WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.480 We don't like it when people interfere with our lives, 00:00:03.820 --> 00:00:09.200 especially when we don't believe that they have the right to do so. 00:00:10.380 --> 00:00:14.800 By nature, we have an authority issue. 00:00:15.800 --> 00:00:21.660 Even when they're doing something that exponentially benefits us, 00:00:21.660 --> 00:00:26.420 like organizing our clothes in the right way to make it easier for us to find what we need 00:00:26.420 --> 00:00:28.320 and to wear what actually fits. 00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:38.039 We take offense when other people exercise some type of control or they correct us in some way. 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:40.700 And this is rebellion, isn't it? 00:00:40.719 --> 00:00:44.020 It's our rebellious nature, and it shows up in different ways. 00:00:44.320 --> 00:00:49.100 Sometimes this rebellion shows up in a resistance against what others are saying. 00:00:49.780 --> 00:00:57.480 It's a determination that I don't care how right they are or how much better this would be for me. 00:00:57.479 --> 00:01:03.059 I'm not going to listen to what they have to say because who are they to try to correct me? 00:01:03.219 --> 00:01:05.719 Who are they to try to tell me what to do? 00:01:06.140 --> 00:01:10.539 That's how it's revealed, maybe more often as we're younger, but perhaps as we get older as well. 00:01:11.479 --> 00:01:14.179 There's another way that this reveals itself, too, in our hearts. 00:01:14.180 --> 00:01:20.980 When we become envious, when we see that there's another person at work or there's another person maybe in the church 00:01:20.980 --> 00:01:27.600 or another person in our home or in our lives, and they seem to have more authority than we have, 00:01:27.640 --> 00:01:32.840 and they seem to exercise more influence than we have, and we get envious of them, 00:01:32.920 --> 00:01:38.100 not because they're bad or because they're wrong or because they're causing us problems, 00:01:38.099 --> 00:01:45.619 just because they have more authority than us, and we don't want to have to submit to anybody's authority except our own. 00:01:46.759 --> 00:01:55.539 And that's exactly the position that these rulers in Israel were finding themselves at this point in Mark's gospel. 00:01:55.540 --> 00:02:02.740 For them, Jesus is no longer a distant Galilean problem. 00:02:03.780 --> 00:02:10.520 They're being confronted by him and by his teaching and by his actions every day in the temple now. 00:02:11.560 --> 00:02:16.400 Two days before this, Jesus rides on a donkey into the entrance of Jerusalem 00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:20.759 while a crowd of people are singing his praises and shouting his praises, 00:02:20.759 --> 00:02:26.899 claiming and believing that he is their deliverer, that he is the one that they want to follow now. 00:02:28.199 --> 00:02:32.239 And then the next day, he has the audacity to go into the temple, 00:02:32.639 --> 00:02:36.739 and as he goes into the temple, he starts to flip over the money-changing stations, 00:02:36.739 --> 00:02:41.019 and he's chasing out all the merchants that these leaders had put in place. 00:02:41.159 --> 00:02:45.759 He's ruining every effort that they have of trying to have a successful business 00:02:45.759 --> 00:02:49.699 and exploit the people of God and the purposes of God. 00:02:49.699 --> 00:02:53.319 He's now in their face, and he's getting in their way. 00:02:54.479 --> 00:03:01.219 He's now entered their turf, and he's making a wreck of everything they had established for themselves there. 00:03:02.019 --> 00:03:03.739 And Jesus had their attention. 00:03:04.919 --> 00:03:13.879 And their urgency now to have him killed is intensified greater than we've seen it anywhere in Mark's gospel up to this point. 00:03:13.879 --> 00:03:22.740 And this text records for us the first of a series of confrontations between Jesus and these men, 00:03:22.840 --> 00:03:27.500 and these confrontations are going to take us all the way through the end of chapter 12. 00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:33.500 And the overarching theme here, especially in this section, but really in the whole thing, 00:03:33.800 --> 00:03:37.919 the overarching theme is this issue of authority. 00:03:37.919 --> 00:03:48.379 And it's the explicit theme of verses 27 and chapter 11 all the way through verse 12 of chapter 12. 00:03:48.639 --> 00:03:51.739 This is really that whole span is this same interaction. 00:03:52.039 --> 00:03:54.259 We're just not going to get to the second part until next week. 00:03:55.519 --> 00:04:02.219 And I want to point out to you here at this point a particular word that's used in these verses 00:04:02.219 --> 00:04:06.759 that I think will be helpful for us to have some understanding and application in particular. 00:04:07.560 --> 00:04:09.439 The word is authority. 00:04:10.139 --> 00:04:16.899 And I have on the screen for you how we would define this from its original language. 00:04:17.459 --> 00:04:19.620 Authority is how we interpret it in English. 00:04:20.100 --> 00:04:22.339 The Greek word here is exousia. 00:04:23.000 --> 00:04:23.519 Exousia. 00:04:23.519 --> 00:04:37.259 And it means to have the right to govern, to control, to exercise dominion over something or someone or some process. 00:04:37.919 --> 00:04:40.000 That's repeated in this section. 00:04:40.159 --> 00:04:41.799 This is the word that they keep saying. 00:04:42.159 --> 00:04:45.180 These Pharisees or whoever it is else that's a part of this group, 00:04:45.560 --> 00:04:50.439 they come up and, and who has given you the exousia to do these things? 00:04:50.439 --> 00:04:56.180 And Jesus tells them at the end of it, you answer my question and I'll tell you who has given me the exousia. 00:04:56.480 --> 00:05:02.839 The, the authority, the right to govern over all these things and to control them and to exercise dominion, 00:05:02.959 --> 00:05:04.800 even over you. 00:05:05.379 --> 00:05:12.439 And the point of conflict in this text is the religious leaders challenged to Jesus. 00:05:13.659 --> 00:05:17.680 His, their challenge to his right to teach what he was teaching 00:05:17.680 --> 00:05:24.579 and to act as if he was the one that had control over the temple procedures in particular. 00:05:25.579 --> 00:05:32.100 And so as they witnessed the crowds continue to flock to Jesus and begin to accept what he was doing, 00:05:32.900 --> 00:05:38.480 these men found that his exousia was a threat to their own. 00:05:38.480 --> 00:05:46.240 And for their influence and power to remain, Jesus's authority would have to be denied 00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:49.780 and Jesus himself would have to be destroyed. 00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:52.520 And this is the setup in Mark's gospel. 00:05:52.980 --> 00:05:59.460 As we're going through chapter 12, this is the setup for Mark's gospel for Jesus's trial and execution 00:05:59.460 --> 00:06:01.100 that's going to come in just a few chapters. 00:06:01.100 --> 00:06:07.120 And as we read through this, your first thought may not be that it's a complicated passage, 00:06:07.120 --> 00:06:09.900 it's really not that complex, it's, it's pretty simple. 00:06:10.720 --> 00:06:17.420 And you may find it to be informative as it contributes to the overall narrative of Mark's gospel. 00:06:17.960 --> 00:06:24.340 But you may be wondering, what exactly does this interaction between Jesus and these men have to do with me? 00:06:24.339 --> 00:06:30.239 What is so significant about this that we should take time to study it on a Sunday morning? 