Sunday morning.
But where is the application to us? … Right? … What is the application in our daily lives?
And I think the application is this: We need to think carefully about who we find ourselves to be in this parable.
Are we more like the sinners, the tax collectors and prostitutes who recognize their ways and recognize the prophets that God sends among us to help guide on this journey here in the earthly kingdom?
Or are we more like the chief priests and elders who technically live very clean spiritual lives, but whose actions repeatedly exclude others from the Kingdom of God?
Simply put, we as faithful people need to seriously ask ourselves if our actions speak louder than our words?
And that is the Good News for this 18th Sunday after Pentecost … Oct. 1, 2023. … Amen.
Comments