Sermon -- 19th Sunday after Pentecost (October 4, 2026)

FAITH SUBMITS TO DIVINE AUTHORITY.

MATTHEW 21:23-32 

In the name + of Jesus.

     “When Jesus went into the temple courts, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him while he was teaching and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things?’ and ‘Who gave you this authority’” (Matthew 21:23)?  You might consider the question they posed to Jesus to be highly insulting.  It might benefit you to learn more about who the Pharisees were and how they originated.

     About 200 years prior to this Gospel reading, the Jews faced intense persecution from Greek officials.  They were trying to get everyone to adopt Greek customs and worship.  The Jews were commanded to abandon the covenant.  Those who abandoned the covenant for Greek ways were rewarded handsomely.  Those who remained faithful were punished, forced into hiding, or killed.  After this persecution had subsided, a group of people took the lead in seeing to it that the Jews remained faithful to the covenant.  These ended up being the Pharisees.

     The intention of the Pharisees was noble.  But eventually, they began to add to God’s commands.  This was supposed to ensure that people would keep the Law.  For example, the Lord had decreed, “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not permit anyone who misuses his name to escape unpunished” (Exodus 20:7).  To ensure that no one would ever misuse the name of the Lord, they stopped using it altogether.  The tradition ended up violating God’s word, because the Lord does want us to call upon his name.  These are the kinds of traditions the Pharisees enforced, but those traditions went beyond God’s word.  Jesus did not go beyond God’s word, but he did violate their invented traditions.  This is one of the reasons they despised Jesus so much.

     The priests and Pharisees demanded of Jesus: “‘By what authority are you doing these things?’ and ‘Who gave you this authority’” (Matthew 21:23)?  As the religious leaders of Israel, they had a legitimate interest in defending the truth and exposing error.  So, their questions were valid.  Unfortunately, they were not interested in honest answers; and Jesus knew it.  He had hoped to enlighten them to see that the authority that rules men’s lives is not man-made traditions, even if they are well-intentioned.  The only true authority over us is God’s word.  So, in hopes to see the priests and the Pharisees submit to divine authority, Jesus reframed the conversation.

     Jesus answered them, “I will also ask you one question.  If you answer it, I will tell you by what authority I do these things.  The baptism of John, where was it from?  From heaven or from men” (Matthew 21:24-25)?  Jesus wanted them to recognize divine authority so that they would repent and submit to it.  So, Jesus asked them if John was a voice of divine authority.  Was John’s baptism from God, or was John a fraud who deserved the execution he had received?  If these men truly cared about the covenant, they should either approve of John’s baptism or condemn it.

     I imagine the scene was almost comical.  Jesus addressed them with a simple either/or question.  Either John acted with divine authority—meaning that Jesus also acted and spoke with divine authority—or he did not.  Matthew noted, “They discussed it among themselves” (Matthew 21:25).  I wonder how long they kicked this around.  The priests and Pharisees huddled together, whispering how they might answer.  They weighed their options.  “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’  But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the crowd, since they all regard John as a prophet” (Matthew 21:25-26).  Jesus and the crowd in the temple were watching them, waiting for their answer.  In the end, all they cared about was how they looked before the people.  Since neither answer made them look good, “they answered Jesus, ‘We do not know’” (Matthew 21:27). 

     Their answer was cowardly and worthy of scorn.  They were asked to make a confession, and they would not.  They revealed the stubbornness of their own hearts and would not submit to divine authority.  The reason?  They insisted that they were the ones who possessed authority.  They called the shots.  They decided between true and false.  They were the judges of all others.  They took pride in their own morality and looked down on anyone who failed to measure up to their traditions.  They refused to bend to any other authority—not to the prophet whom God sent nor to God himself in the flesh.

     This is typical of the sinful heart.  St. Paul wrote, “The mind-set of the sinful flesh is hostile to God, since it does not submit to God’s law, and in fact, it cannot” (Romans 8:7).  We, too, find divine authority offensive when God’s word makes our lives inconvenient.  God tells us the right thing to do, but the right thing to do is usually the hard thing to do.  If a young man were to get his girlfriend pregnant, they both find that their lives are going to be much harder.  What would be easiest?  For the young man, it would be to leave the girl.  Then he could avoid taking any responsibility for his actions.  This is easier, but it is reprehensible.  For the young girl, she may decide to kill her unborn child at an abortion clinic.  Then she would not have to endure questions, shame, or what pregnancy would do to her body.  That, too, would be reprehensible.  And for many, in the end, psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually it is not easier.  For each to bear responsibility for their actions would be a hard thing, but it would certainly be the right thing.