00:06:30.479 --> 00:06:32.799 What does it matter to me? 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:34.619 How is it going to affect my life today? 00:06:35.599 --> 00:06:44.899 And what I want to show you this morning is that Jesus's authority over the temple and its rulers 00:06:44.899 --> 00:06:49.439 is the same authority that he has over you. 00:06:50.739 --> 00:06:51.699 It's the same. 00:06:51.699 --> 00:06:59.560 And just as these men sought to destroy Jesus in order to preserve their own power, 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:10.319 so do we very often seek to destroy or ignore Christ's lordship in favor of our own lordship over our own lives. 00:07:11.159 --> 00:07:19.800 But because of who he is, Jesus indeed has the right to govern, control, 00:07:19.800 --> 00:07:24.240 and exercise dominion over your life and mine. 00:07:24.900 --> 00:07:29.920 And that authority demands our faith and also our obedience. 00:07:30.680 --> 00:07:36.620 The first thing I want you to see here as we look at verses 27 and 28 is his authority resisted. 00:07:37.180 --> 00:07:38.960 His authority resisted. 00:07:39.660 --> 00:07:40.920 Look at verse 27. 00:07:40.920 --> 00:08:04.740 So there's three groups of people that have combined as a single delegation here. 00:08:04.740 --> 00:08:10.280 We're told that it's the chief priest, the scribes, and the elders. 00:08:10.939 --> 00:08:17.000 All three groups would have made up what was known as the great Sanhedrin. 00:08:17.720 --> 00:08:19.300 But we throw that word out there sometimes. 00:08:19.379 --> 00:08:21.519 I don't know that I've ever really described it to you. 00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:25.800 The Sanhedrin was a governing body in Israel. 00:08:25.800 --> 00:08:34.560 It consisted of 71 men, and they all came from the three groups that were listed here in verse 27. 00:08:35.440 --> 00:08:44.659 The Sanhedrin had full power, complete power, when it came to the religious affairs of the people of Israel. 00:08:45.019 --> 00:08:54.259 And it had significant power, though restricted, when it came to the political matters relating to Rome. 00:08:54.259 --> 00:08:59.019 And in this case, the council itself is sending a delegation. 00:08:59.220 --> 00:09:01.080 This isn't all 71 men, most likely. 00:09:01.460 --> 00:09:05.340 This is a representative delegation of those men. 00:09:05.620 --> 00:09:11.519 And they've been sent to Jesus specifically to confront him in this way in the temple. 00:09:12.399 --> 00:09:19.460 This would be similar to one of us being personally confronted by a united delegation 00:09:19.460 --> 00:09:26.840 from both or from all the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of government in the United States. 00:09:26.840 --> 00:09:32.200 This is like the vice president with a few congressmen, along with a couple of Supreme Court justices, 00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:37.139 confronting us after service today to let us know they don't appreciate very much what we're preaching, 00:09:37.139 --> 00:09:41.519 and they don't appreciate very much the way that we're behaving in regards to our faith. 00:09:41.519 --> 00:09:48.360 Jesus, in this moment, is not up against a few rogue agents in the religious establishment. 00:09:48.579 --> 00:09:51.199 He's against the establishment itself now. 00:09:52.639 --> 00:09:54.960 These are not just a few of them that are irritated. 00:09:55.340 --> 00:09:57.079 This is not a few power-hungry men. 00:09:57.079 --> 00:10:02.460 This is the entire establishment of politics and religion in the nation of Israel 00:10:02.460 --> 00:10:08.240 that are now coming to Jesus and threatening him and trying to destroy him. 00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:17.419 And as they approached the Lord, they issued this public challenge, demanding his credentials, essentially. 00:10:19.259 --> 00:10:21.620 Who said you could do these things? 00:10:23.240 --> 00:10:27.799 But the conflict of authority wasn't a new one in this relationship. 00:10:29.000 --> 00:10:34.759 This exact issue has been simmering for a while, and it's only just now coming to a boiling point 00:10:34.759 --> 00:10:39.000 now that Jesus is in Jerusalem and he's in the temple and he's doing these things. 00:10:39.059 --> 00:10:45.059 I want to just walk you through, just briefly, some passages that we've already looked at in Mark's gospel 00:10:45.059 --> 00:10:47.200 that deal with this simmering issue. 00:10:47.500 --> 00:10:49.960 In fact, flip with me a few pages to chapter 1. 00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:55.379 Mark chapter 1. 00:10:57.539 --> 00:11:01.659 Jesus' public ministry has only just begun in Galilee. 00:11:01.659 --> 00:11:04.679 And I want you to look with me at verse 22. 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:15.779 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority 00:11:15.779 --> 00:11:19.819 and not as the scribes. 00:11:20.159 --> 00:11:21.659 Let's get down to verse 27. 00:11:23.039 --> 00:11:27.959 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, 00:11:27.960 --> 00:11:29.280 What is this? 00:11:29.920 --> 00:11:31.920 A new teaching with authority. 00:11:32.879 --> 00:11:36.680 He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him. 00:11:37.180 --> 00:11:39.960 I want you to think for just a second what's happening in that passage. 00:11:40.700 --> 00:11:43.580 Remember, authority is excusia. 00:11:43.840 --> 00:11:44.940 It's the same word here. 00:11:46.019 --> 00:11:49.540 Now, what they're referring to when they're talking about Jesus' teaching 00:11:49.540 --> 00:11:51.639 and when they're talking about his power over demons, 00:11:51.780 --> 00:11:54.040 they're not talking about the power itself. 00:11:54.039 --> 00:11:58.099 This is not the word for an ability to do something. 00:11:58.360 --> 00:12:01.559 They're not shocked by Jesus' ability to teach 00:12:01.559 --> 00:12:04.480 and his ability to cast out demons. 00:12:04.919 --> 00:12:07.559 If that was the case, they would have used a different word, 00:12:07.639 --> 00:12:08.539 the word dunamis. 00:12:09.339 --> 00:12:11.439 Dunamis is used all throughout the Gospels as well. 00:12:11.719 --> 00:12:15.059 It's a reference to his specific power to act. 00:12:15.679 --> 00:12:17.679 It's the same word we get dynamite from. 00:12:17.799 --> 00:12:20.360 It's explosive power, ability to act. 00:12:20.599 --> 00:12:22.039 That's not the words they're using here. 00:12:22.039 --> 00:12:23.879 Here they're using the word excusia. 00:12:23.959 --> 00:12:26.159 In other words, when they hear Jesus teach, 00:12:26.259 --> 00:12:30.159 they're saying he teaches us as if he has the right to teach us. 00:12:31.019 --> 00:12:34.939 He is teaching us as if he is the one who actually has the right 00:12:34.939 --> 00:12:36.699 to tell us what to do and what not to do. 00:12:36.939 --> 00:12:40.919 And by the way, this is markedly different than how the scribes teach. 00:12:41.879 --> 00:12:45.079 Now, do you think if you were a scribe in that particular prayer meeting 00:12:45.079 --> 00:12:46.219 in the synagogue that day, 00:12:46.299 --> 00:12:48.659 you'd be a little bothered by the estimation of the people? 00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:49.959 Of course. 00:12:49.959 --> 00:12:49.959 00:12:49.960 --> 00:12:51.800 Of course. 00:12:52.519 --> 00:12:54.280 Because up to that point, as a scribe, 00:12:54.420 --> 00:12:56.620 you've been the one with the authority to teach. 