Listen here.
Welcome to Devotions for Worship where we meditate on the
appointed Scripture readings for the upcoming Sunday. I am Pastor Eric Tritten
from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Hudson, OH. Thank you for being with me
today.
This coming Sunday is the 17th Sunday after
Pentecost. Because the Gospel lesson drives the theme for the week, I have
begun using the Gospel reading for our first devotional time of the week. A
little context will be helpful to understand this lesson. Last week our Gospel
reading came from Matthew 20:1-16; the Laborers in the Vineyard. We’re skipping
over the third time Jesus foretold his death, James and John’s mother
requesting special places for her sons in Jesus’ kingdom, the healing of two
blind men, Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the cleansing of the temple,
and the cursing of the fig tree. So the question that will be asked in the
reading, “By what authority are you doing these things?” relates directly to
the driving out of those who were selling in the temple and Jesus’ entry into
Jerusalem.
The Reading: Matthew 21:23-27(28-32) - 23 And
when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came
up to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing
these things, and who gave you this authority?" 24 Jesus
answered them, "I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the
answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25
The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?" And
they discussed it among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he
will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?' 26 But if we
say, 'From man,' we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was 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 do these things.
28
"What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said,
'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' 29 And he answered, 'I
will not,' but afterward he changed his mind and went. 30 And he
went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, 'I go, sir,' but did
not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?" They
said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, the
tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before 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 when you saw
it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him. (Matt. 21:23-32
ESV)
Comments
Authority and obedience are topics that are still very
relevant today. In general there is a lot of disregard for authority,
especially in the United States. We rather prefer individual autonomy; that is
we like to decide for ourselves what we will do or not, what we think or
believe, what is right or wrong. In so doing we, in a very real way, become a
law unto ourselves.
Now, there are many areas of life that individual autonomy
is absolutely fine. We are perfectly free to pursue the career that we like,
read literature that interests us, dress the way we want, eat or not eat as we
choose, and much more. But there are other aspects of life in which we are in
no way free to be a law unto ourselves, especially in areas of our faith.
Deciding what is right or wrong in most cases really relies on God’s
identification of sinful behaviors. What we believe about Jesus, the Bible, sin
and grace, and God’s salvation are not issues up for grabs.
The elders and chief priests were people who had authority –
religiously speaking they were the authorities for people in Jesus’
day. However, their authority had gone to their heads. They felt that they were
the arbiters of truth. They no longer heeded the words of the prophets, which
would have helped them know that Jesus was the Messiah who had come to save his
people from their sins.
Jesus recognized that they would not submit to his authority
… yet … one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the
Christ, but not yet. So he turns the tables on his questioners by asking them
about the authority of John the Baptist, knowing he would corner them to either
openly rejecting John, a politically dangerous thing to do, or recognizing John
(and Jesus) had come from God, leaving them open to criticism for not
believing.
This encounter moves into the Parable of the Two Sons in
which one son refuses to work and then goes, and another who says he’ll work
but then doesn’t. The first, “did the will of his father.” By using this
comparison, Jesus exposes the elders as those who say they obey God, but in
reality they reject the promised Messiah, and the tax-collectors and
prostitutes (lowly sinners in the eyes of the priests) disobey initially, but
believe in the one God sent leading them into obedience.
God means for us to hear his Word, believe it, and do what
he says. This is especially true when it comes to how we know Him and how we
receive his salvation. Both are expressly through Jesus. God’s desire is that
we would believe in Jesus and receive his forgiveness and salvation freely
through faith, although it cost Jesus much suffering and his very life.
Prayers
Lord Jesus, you confronted the elders and chief priests with
their disobedience to you when they questioned you about your authority. You
are the Lord of Heaven and Earth, the Creator of all things, and we certainly
owe you complete obedience. We, however, have not been obedient. We sometimes
ignore your word, blatantly disobey it, or even disagree with it. Nevertheless,
it is the Father’s will that we sinners would find mercy and forgiveness in
your suffering, death, and resurrection. Thank you for being obedient to your
Father and coming to rescue us from sin and death. Out of joy for your
salvation, help us to obey your Word – especially the Word that teaches us to
trust in you for our salvation. Amen.
Thank you so much for using Devotions for Worship, I pray
that our time together has blessed you and given you something to meditate on –
some reminder of God’s grace to rattle around in your brain – for the rest of
the day.
One of the things we can do to help us meditate on God’s
word is to memorize it. This week’s verse comes from our Old Testament lesson
this week.
Memory Verse: Psalm 25:5 - Lead me in your truth and teach
me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. (Ps.
25:5 ESV)
Would you do me a favor? If you got something out of this
devotional time, would you like and/or share it on Facebook, Twitter, or
wherever you do social media? That would help me get the word out, and
hopefully help these devotions be a blessing to others.
God bless you!
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