     Usually, our choices are not that extreme.  But we will still choose what is easier over what is right.  We tell a biased account of the story because the truth would make us look bad.  We avoid responsibilities at home or at work because we would rather scroll on our phone.  We fantasize about made-up relationships rather than work on the ones we actually have.  We would rather do nothing than the hard thing, even if we know it’s the right thing.  We have it on God’s authority what we should do.  But the sinful heart denies God’s authority.  We prefer our own.  Repent. 

     Jesus told a parable.  “What do you think?  A man had two sons.  He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in my vineyard.’  He answered, ‘I will not,’ but later he changed his mind and went.  He came to the second and said the same thing.  The second son answered, ‘I will go, sir,’ but he did not go.  Which of the two did the will of his father?”  They said to him, “The first” (Matthew 21:28-31). 

     The second son said all the right words.  He was commanded to go, and he said he would.  He appeared to be the polite, dutiful son.  But he proved that just saying the right words does not make someone obedient.  The second son dishonored his father when his actions denied his words.  The first son seemed utterly disrespectful to his father.  His blunt refusal should have earned him punishment.  But there was a change of heart.  He repented of his disobedience and did what he was commanded to do.  He submitted to the authority of his father.

     Jesus told this parable to warn the Pharisees and us that we are not saved by pretty words.  A wicked heart knows how to lie—saying what sounds good with no intention of doing it.  The heart which submits to divine authority will not only say the right thing, it will strive to do it.  Jesus warned the Pharisees: “The tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.  For John came to you in the way of righteousness, but you did not believe him.  However, the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him.  Even when you saw this, you did not change your mind and believe him” (Matthew 21:31-32).  Unbelief will not submit to divine authority.  No matter how nice they seem, people who do not believe will be condemned.  But faith submits to divine authority.

     When John the Baptist called the crowds to repent, many heard the divine invitation to flee from sin and to be received back into God’s care.  Through John, the Holy Spirit stirred up faith, and that faith submitted to divine authority.  Even those with warped morals—tax collectors and prostitutes—turned from their wicked ways.  They were baptized by John and committed themselves to the paths of righteousness. 

     It is no different for you.  Faith submits to divine authority.  We submit ourselves to the knowledge that we have pitted our agendas against God’s, that we have judged ourselves according to our egos rather than God’s word.  We submit ourselves to the admission that we have earned God’s righteous judgment against us.  We submit ourselves to the understanding that if we are to be found righteous, that righteousness will not come from within us.  It must come from outside of us.

     The Lord Jesus Christ proved himself the perfectly obedient Son of the Father.  When God the Father sent his Son to make himself a sin offering, the Son told his Father, “I will, sir.”  The Son submitted to the authority of his Father, taking up our sin and laying down his life as the sacrifice that atones for us all.  As Jesus was laying down his life—dying under God’s curse so that sinners could live under God’s blessing—he submitted himself to the will of his Father, saying, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46)!  And because the Father was pleased with his Son’s perfect obedience and willing sacrifice, he raised him from the dead and gave him glory and authority over all things.

     Now, Jesus lives and reigns over all things.  He is the judge who pardons you from all your guilt and punishment.  Faith submits to divine authority and receives Jesus’ pardon.   Jesus has crushed the devil and silences all his accusations against you.  Faith submits to this divine authority and heeds the comforting words of Jesus over the taunting of Satan.  Jesus has overcome the grave and promises “Everyone who … believes in [me] may have eternal life.  And I will raise him up on the Last Day” (John 6:40).  Faith trusts this divine authority so that we shall not fear death and the grave.  Jesus will come and raise us to an eternal and glorious life. 

     Faith submits to divine authority.  We submit to the divine words which save us.  We submit to the divine words which guide us on the paths of righteousness.  Just as Jesus supplies the righteousness we need to be saved, so also he works in us the desire to do the right things.  Faith submits to this, benefits from it, and rejoices in it.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.