00:12:57.720 --> 00:13:00.480 You've been the one that everybody was supposed to listen to. 00:13:00.960 --> 00:13:04.620 But now they hear Jesus, and they don't care about the scribe anymore. 00:13:05.680 --> 00:13:08.700 This guy, there's something about the way he's teaching, 00:13:08.820 --> 00:13:09.639 and we like it. 00:13:09.780 --> 00:13:11.340 There is uniqueness here. 00:13:11.780 --> 00:13:13.700 There is exousia here. 00:13:13.700 --> 00:13:17.379 And then immediately after, he's confronted by this demon-possessed man. 00:13:17.540 --> 00:13:18.780 And what does Jesus do? 00:13:19.580 --> 00:13:20.940 He cast out the demon. 00:13:21.200 --> 00:13:23.280 And what was their estimation of that miracle? 00:13:24.840 --> 00:13:28.720 Not dunamis, exousia. 00:13:28.720 --> 00:13:32.660 He not only has the power to cast out demons, 00:13:32.899 --> 00:13:36.820 he has the right to control demons. 00:13:37.600 --> 00:13:38.560 It's authority. 00:13:39.240 --> 00:13:42.320 And the tension begins between Jesus and these scribes. 00:13:42.660 --> 00:13:44.060 Flip over to chapter 2 now. 00:13:44.059 --> 00:13:47.019 You remember this story? 00:13:47.099 --> 00:13:50.539 The four men, they bring their paralytic friend to Jesus, 00:13:50.659 --> 00:13:52.559 and they tear open the roof, and they drop him down. 00:13:53.119 --> 00:13:54.339 Look at verse 7. 00:13:54.340 --> 00:13:58.180 As soon as the man comes down, Jesus says, 00:13:58.300 --> 00:13:58.980 Your sins are forgiven. 00:13:59.100 --> 00:14:01.820 Here's how the religious leaders responded. 00:14:01.960 --> 00:14:03.560 Why does this man speak like that? 00:14:03.720 --> 00:14:05.080 He's blaspheming. 00:14:05.980 --> 00:14:08.360 Who can forgive sins but God alone? 00:14:08.700 --> 00:14:10.200 And what is it that Jesus says? 00:14:10.460 --> 00:14:11.200 Verse 10. 00:14:12.360 --> 00:14:19.100 That you may know that the Son of Man has exousia on earth to forgive sins. 00:14:19.100 --> 00:14:24.840 Not just the power to forgive sin, but the right to exercise that power. 00:14:25.860 --> 00:14:29.320 He says that you may know that I have this authority. 00:14:30.279 --> 00:14:31.920 He said to the paralytic, 00:14:32.200 --> 00:14:35.580 I say to you, rise up, pick up your bed, and go home. 00:14:36.560 --> 00:14:39.240 Don't you think the Pharisees and the scribes that were in that prayer meeting, 00:14:39.620 --> 00:14:41.019 do you think they were very pleased by that? 00:14:41.879 --> 00:14:42.279 No. 00:14:43.840 --> 00:14:44.279 No. 00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:48.580 So the tension continues to build. 00:14:49.840 --> 00:14:51.379 Look again at chapter 2. 00:14:51.500 --> 00:14:55.139 Verse 24 this time of chapter 2. 00:14:59.420 --> 00:15:03.680 Pharisees didn't like very much that Jesus and his disciples were plucking grain 00:15:03.680 --> 00:15:06.080 from the corners of the field on the Sabbath day. 00:15:07.139 --> 00:15:08.040 Verse 24. 00:15:08.139 --> 00:15:09.300 The Pharisees were saying to him, 00:15:09.399 --> 00:15:13.040 Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath? 00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:14.200 Verse 28. 00:15:14.720 --> 00:15:15.460 Jesus says, 00:15:15.779 --> 00:15:18.320 The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. 00:15:19.100 --> 00:15:20.340 What's he getting at there? 00:15:20.420 --> 00:15:22.800 Well, he doesn't use excusia there, but he basically does. 00:15:23.600 --> 00:15:26.040 He says, listen, I created the Sabbath. 00:15:27.379 --> 00:15:29.019 I am Lord over the Sabbath. 00:15:29.139 --> 00:15:30.899 I can do with it what I want to do with it. 00:15:31.320 --> 00:15:32.460 I have that right. 00:15:33.040 --> 00:15:33.740 Chapter 3. 00:15:34.120 --> 00:15:34.820 Verse 1. 00:15:34.820 --> 00:15:38.700 Just after that, they bring in the man with the withered hand. 00:15:38.700 --> 00:15:42.940 And again, he entered the synagogue and a man was there with a withered hand. 00:15:43.040 --> 00:15:48.660 And they watched Jesus to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath so that they might accuse him. 00:15:48.760 --> 00:15:50.200 They're already irritated with him. 00:15:50.260 --> 00:15:51.240 They want to destroy him. 00:15:51.740 --> 00:15:52.260 Verse 6. 00:15:52.259 --> 00:15:57.360 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him. 00:15:57.700 --> 00:15:58.759 How to destroy him. 00:15:58.919 --> 00:15:59.120 Why? 00:15:59.360 --> 00:16:00.700 Because he healed a man on the Sabbath. 00:16:01.000 --> 00:16:02.960 And he made them look foolish in the process. 00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:07.080 Not because he intended to make them look foolish, but they stepped into it. 00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:10.080 Chapter 7. 00:16:10.779 --> 00:16:11.879 I know what you're thinking, Jared. 00:16:11.939 --> 00:16:12.919 We've already been through all this. 00:16:12.980 --> 00:16:14.299 It's taken us a year and a half to do it. 00:16:14.679 --> 00:16:16.439 It's going to take us a year and a half to do it again. 00:16:16.500 --> 00:16:17.740 Just this morning, it feels like. 00:16:17.819 --> 00:16:18.819 This is the last one. 00:16:18.820 --> 00:16:22.200 Chapter 7, verse 5. 00:16:24.680 --> 00:16:26.740 The Pharisees and the scribes asked him, 00:16:27.980 --> 00:16:35.580 Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands? 00:16:36.020 --> 00:16:37.300 Now understand this question. 00:16:37.460 --> 00:16:38.260 What are they asking? 00:16:39.660 --> 00:16:43.500 Why aren't you and your disciples submitting to our authority? 00:16:44.120 --> 00:16:45.280 That's the question. 00:16:46.120 --> 00:16:48.560 They didn't ask him why they weren't obeying the word of God. 00:16:48.820 --> 00:16:49.500 Because they weren't. 00:16:50.760 --> 00:16:53.500 They wanted to know, why aren't you following our rules? 00:16:53.680 --> 00:16:54.680 And he said to them, 00:16:54.680 --> 00:16:59.400 Well, did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites? 00:17:00.620 --> 00:17:05.400 As it's written, this people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 00:17:05.920 --> 00:17:10.380 In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. 00:17:10.380 --> 00:17:16.800 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men, Jesus says. 00:17:16.799 --> 00:17:22.960 So we can see now how this issue of authority has been simmering for a long time. 00:17:24.059 --> 00:17:30.000 And Jesus is no longer that distant problem in the backwoods of the Galilean region. 00:17:30.119 --> 00:17:32.099 That's not what Jesus is anymore for these men. 00:17:32.099 --> 00:17:41.519 And the catalyst for this confrontation in chapter 11 was the praise-filled entry into Jerusalem, 00:17:41.519 --> 00:17:45.279 and then the subsequent clearing of the temple. 00:17:45.279 --> 00:17:50.720 And these men were coming to Jesus in the temple, and they were essentially asking him, 00:17:51.240 --> 00:17:57.920 Who or what gives you the right to teach these things and interfere with our lives? 00:17:58.599 --> 00:18:06.299 What gives you the right, Jesus, to tell us how we're supposed to run things here at the temple? 00:18:06.299 --> 00:18:11.500 And it's the same question that all of us have asked at some point, 00:18:11.539 --> 00:18:17.799 and maybe you're asking today, as you resist and rebel against Christ's authority in your life. 00:18:19.680 --> 00:18:25.240 What gives Jesus the right to tell me what to do with my life? 00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:33.200 What gives him the right to tell me who or when I can have a sexual relationship? 00:18:33.200 --> 00:18:38.920 What gives him the right to tell me what I should do with my money? 