“Why Does Jesus Keep Confusing Us?”
(Matthew 21:23-32)
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 the 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.
My title: I had been working ahead on bulletins, and my only excuse for this sermon title is that I was feeling confused with all the Matthew parables at that point. So, I don’t know if it will make any sense as this sermon develops. Bear with me.
I tell you that in this reading I do have some sympathy for the chief priests and elders. First, please be assured that the Gospel writer Matthew has nothing good to say about these religious leaders, but our interpretation is NEVER going to be anti-Semitic. Rather, when Matthew’s Gospel mentions the chief priests and scribes and Pharisees, it is meant to make a statement against religious leaders in general. Often we should realize that Jesus is speaking to us when he goes after religious leaders.
Then, I have to say that when those religious leaders get challenged after they have made fools of themselves trying to entrap Jesus, and when they put their heads together to see if they can come out looking good in this exchange, and when they end up saying to Jesus after he had pushed back against them, “We don’t know.” At that time I actually feel some measure of sympathy for them because we religious leaders do always want to look good. So, to admit not knowing is pretty big. I can relate to this.
But then, of course, Jesus has the last word about authority. He says, after they admit that they don’t know the answer to his question, “If you can’t tell me what in the world you’re trying to talk about regarding authority, then I’m not about to tell you by what authority I am doing these things.” Of course we know that the religious leaders initiated this conversation about authority by trying to put Jesus on the defense. “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority?” We must pay close attention to the doing language, as in “By what authority are you DOING these things?”. It shows up in the parable that follows.
…But this is just me again…. The other person I’m identifying with in the parable is the second son. I know, I know, we’re supposed to admire more the one who said no to his father’s request to work in the vineyard but, then, turned around and did the right thing anyway. Still, I can’t help it, the second guy is a little like me. He, I think, has good intentions when he said to his father’s request. “Yes sir, I’ll go.” But then he didn’t. How many times have I had good intentions, but then, for whatever reason, didn’t follow through?
You know that good intentions are usually problematic. We intend to do the right thing, but find ourselves getting distracted with all the other stuff that’s going on. I procrastinate doing the hard tasks so I do the easy ones or the ones I like better first.
…You can see that I have had some initial thoughts on today’s lesson. That’s really what I want you to do when you first hear parables. It turns out that where I was going may not have been what Jesus intended. I think it’s instructive, though. It made me feel a little more gracious toward the temple folk and maybe even myself. Ultimately, though, the temple folk in the story represent the people who say yes, but what they really mean is no. In trying to just look good and be right, they get themselves off track. They seem to have no idea what authority guides their own actions or lack of action.
What Jesus is telling us about authority is that he knows to turn to God who is the Ultimate Authority. And, in doing so, he doesn’t just spout empty words that have nothing to do with the well-being of God’s people. We know that Jesus is teaching us that authority does not come from what we say. It is in what we do.
And that sets us up for hearing the parable with new ears. The older son who, when approached by his father to work in the vineyard, said he didn’t want to. But later he changed his mind and went. On the other hand the younger son said, “Sure. Yes sir.” But he didn’t go. The authority that the older son looked to eventually had him doing the right thing. The younger son was confused about what authority really ruled his life. He did not understand what gave power and meaning to his life, just like the religious leaders. He took the quick and dirty approach, then failed to follow through. Therefore he was not inspired to do the tasks that make for a good life.
So, it’s worth taking a moment to see how this discussion can give meaning to our own lives. What do we say yes to? What on God’s green earth gets us to thinking we need to just say the things that the world will approve of? What makes us work hard and get burned out rather than the inspiration which comes through our Higher Power and connects us to that authority? That, hopefully will take us directly to the One that gives power and meaning to life.
Some examples: When we are chasing approval from the world and people around us, we have made those people into our authority. This never ends well. We need to set a firm stake in the ground, a plumb line as the prophet Jeremiah instructs. This is our Authority, and, then, we need to act accordingly, every day in every way.
Another example, when a person does everything to please their spouse and to avoid making waves; when they walk on egg shells just to prevent any trouble, they have given away their authority. They have lost touch with their Higher Power and their own sense of where authority resides.
When political leaders set themselves up as the ones who must be obeyed, whose policies are not to be questioned, who demand that the people must buy into their authority—they are like the religious leaders whose approach began today’s lesson. The ones who are victims of this approach have given away their own authority. And, as we know, no human being should be our authority. Only God is our Authority. Jesus points us toward the Authority that must guide us. And it is in the doing that we give allegiance to our Ultimate Authority.
We need to constantly be on guard in order to keep our eyes upon Jesus and upon his Ultimate Authority in God. Amen
