Matthew 21:23-32 (Jesus’ authority questioned.)

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?" 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. 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?' But if we say, 'Of human origin,' we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet." 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.

"What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' He answered, 'I will not'; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, 'I go, sir'; but he did not go. 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. 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.

We are all weather experts. Every day we confidently comment on it. Weather forecasts attract us, and listening to the shipping forecast is strangely homely and comforting. So let me give you a weather warning: dark clouds are gathering and turbulent times draw near. No, not in Warwickshire but in our gospel readings. Over the past few weeks we have been immersed in Jesus’ teaching but now, suddenly, he is confronted by the religious authorities. They want to check his licence to preach. This confrontation will occupy us for a few weeks. 

Jesus’ initial response was to question the authority of those who questioned his authority. A very neat move. He then develops his argument by appealing to a higher authority. Let’s get our heads round this by way of an illustration. Supposing you are issued with a parking ticket because your car bumper goes beyond the parking bay. I would never have thought of doing this but according to Jesus’ tactics the first thing to do is to check the traffic warden’s credentials. Then, at the police station, you can argue that you have dispensation from a higher authority to park on double yellow lines. The final argument could be to appeal to common sense and reasonable behaviour. As you eventually stand in the magistrates’ court you argue, ‘But I was on an errand of mercy and I was only two inches over the line’. Thankfully I can’t speak from experience, but my hunch is that you will lose your case. However, along the way you might win the moral argument. 

When it comes to having his authority challenged, Jesus often claimed that his justification came straight from the top – his Father. On this occasion, however, it seems to me that Jesus is appealing to honesty, integrity, and the illusive common sense that helps a person understand what is right in front of them. This is extraordinary. Jesus is saying that if we want to check him out, rather than getting involved in complicated debate we should first try simply looking and listening at what he is doing and saying. Forget about the rules of engagement, just stop, look and listen. This is a sign of quiet confidence in the innate authority of the honest truth of the matter. The dark clouds gather over Jesus, but there is no retreat. The path ahead will cost Jesus his life, but he will win the moral and spiritual argument.