00:18:39.120 --> 00:18:44.580 What gives Jesus the right to tell me what I can do with my body? 00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:46.860 And so on and so forth are questions. 00:18:48.340 --> 00:18:52.539 What gives him the right to tell me how I should worship, 00:18:52.860 --> 00:18:56.319 and who I should worship with, and when I should worship? 00:18:56.779 --> 00:18:59.059 He's interfering with my life. 00:18:59.059 --> 00:19:05.899 The root of all these questions is very seldom a genuine curiosity. 00:19:06.679 --> 00:19:10.019 The root of these questions is unbelief. 00:19:11.299 --> 00:19:14.019 It's unbelief, and it's rebellion. 00:19:15.159 --> 00:19:19.720 We don't want anybody telling us what to do, even if it's God himself. 00:19:21.339 --> 00:19:23.399 And so it was with this delegation. 00:19:23.400 --> 00:19:27.380 They weren't genuinely seeking for an answer from Jesus. 00:19:27.580 --> 00:19:32.000 They were trying to issue this public challenge as a means to trap him. 00:19:32.860 --> 00:19:34.560 And the trap is this. 00:19:35.620 --> 00:19:40.019 They would have public justification for his execution, 00:19:40.380 --> 00:19:45.060 and they would preserve their own form of corrupt authority 00:19:45.060 --> 00:19:49.940 if they could just get Jesus to say the words out loud that they wanted him to say. 00:19:49.940 --> 00:19:53.320 This is all about political rhetoric for them now. 00:19:54.320 --> 00:19:55.019 Think about it. 00:19:56.200 --> 00:20:00.920 The authority that Jesus had demonstrated in his teaching and in his miracles 00:20:00.920 --> 00:20:03.980 could only come from one place. 00:20:04.560 --> 00:20:06.100 There is no question about that. 00:20:06.960 --> 00:20:08.340 The people knew that. 00:20:09.040 --> 00:20:11.100 These men in this delegation knew that. 00:20:11.840 --> 00:20:14.340 There's only one possible source for this, 00:20:14.580 --> 00:20:16.040 and that is God himself. 00:20:16.039 --> 00:20:24.099 But if they could just get him to attribute publicly his authority to God, 00:20:24.259 --> 00:20:28.519 they could then bring a charge of blasphemy against him, 00:20:28.639 --> 00:20:31.440 which was punishable by death. 00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:34.420 That's what they wanted him to say. 00:20:35.120 --> 00:20:37.259 They wanted him to say it out loud. 00:20:38.220 --> 00:20:43.039 And it's the very charge with which they condemned him later in the week 00:20:43.039 --> 00:20:46.620 when they sentenced him to death by the cross. 00:20:46.619 --> 00:20:48.879 And let's be honest. 00:20:51.179 --> 00:20:54.500 Their rebellion isn't really all that different from ours. 00:20:56.500 --> 00:20:58.439 We try to set the same traps, 00:20:58.819 --> 00:21:01.639 maybe not quite as blatantly as these men. 00:21:02.640 --> 00:21:04.580 You say, well, how am I setting a trap in this way? 00:21:05.860 --> 00:21:09.440 We set a trap when we diminish the word of God in our lives. 00:21:11.520 --> 00:21:14.180 We say, I don't have to listen to any kind of authority 00:21:14.180 --> 00:21:17.560 if I take the one source of authority that I have in the word of God 00:21:17.560 --> 00:21:19.520 and I just kind of cast it off to the side 00:21:19.520 --> 00:21:21.600 or if I change it to say what I want it to say. 00:21:22.440 --> 00:21:24.480 Or if I just ignore it or if I find a church 00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:26.280 that isn't going to deal with it like this 00:21:26.279 --> 00:21:29.819 and they're just going to try to help me be a better person in my life 00:21:29.819 --> 00:21:31.940 and we begin to diminish the word of God 00:21:31.940 --> 00:21:33.519 and the significance of the word of God. 00:21:33.779 --> 00:21:35.740 We begin to question the authority of it. 00:21:35.980 --> 00:21:38.000 We begin to question the inerrancy of it 00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:39.779 and we begin to question all these things. 00:21:39.879 --> 00:21:41.920 That's a way of us setting a trap to say, 00:21:42.000 --> 00:21:43.879 Jesus, you don't have any right over me. 00:21:45.339 --> 00:21:47.940 We set a trap when we cheapen our worship. 00:21:48.639 --> 00:21:50.599 We make our worship about us 00:21:50.599 --> 00:21:53.039 and what we can receive out of it. 00:21:53.079 --> 00:21:55.319 We become consumers by it 00:21:55.319 --> 00:21:56.319 and we choose our churches 00:21:56.319 --> 00:21:58.039 based on which one we like better 00:21:58.039 --> 00:22:00.740 when they're decorating their buildings 00:22:00.740 --> 00:22:02.779 and when they're gathering their bandmates 00:22:02.779 --> 00:22:03.939 and they're doing all their things 00:22:03.939 --> 00:22:05.439 and we cheapen our worship 00:22:05.439 --> 00:22:06.939 so that it's not about the Lord 00:22:06.939 --> 00:22:08.079 and we set this trap. 00:22:08.299 --> 00:22:11.379 It's all a trap to make us the God of our lives 00:22:11.379 --> 00:22:14.480 as opposed to submitting to the Lordship of Christ in our lives. 00:22:16.399 --> 00:22:19.399 We set this trap when we reject the community 00:22:19.399 --> 00:22:21.220 and the fellowship of the local church. 00:22:22.599 --> 00:22:24.039 We say, I'm fine with Jesus 00:22:24.039 --> 00:22:26.039 but I don't want any of his people telling me what to do. 00:22:27.119 --> 00:22:28.859 I don't need that kind of accountability. 00:22:29.079 --> 00:22:29.899 I belong to Jesus. 00:22:30.019 --> 00:22:31.359 I don't belong to anybody else. 00:22:32.379 --> 00:22:34.359 We become rogue agents ourselves. 00:22:35.059 --> 00:22:36.319 And what is that really all about? 00:22:36.680 --> 00:22:39.460 We're diminishing Christ's authority in our lives. 00:22:40.619 --> 00:22:42.039 We're setting the traps. 00:22:42.980 --> 00:22:44.299 We see his authority resisted. 00:22:44.379 --> 00:22:45.420 Number two in verse 29, 00:22:45.639 --> 00:22:48.079 we see his authority then revealed. 00:22:48.799 --> 00:22:50.079 His authority revealed. 00:22:50.079 --> 00:22:54.199 Now, you may be thinking, 00:22:54.839 --> 00:22:57.259 removed from the hard-hearted rebellion, 00:22:57.759 --> 00:23:00.220 this is actually a pretty good question. 00:23:01.799 --> 00:23:06.500 What is exactly the source of Jesus's authority? 00:23:06.500 --> 00:23:11.339 How can we trust that authority and know it? 00:23:11.720 --> 00:23:12.720 That's a good question. 00:23:13.099 --> 00:23:14.339 And it's one we need to answer. 00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:17.279 And the key to understanding his authority 00:23:17.279 --> 00:23:21.140 is to recognize his identity. 00:23:22.460 --> 00:23:25.900 The key to understanding Jesus's authority 00:23:25.900 --> 00:23:29.359 is to recognize his identity. 00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:33.619 And that is the essence of his answer to these men. 00:23:34.819 --> 00:23:36.000 And in a sense, 00:23:36.199 --> 00:23:38.139 he's setting a trap of his own here. 00:23:39.179 --> 00:23:40.479 The difference was, 00:23:40.879 --> 00:23:43.859 he wasn't trying to destroy these men by his trap. 00:23:44.259 --> 00:23:46.679 He was trying to lead them to truth. 00:23:47.119 --> 00:23:47.959 That's what's happening. 00:23:49.219 --> 00:23:50.979 At first, his answer may seem evasive, 00:23:51.179 --> 00:23:52.099 but it's not evasive. 00:23:52.319 --> 00:23:53.719 It's actually very revelatory. 00:23:54.879 --> 00:23:56.639 And using this wisdom 00:23:56.640 --> 00:23:59.020 that is characteristic of Jesus, 00:23:59.680 --> 00:24:01.560 he leads them on a path 00:24:01.560 --> 00:24:03.340 of understanding his identity 00:24:03.340 --> 00:24:06.800 so that they would open their eyes 00:24:06.800 --> 00:24:08.660 to his true authority. 00:24:10.080 --> 00:24:12.259 And if you have ears to hear this morning, 00:24:13.080 --> 00:24:15.540 you too can understand and believe this. 00:24:16.240 --> 00:24:17.200 Look at verse 29. 00:24:18.660 --> 00:24:19.900 Jesus said to them, 00:24:20.200 --> 00:24:21.800 I will ask you one question. 00:24:22.820 --> 00:24:23.960 Answer me and I'll tell you 00:24:23.960 --> 00:24:25.700 by what authority I do these things. 00:24:26.640 --> 00:24:30.020 Was the baptism of John from heaven 00:24:30.020 --> 00:24:31.840 or from man? 00:24:32.759 --> 00:24:33.620 Answer me. 00:24:35.360 --> 00:24:37.259 And they discussed it with one another, 00:24:37.900 --> 00:24:39.540 saying if we say from heaven, 00:24:40.620 --> 00:24:41.560 he will say, 00:24:42.460 --> 00:24:44.840 why then did you not believe him? 00:24:46.540 --> 00:24:48.340 But shall we say from man? 00:24:49.120 --> 00:24:50.340 They're afraid of the people. 00:24:51.240 --> 00:24:54.120 For they all held that John really was a prophet. 00:24:54.119 --> 00:24:56.439 So Jesus made a deal. 00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:00.359 If they would give him an honest answer 00:25:00.359 --> 00:25:01.539 to his question, 00:25:02.039 --> 00:25:05.279 he would give them a straightforward answer 00:25:05.279 --> 00:25:06.500 for theirs. 00:25:07.859 --> 00:25:09.359 And there's so much wisdom here 00:25:09.359 --> 00:25:10.179 in this response. 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:12.899 But part of the wisdom that we see here 00:25:12.899 --> 00:25:15.719 is that the right answer to his question 00:25:15.719 --> 00:25:20.000 is the right answer to their question. 00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:21.539 Do you see that? 00:25:23.279 --> 00:25:25.079 Jesus took their minds back 00:25:25.079 --> 00:25:26.339 three years 00:25:26.339 --> 00:25:28.299 to the ministry of John the Baptist. 00:25:29.559 --> 00:25:30.500 His question, 00:25:31.700 --> 00:25:33.180 was John's ministry 00:25:33.180 --> 00:25:34.940 ordained by God 00:25:34.940 --> 00:25:37.400 or contrived by man? 00:25:37.940 --> 00:25:38.900 So contrived by John, 00:25:38.940 --> 00:25:40.900 was it just John being a lunatic in the desert 00:25:40.900 --> 00:25:43.059 or was God actually doing something there? 00:25:43.859 --> 00:25:46.140 Was he commissioned by God for this task? 00:25:46.140 --> 00:25:48.280 Was what he said true? 00:25:49.520 --> 00:25:51.560 And we did a thorough study of this in chapter one. 00:25:52.120 --> 00:25:54.900 You can reflect back on that online if you'd like. 00:25:55.920 --> 00:25:58.759 The unique feature of John's ministry 00:25:58.759 --> 00:26:01.759 was his preaching of repentance from sin 00:26:01.759 --> 00:26:03.940 and then his baptism of those 00:26:03.940 --> 00:26:06.220 who would confess and believe that message. 00:26:06.380 --> 00:26:08.480 That's the unique feature of what John did, 00:26:08.560 --> 00:26:09.700 but it wasn't John's purpose. 00:26:10.480 --> 00:26:11.040 Remember? 00:26:11.040 --> 00:26:11.140 Remember? 00:26:11.140 --> 00:26:14.080 John's purpose 00:26:14.080 --> 00:26:18.160 was to be the forerunner of the Christ. 00:26:19.040 --> 00:26:21.900 His purpose was to proclaim 00:26:21.900 --> 00:26:25.540 that the Messiah has come. 00:26:26.520 --> 00:26:28.700 He was preparing the hearts of the people 00:26:28.700 --> 00:26:32.220 to be ready when that Messiah came. 00:26:33.440 --> 00:26:37.380 So God didn't send John to baptize people. 00:26:37.380 --> 00:26:41.800 God sent John to proclaim Jesus. 00:26:42.900 --> 00:26:45.080 And John's preaching and his baptism, 00:26:45.280 --> 00:26:46.940 they were signs of his identity, 00:26:47.120 --> 00:26:50.080 but his real purpose was to proclaim the Messiah. 00:26:50.700 --> 00:26:52.920 And even John had his own run-in 00:26:52.920 --> 00:26:55.600 with these authority figures in Israel. 00:26:56.000 --> 00:26:57.420 Flip over to John chapter one. 00:26:59.700 --> 00:27:01.300 Gospel of John chapter one. 00:27:02.600 --> 00:27:04.100 Let's look at a few verses here, 00:27:04.180 --> 00:27:06.760 beginning at verse 19. 00:27:08.120 --> 00:27:10.140 John chapter one in verse 19. 00:27:12.220 --> 00:27:13.400 This is important. 00:27:14.140 --> 00:27:15.280 Pay attention here, okay? 00:27:15.840 --> 00:27:17.300 John chapter one, verse 19. 00:27:21.180 --> 00:27:23.060 This is the testimony of John 00:27:23.060 --> 00:27:27.260 when the Jews sent priests and Levites 00:27:27.260 --> 00:27:29.360 from Jerusalem to ask him, 00:27:29.440 --> 00:27:30.320 who are you? 00:27:30.440 --> 00:27:31.640 That sounds familiar, doesn't it? 00:27:32.200 --> 00:27:34.400 There's a delegation coming from the leaders, 00:27:34.600 --> 00:27:35.720 and what are they asking? 00:27:35.720 --> 00:27:37.319 Who are you? 00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:39.339 And who gives you the right to do this? 00:27:40.299 --> 00:27:42.740 He confessed and did not deny, 00:27:43.200 --> 00:27:45.819 but confessed, I am not the Christ. 00:27:46.960 --> 00:27:49.180 And they asked him, what then? 00:27:49.500 --> 00:27:50.220 Are you Elijah? 00:27:51.120 --> 00:27:52.279 He said, I'm not. 00:27:52.779 --> 00:27:53.940 Are you the prophet? 00:27:54.480 --> 00:27:56.100 And he answered, no. 00:27:56.099 --> 00:27:59.079 So they said to them, who are you? 00:27:59.480 --> 00:28:01.679 We need to give an answer to those who sent us. 00:28:01.740 --> 00:28:03.259 What do you say about yourself? 00:28:03.579 --> 00:28:08.039 And he said, I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness. 00:28:08.619 --> 00:28:10.319 Make straight the way of the Lord, 00:28:10.399 --> 00:28:12.159 as the prophet Isaiah said. 00:28:13.319 --> 00:28:15.639 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees, 00:28:15.640 --> 00:28:18.740 and they asked him, then why are you baptizing 00:28:18.740 --> 00:28:22.720 if you are neither the Christ nor Elijah nor the prophet? 00:28:23.380 --> 00:28:26.480 And John answered them, I baptize with water. 00:28:26.940 --> 00:28:30.060 There is no real significance to my water baptism, 00:28:30.280 --> 00:28:34.520 but among you stands one you do not know. 00:28:35.400 --> 00:28:37.620 Even he who comes after me, 00:28:37.880 --> 00:28:41.820 the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie. 00:28:41.819 --> 00:28:45.000 And these things took place in Bethany across the Jordan 00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:46.559 where John was baptizing. 00:28:46.980 --> 00:28:50.119 And the next day, he saw Jesus coming toward him, 00:28:50.240 --> 00:28:53.079 and he said, behold, the Lamb of God 00:28:53.079 --> 00:28:55.159 who takes away the sin of the world. 00:28:55.859 --> 00:28:59.000 This is he of whom I said, after me 00:28:59.000 --> 00:29:01.480 comes a man who ranks before me 00:29:01.480 --> 00:29:03.619 because he was before me. 00:29:04.539 --> 00:29:06.059 I myself did not know him, 00:29:06.319 --> 00:29:09.839 but for this purpose, I came baptizing with water 00:29:09.839 --> 00:29:13.119 that he might be revealed to Israel. 00:29:14.079 --> 00:29:15.099 And John bore witness. 00:29:15.359 --> 00:29:18.119 I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, 00:29:18.240 --> 00:29:19.419 and it remained on him. 00:29:19.599 --> 00:29:21.339 I myself did not know him, 00:29:21.439 --> 00:29:24.439 but he who sent me to baptize with water said, 00:29:25.159 --> 00:29:28.099 he on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain. 00:29:28.759 --> 00:29:32.000 This is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. 00:29:32.720 --> 00:29:35.319 And I have seen and have borne witness, 00:29:35.319 --> 00:29:39.480 John said, that this is the Son of God. 00:29:40.839 --> 00:29:44.359 You see, what is John's purpose? 00:29:45.000 --> 00:29:46.699 Not to baptize people in the river. 00:29:47.439 --> 00:29:51.859 His purpose was not to baptize the population in the Jordan. 00:29:52.199 --> 00:29:55.799 His purpose was to introduce the nation to its Savior. 00:29:56.720 --> 00:29:58.419 And the people were convinced 00:29:58.419 --> 00:30:00.459 of the validity of John's ministry. 00:30:00.740 --> 00:30:03.339 But notice how Mark emphasized 00:30:03.339 --> 00:30:05.679 what the focus of their thoughts were. 00:30:06.319 --> 00:30:08.500 Look back at Mark chapter 11. 00:30:08.500 --> 00:30:11.740 Why were they afraid of the people? 00:30:12.140 --> 00:30:16.240 For all the people held that John really was a what? 00:30:17.240 --> 00:30:18.299 A prophet. 00:30:19.900 --> 00:30:22.539 When the people thought about John, 00:30:22.660 --> 00:30:25.859 they didn't think about a preacher of repentance first. 00:30:26.240 --> 00:30:29.420 They didn't think about a baptizer first. 00:30:29.559 --> 00:30:32.200 They thought prophet first. 00:30:32.200 --> 00:30:34.620 And what was the nature of John's prophecy? 00:30:35.480 --> 00:30:37.000 Jesus is the Christ. 00:30:37.960 --> 00:30:39.720 Jesus is the Son of God. 00:30:40.480 --> 00:30:44.420 It's he that has come to redeem us and to save us. 00:30:44.500 --> 00:30:49.319 He is the Lamb of God slain for the sins of the world. 00:30:49.319 --> 00:30:49.379 God. 00:30:55.599 --> 00:30:58.859 To acknowledge the authority of John's ministry 00:30:58.859 --> 00:31:05.439 was to recognize the supreme authority of Jesus. 00:31:05.440 --> 00:31:10.860 Do you see why this was so wise of Jesus? 00:31:12.799 --> 00:31:14.940 He wasn't seeking to destroy these men. 00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:17.019 He's leading them to truth here. 00:31:18.360 --> 00:31:21.320 Guys, think about John for a second, he says. 00:31:22.820 --> 00:31:24.700 Did he make all that stuff up? 00:31:25.180 --> 00:31:26.380 Or was that from God? 00:31:26.380 --> 00:31:30.800 If they would just answer him honestly, 00:31:31.100 --> 00:31:33.060 they would have the very answer 00:31:33.060 --> 00:31:35.200 that they came to him looking for. 00:31:35.860 --> 00:31:37.760 Because as Sinclair Ferguson said, 00:31:38.280 --> 00:31:41.420 to acknowledge that John's baptism was God-ordained 00:31:41.420 --> 00:31:45.420 would be to confess that Jesus was the Christ. 00:31:47.200 --> 00:31:50.140 And Jesus' question puts these men in a difficult position. 00:31:51.280 --> 00:31:53.160 Should they affirm John's ministry? 00:31:53.160 --> 00:31:57.300 They would have to admit what they suspected was true of Jesus. 00:31:58.259 --> 00:32:01.259 They'd have to admit that Jesus actually did have this authority. 00:32:02.980 --> 00:32:05.759 But if they blatantly denied John's baptism, 00:32:06.300 --> 00:32:09.779 they set themselves in opposition to the general public. 00:32:10.840 --> 00:32:12.080 Luke's account said they were worried 00:32:12.080 --> 00:32:13.420 the people were going to stone them 00:32:13.420 --> 00:32:16.380 because the people would have seen this 00:32:16.380 --> 00:32:19.300 as rejecting one's sin from God, 00:32:19.300 --> 00:32:21.820 which was in itself blasphemy 00:32:21.819 --> 00:32:23.460 and worthy of death. 00:32:24.279 --> 00:32:26.039 So they couldn't just say no. 00:32:26.720 --> 00:32:28.079 They couldn't say from man. 00:32:31.220 --> 00:32:33.899 Do you see how Jesus' response here 00:32:33.899 --> 00:32:36.899 was intended to reveal his authority? 00:32:39.579 --> 00:32:42.339 Just as Jesus did for those hard-hearted men, 00:32:43.200 --> 00:32:46.740 he has given us all the truth that we need 00:32:46.740 --> 00:32:48.480 to believe and follow him. 00:32:48.480 --> 00:32:54.980 All the evidence of Jesus' identity and authority and grace 00:32:54.980 --> 00:32:58.079 is provided for us in the pages of the Bible. 00:32:58.779 --> 00:33:02.660 And his right to govern, control, 00:33:03.200 --> 00:33:05.799 and exercise dominion in our lives 00:33:05.799 --> 00:33:08.279 is found in the fact of his identity, 00:33:08.279 --> 00:33:12.140 that he indeed is the Son of God. 00:33:12.140 --> 00:33:15.780 Although the authority of the Sanhedrin 00:33:15.780 --> 00:33:17.140 was derived from man, 00:33:17.700 --> 00:33:21.340 Jesus' supreme authority comes from his very nature. 00:33:21.680 --> 00:33:24.660 The fact that Jesus is God. 00:33:25.620 --> 00:33:27.880 He is your creator. 00:33:28.280 --> 00:33:29.240 And if you're a believer, 00:33:29.600 --> 00:33:31.380 he's also your redeemer. 00:33:31.640 --> 00:33:33.340 No matter how you look at this, 00:33:33.400 --> 00:33:34.800 no matter how you shake it up, 00:33:34.920 --> 00:33:37.520 the only solution when you come to Jesus 00:33:37.519 --> 00:33:41.539 is to at least recognize that he is Lord. 00:33:42.259 --> 00:33:43.740 And who are we? 00:33:44.180 --> 00:33:46.960 Who are we to look at the Lord 00:33:46.960 --> 00:33:50.539 and say, don't tell me what to do? 00:33:51.440 --> 00:33:54.500 Who are we to look at our creator and say, 00:33:54.639 --> 00:33:57.079 who gave you the right to tell me 00:33:57.079 --> 00:33:59.940 who I can sleep with and who I can't sleep with? 00:34:00.059 --> 00:34:02.299 Who gave you the right to tell me 00:34:02.299 --> 00:34:03.539 when I need to go to church 00:34:03.539 --> 00:34:05.440 and how involved I need to be with my church? 00:34:05.579 --> 00:34:07.759 Who gave you the right to tell me 00:34:07.759 --> 00:34:09.039 how to live my life? 00:34:09.039 --> 00:34:13.059 He has that right by sure essence of his very nature 00:34:13.059 --> 00:34:16.759 and who he is as God and creator and redeemer. 00:34:16.900 --> 00:34:19.860 No matter what you do, he is Lord. 00:34:21.699 --> 00:34:26.920 And his identity demands our faith and obedience. 00:34:27.880 --> 00:34:29.380 And how do the men respond here? 00:34:30.139 --> 00:34:30.940 Verse 33. 00:34:30.940 --> 00:34:31.059 33. 00:34:32.800 --> 00:34:34.119 They huddled. 00:34:34.300 --> 00:34:36.700 This must have been humorous to the disciples, right? 00:34:37.099 --> 00:34:38.179 Jesus asked this question. 00:34:38.260 --> 00:34:39.159 They can't just answer it. 00:34:39.179 --> 00:34:41.559 They got to get their huddle together over here. 00:34:41.900 --> 00:34:43.119 And they have this discussion. 00:34:44.400 --> 00:34:45.679 And they break from their huddle. 00:34:45.760 --> 00:34:47.440 They're supposed to be the smartest men in Israel. 00:34:48.380 --> 00:34:49.519 And here's what they say. 00:34:51.900 --> 00:34:52.720 We don't know. 00:34:54.300 --> 00:34:55.119 We don't know. 00:34:56.380 --> 00:34:57.720 Which was actually a lie. 00:34:58.720 --> 00:34:59.579 They did know. 00:34:59.579 --> 00:35:01.679 They did know. 00:35:02.679 --> 00:35:05.619 In reality, it wasn't Jesus being evasive here. 00:35:06.079 --> 00:35:08.139 It's these men being evasive. 00:35:08.699 --> 00:35:10.819 They're taking the political approach. 00:35:12.519 --> 00:35:13.199 Edwards said, 00:35:13.199 --> 00:35:14.339 So they answer, 00:35:14.439 --> 00:35:15.059 We don't know. 00:35:15.139 --> 00:35:17.319 That, of course, is not entirely true. 00:35:18.139 --> 00:35:21.519 They certainly have some suspicions about who Jesus is. 00:35:21.639 --> 00:35:26.439 And they might learn more if they enter into honest dialogue with him. 00:35:26.839 --> 00:35:31.419 In reality, they are unwilling to know. 00:35:31.420 --> 00:35:33.519 They're unwilling to know. 00:35:33.519 --> 00:35:34.680 They're unwilling to know. 00:35:35.420 --> 00:35:40.920 And so Jesus exposes their corruption and the hardness of their hearts. 00:35:42.059 --> 00:35:44.059 It made up their mind about Jesus. 00:35:44.960 --> 00:35:48.059 And their unwillingness to know was concrete. 00:35:48.059 --> 00:35:51.539 He gave them everything that they needed. 00:35:52.820 --> 00:35:55.019 He gave them everything they needed to believe. 00:35:55.400 --> 00:35:56.619 To follow him. 00:35:56.980 --> 00:35:58.440 To have eternal life. 00:35:58.679 --> 00:36:00.980 And they still rejected him. 00:36:01.159 --> 00:36:02.980 Not because they were ignorant. 00:36:03.500 --> 00:36:05.159 But because they were hardened. 00:36:05.159 --> 00:36:08.579 Kind of like the husband. 00:36:09.339 --> 00:36:09.779 That says, 00:36:09.899 --> 00:36:11.179 I know this is better for me. 00:36:11.699 --> 00:36:13.980 But because you decided to move my clothes. 00:36:14.179 --> 00:36:15.219 I don't like it. 00:36:15.980 --> 00:36:17.519 And I'm going to reject it. 00:36:19.819 --> 00:36:21.440 And I have to ask you this question. 00:36:22.940 --> 00:36:25.679 Are you unwilling to know? 00:36:28.619 --> 00:36:31.460 Have you so hardened your heart? 00:36:31.460 --> 00:36:38.300 That no amount of truth will ever convince you to surrender your life to him? 00:36:40.500 --> 00:36:48.559 Are you so hardened that you can stare truth in the face and still call it a lie? 00:36:51.659 --> 00:36:54.039 Finally, we see authority rendered. 00:36:54.980 --> 00:36:55.539 Rendered. 00:36:56.679 --> 00:36:57.720 Verse 33. 00:36:59.880 --> 00:37:01.099 Jesus said to them, 00:37:01.460 --> 00:37:06.840 Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. 00:37:09.300 --> 00:37:11.500 So Jesus not only reveals his authority. 00:37:11.639 --> 00:37:14.940 He acts in that authority in this moment. 00:37:16.079 --> 00:37:19.260 This is not a concluding statement merely. 00:37:19.880 --> 00:37:21.840 This is a statement of judgment. 00:37:24.019 --> 00:37:25.659 When Jesus responds, 00:37:26.760 --> 00:37:28.000 then I'm not going to tell you. 00:37:28.000 --> 00:37:31.840 That's not Jesus' way of getting out of it. 00:37:32.239 --> 00:37:35.219 Because he clearly continues the conversation in chapter 12. 00:37:35.320 --> 00:37:36.219 We're going to get there next week. 00:37:36.219 --> 00:37:37.219 This is Jesus saying, 00:37:37.219 --> 00:37:39.339 This is Jesus saying, 00:37:39.339 --> 00:37:44.719 I'm not going to tell you as a way of judgment. 00:37:44.719 --> 00:37:45.719 It's the same judgment. 00:37:45.719 --> 00:37:49.859 It's the same judgment Jesus referred to in chapter 4. 00:37:50.099 --> 00:37:51.939 Remember that chapter on the parables. 00:37:52.559 --> 00:37:55.159 Here's what Jesus said in verse 24. 00:37:55.159 --> 00:37:56.159 You say, 00:37:56.159 --> 00:38:22.799 Why is Jesus getting at it there? 00:38:22.800 --> 00:38:25.420 He has given us his truth. 00:38:26.019 --> 00:38:27.680 And as a form of judgment, 00:38:27.680 --> 00:38:29.500 When we reject that truth, 00:38:29.640 --> 00:38:34.320 He removes that opportunity to respond to that truth. 00:38:35.120 --> 00:38:36.800 That's what Jesus is teaching. 00:38:37.580 --> 00:38:43.340 And it's what he's acting out in chapter 11 with these men. 00:38:43.340 --> 00:38:47.120 He provides all the truth that we need. 00:38:49.120 --> 00:38:51.559 When we reject it with a hardened heart, 00:38:52.300 --> 00:38:53.200 eventually, 00:38:53.740 --> 00:38:57.960 He takes away even what He had given us. 00:38:59.220 --> 00:39:04.660 He takes away the potential for understanding that leads to faith. 00:39:05.380 --> 00:39:08.559 This is why the writer of Hebrews quoted that psalm so often. 00:39:08.559 --> 00:39:09.179 Today, 00:39:09.340 --> 00:39:10.380 If you hear His voice, 00:39:10.719 --> 00:39:11.920 Harden not your heart. 00:39:16.079 --> 00:39:24.799 Only a fool thinks that he has the rest of his life to respond to Jesus' call of salvation. 00:39:24.800 --> 00:39:31.980 If you don't answer when your heart hears His voice, 00:39:32.180 --> 00:39:35.180 You may never hear it call again. 00:39:37.760 --> 00:39:39.700 And we get in our minds sometimes, 00:39:40.420 --> 00:39:40.720 Well, 00:39:41.160 --> 00:39:42.840 I can do that later. 00:39:43.260 --> 00:39:44.580 I can deal with that later. 00:39:44.780 --> 00:39:47.080 You might not be able to deal with that later. 00:39:47.080 --> 00:39:47.180 But, 00:39:47.180 --> 00:39:53.340 He's a gracious Savior for all who believe. 00:39:54.800 --> 00:39:58.140 But He's a righteous judge for all who refuse Him. 00:39:59.039 --> 00:40:00.780 And His judgment is swift. 00:40:01.480 --> 00:40:03.980 And it may come sooner than what you expect. 00:40:05.860 --> 00:40:07.400 Yesterday afternoon, 00:40:07.519 --> 00:40:08.080 Sitting with Wanda, 00:40:08.160 --> 00:40:09.019 Her sister was there. 00:40:10.360 --> 00:40:13.280 And she was telling us about when she was saved. 00:40:14.580 --> 00:40:16.380 She was saved as a teenager. 00:40:16.640 --> 00:40:17.300 And she said, 00:40:17.920 --> 00:40:19.380 She said, 00:40:19.380 --> 00:40:22.519 I was in church and I made many professions of faith. 00:40:22.519 --> 00:40:26.739 And nothing was ever any different in my life. 00:40:26.820 --> 00:40:27.480 There was nothing, 00:40:27.980 --> 00:40:29.039 No surrender. 00:40:29.280 --> 00:40:31.840 There's no lordship of Jesus. 00:40:31.840 --> 00:40:36.119 It's just these professions of faith and acknowledgement of facts about Jesus. 00:40:36.239 --> 00:40:36.639 And she said, 00:40:36.679 --> 00:40:39.219 I did this over and over as a young person growing up. 00:40:39.320 --> 00:40:40.320 And over and over, 00:40:40.380 --> 00:40:41.219 It was the same thing. 00:40:41.219 --> 00:40:42.139 And she said, 00:40:42.179 --> 00:40:44.219 I was sitting in a church service one day. 00:40:44.279 --> 00:40:44.659 And she said, 00:40:44.679 --> 00:40:45.919 The Lord was working on my heart. 00:40:46.079 --> 00:40:46.439 And it just, 00:40:46.759 --> 00:40:48.500 It was like He was telling me. 00:40:50.059 --> 00:40:50.579 She said, 00:40:50.639 --> 00:40:50.959 It was like, 00:40:51.079 --> 00:40:51.739 Marianne was her name. 00:40:51.779 --> 00:40:52.079 She said, 00:40:52.119 --> 00:40:53.819 It was like He was telling me. 00:40:54.199 --> 00:40:56.219 If you don't do this now, 00:40:56.299 --> 00:40:57.879 If you don't respond to me now, 00:40:57.939 --> 00:40:59.379 I'm never calling you again. 00:40:59.380 --> 00:41:01.700 And she said, 00:41:02.000 --> 00:41:04.660 I knew I was going to grow to be an old woman. 00:41:05.820 --> 00:41:06.539 And she said, 00:41:06.599 --> 00:41:11.860 And I knew if I didn't figure out what this issue was in this moment, 00:41:12.059 --> 00:41:12.500 She said, 00:41:12.579 --> 00:41:12.920 I just, 00:41:13.019 --> 00:41:14.760 It was impressed upon my heart. 00:41:14.820 --> 00:41:16.300 And she believes by the Holy Spirit. 00:41:16.400 --> 00:41:16.720 She said, 00:41:16.840 --> 00:41:20.559 It was impressed upon my heart that I was never going to respond to it again. 00:41:20.599 --> 00:41:22.740 I was never going to hear that call again. 00:41:22.739 --> 00:41:23.199 And she said, 00:41:23.259 --> 00:41:24.699 She went to the altar that night. 00:41:25.659 --> 00:41:26.939 I think it was a Sunday night. 00:41:27.059 --> 00:41:28.699 She went to the altar and she was praying. 00:41:28.779 --> 00:41:30.579 And she went through all the things she always did. 00:41:31.519 --> 00:41:32.639 She went through the confession. 00:41:32.739 --> 00:41:34.579 She tried to think of every sin she'd ever committed. 00:41:34.699 --> 00:41:35.439 And she was thinking, 00:41:35.759 --> 00:41:35.899 Well, 00:41:36.019 --> 00:41:39.859 God will just save me if I say the right sins that I've done. 00:41:40.019 --> 00:41:41.839 And then it hits her as she's praying. 00:41:42.019 --> 00:41:42.579 As a young person, 00:41:42.639 --> 00:41:43.000 She says, 00:41:43.659 --> 00:41:44.039 She says, 00:41:44.079 --> 00:41:45.339 How can I do this? 00:41:45.779 --> 00:41:48.119 If I can't even remember all the sins I've committed. 00:41:49.699 --> 00:41:51.599 And so she starts going through the other things. 00:41:51.599 --> 00:41:54.139 And saying all the magical prayers that she had been taught to say. 00:41:54.199 --> 00:41:55.339 As she was growing up in church. 00:41:55.500 --> 00:41:56.639 And she couldn't remember. 00:41:56.759 --> 00:41:57.659 And no matter what she did, 00:41:57.679 --> 00:41:59.299 She battled spiritually. 00:41:59.440 --> 00:42:01.920 There on the altar in a church on that night. 00:42:02.079 --> 00:42:05.819 She was battling over and over with this dynamic of she's praying. 00:42:05.960 --> 00:42:06.900 And she's confessing. 00:42:06.960 --> 00:42:07.739 And she's doing these things. 00:42:07.860 --> 00:42:09.039 But she has no peace. 00:42:09.299 --> 00:42:10.179 And she said, 00:42:10.179 --> 00:42:13.460 It's like the Holy Spirit just in that moment finally says, 00:42:13.900 --> 00:42:15.380 You can't do anything. 00:42:16.819 --> 00:42:18.199 You can't do anything. 00:42:18.319 --> 00:42:19.380 And she said in that moment, 00:42:19.460 --> 00:42:20.019 I just said, 00:42:20.079 --> 00:42:20.239 Lord, 00:42:20.319 --> 00:42:21.279 Just have mercy. 00:42:22.119 --> 00:42:23.619 Just have mercy on me. 00:42:23.759 --> 00:42:27.059 And she said it was like this peace that she had never experienced before. 00:42:27.159 --> 00:42:28.500 And finally in that moment, 00:42:28.639 --> 00:42:32.799 She had experienced what she believed was her conversion in that moment. 00:42:33.199 --> 00:42:35.519 And I was struck as she was recalling this. 00:42:35.639 --> 00:42:38.940 And listened to her speak after that about the growth. 00:42:38.940 --> 00:42:41.079 And the understanding that she has of the word of God now. 00:42:41.199 --> 00:42:42.619 And I was struck by the fact, 00:42:42.960 --> 00:42:43.980 In studying this passage, 00:42:44.319 --> 00:42:47.599 That's exactly what Jesus was doing with these men. 00:42:47.960 --> 00:42:48.719 Answer me men. 00:42:48.719 --> 00:42:49.779 And this is your chance. 00:42:49.859 --> 00:42:50.899 This is your chance. 00:42:50.899 --> 00:42:52.239 If you don't take your chance, 00:42:52.279 --> 00:42:53.299 You'll never get another. 00:42:54.179 --> 00:42:57.219 And I don't know what it was that made her feel that way that night. 00:42:57.359 --> 00:42:58.799 I tend to believe with her, 00:42:59.000 --> 00:43:01.219 It was the Holy Spirit working on her heart that night. 00:43:01.219 --> 00:43:04.059 And he might be working on your heart today too. 00:43:04.379 --> 00:43:05.199 Finally saying, 00:43:05.319 --> 00:43:05.500 Listen, 00:43:05.679 --> 00:43:06.899 Stop with all the stuff. 00:43:06.959 --> 00:43:07.539 I'm calling. 00:43:07.739 --> 00:43:09.019 I'm calling you now. 00:43:09.179 --> 00:43:10.639 I'm calling your heart now. 00:43:10.899 --> 00:43:12.339 I'm not going to call again. 00:43:12.599 --> 00:43:13.939 You better answer now. 00:43:13.940 --> 00:43:18.940 Because if we keep pushing and we keep rejecting and we keep denying, 00:43:19.099 --> 00:43:20.780 Eventually he stops calling. 00:43:21.079 --> 00:43:22.119 And if he doesn't call, 00:43:22.360 --> 00:43:23.420 You can't come. 00:43:27.900 --> 00:43:30.079 Jesus' authority and conclusion 00:43:30.079 --> 00:43:35.240 Is ultimately proven in his resurrection. 00:43:37.880 --> 00:43:40.960 We can study it out in his identity and we can see all of those things. 00:43:41.039 --> 00:43:42.679 But what ultimately is the proof? 00:43:43.940 --> 00:43:45.519 His resurrection. 00:43:46.559 --> 00:43:48.860 We know that he's the Messiah. 00:43:49.380 --> 00:43:51.500 We know that he's the Son of God. 00:43:51.619 --> 00:43:54.960 Because only he has conquered death. 00:43:55.440 --> 00:44:01.500 Proving that he has excusia over death itself. 00:44:01.800 --> 00:44:05.700 Which means he has excusia over life. 00:44:06.240 --> 00:44:10.280 Which means only he can give life to you. 00:44:11.400 --> 00:44:13.500 It's amazing what we can learn at Easter. 00:44:14.940 --> 00:44:16.079 What is it about? 00:44:16.559 --> 00:44:17.619 His resurrection. 00:44:17.619 --> 00:44:20.940 John chapter 10. 00:44:21.940 --> 00:44:22.500 Jesus said, 00:44:22.639 --> 00:44:24.199 For this reason the Father loves me. 00:44:24.400 --> 00:44:27.380 Because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 00:44:27.679 --> 00:44:29.099 No one takes it from me. 00:44:29.739 --> 00:44:31.519 I lay it down of my own accord. 00:44:32.019 --> 00:44:34.119 I have, get this, it's amazing. 00:44:34.319 --> 00:44:34.619 Get this. 00:44:34.839 --> 00:44:37.819 I have excusia to lay it down. 00:44:37.820 --> 00:44:42.559 And I have excusia to take it up again. 00:44:43.380 --> 00:44:45.519 This charge I've received from my Father. 00:44:45.680 --> 00:44:46.440 What's Jesus saying? 00:44:46.660 --> 00:44:48.900 It's not that I just have the power to resurrect. 00:44:49.220 --> 00:44:51.760 I have the right to resurrect. 00:44:51.760 --> 00:44:54.220 Because I control life and death. 00:44:54.220 --> 00:44:56.180 Acts chapter 2. 00:44:56.540 --> 00:44:59.180 Peter in this sermon on the day of Pentecost. 00:44:59.580 --> 00:45:03.540 This Jesus delivered up to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. 00:45:03.940 --> 00:45:04.720 You crucified. 00:45:04.719 --> 00:45:07.419 You killed by the hands of lawless men. 00:45:07.739 --> 00:45:09.339 God raised him up. 00:45:09.899 --> 00:45:11.779 Loosing the pangs of death. 00:45:11.980 --> 00:45:16.480 Because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 00:45:16.919 --> 00:45:20.879 Why wasn't it possible for Jesus to be held by death? 00:45:20.980 --> 00:45:24.219 Because Jesus has authority over death. 00:45:24.419 --> 00:45:26.419 How does he have authority over death? 00:45:26.659 --> 00:45:27.919 Because he's God. 00:45:28.939 --> 00:45:30.099 He's God. 00:45:30.099 --> 00:45:32.900 Why does he have right over my life? 00:45:33.139 --> 00:45:34.440 Because he's God. 00:45:36.079 --> 00:45:39.099 And this itself demands our faith. 00:45:40.500 --> 00:45:41.599 Believe him. 00:45:42.599 --> 00:45:45.000 And it demands our obedience. 00:45:46.360 --> 00:45:48.039 Follow him. 00:45:50.139 --> 00:45:58.940 When we come to him, we acknowledge that he is savior and Lord. 00:46:00.099 --> 00:46:06.339 And all who come to him are welcomed with open arms. 00:46:07.159 --> 00:46:11.739 And they're granted all the benefits that his authority provides. 00:46:13.179 --> 00:46:14.659 Reconciliation with God. 00:46:16.039 --> 00:46:17.980 Forgiveness of sin. 00:46:19.460 --> 00:46:20.900 Eternal life. 00:46:22.940 --> 00:46:23.480 Peace. 00:46:25.380 --> 00:46:25.960 Rest. 00:46:27.799 --> 00:46:28.460 Love. 00:46:28.460 --> 00:46:28.659 Love. 00:46:30.099 --> 00:46:30.619 Love. 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:30.619 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:37.940 but those who faithfully follow him also bow to his lordship 00:46:37.940 --> 00:46:50.380 there's no question that jesus is the lord the question is is he your lord