Matthew 21:23……..Working

Matthew 21:23……..Working

21:23 Jesus entered the temple courts, (Solomon’s colonnade/porch in the outer Temple courts where Rabbis would teach having their pupils around them) and, while he was teaching, (and proclaiming the Gospel.-(Luke 20:1) the chief priests and the elders of the people (Religious authorities making up the Sanhedrin) came to him. (Suggests used as an opportunity to humiliate and discredit Jesus.) “By what authority (Divine credentials. What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this-(John 2:18) are you doing these things?”(i.e. Jesus’ riding into Jerusalem on a donkey as king. Jesus’ cleansing of the temple and driving everyone out) they asked. “And who gave you this authority? (Having their authority undercut and their lucrative enterprise upended it’s not surprising that the religious leaders were upset and wanted to know who gave Jesus this authority. Was not a serious question, but a trap to discredit Jesus. That if Jesus acknowledged His authority came from God, they could accuse Him of blasphemy. Or if He answered His authority was His own, they would make Him look like a fanatic and heretic, losing His influence with the people.)

Continued From Book

“Calls for asking does our profession in the authority of Christ match up with our life and practice.” ⇒ It’s easy to say I recognize Christ’s sovereign rule & reign in heaven, but how does that play out in your personal life. if you’ve confessed Christ as Lord & Savior know where should that show up any better than in your own life. It will show up in making Church a priority of one’s life. It will show up in reading and studying God’s Word daily. Skipping Church for sports activities and sleep is good indication that Jesus is not really a priority in one’s life. Our stated belief minus our actual practice equals our real belief.

“Even today, those who feel their way of life threatened will resist Christ. One of the greatest hindrances in coming to Jesus is that nobody likes being told that what their doing is sinful. We don’t want to accept what the Bible says about immorality because it would mean that we have to change our ways. We don’t like the idea of repentance because it requires that we confess were going in the wrong direction..” ⇒  We don’t like the command to obey our parents because we don’t like what they are saying. We don’t’ like the command to go to church because we have other things we want to do on Sunday. We don’t like the command to let go of bitterness because we have become quite comfortable nursing our grudges.

Additional Notes and Applications

Warns against thinking we know better than God in how to run our own lives, only to end up paying the price later on.

Ww often get upset when people get the attention we want for ourselves.

Calls for not allowing our lack of education and credentials keeps us from teaching and sharing the Gospel.

Warns against thinking we can escape our accountability by claiming ignorance.

Teaches how those who do not want Christ to reign over them will call into question His divine authority and credentials.

A similar example of the kind of predicament the religious leaders put to Jesus would be if someone were to ask “Have you stopped beating your wife yet?”  If you answered “no” you would be admitting guilt, if you answered “yes”, you confessed that you had at one time. Either way you respond your caught in your own answer.

This is not teaching that we can’t bring our sincere questions to God. But rather is warning against assuming the position of judge over God, or playing the victim. That somehow God owes us an explanation for the predicament were in and all the things we’re going through.

This is not saying that questioning all authority is bad. It is actually a good question! We should want to know the authority behind truth assertions. This is especially true in the spiritual realm. People make wild statements about the meaning of life, the character of God, or the will of God and we tend to take it as true. We are right to ask, “Where do you find this in the Bible?” In other words, we want to know the basis of their statements. Are they quoting God’s word or the word of men . . . it makes a difference. We need to ask this question of everyone. Even as Pastors we need to safeguard the church against heresy. In order that untruth does not work its way into the church. It’s part of our job to question people who want to share, that what their teaching theologically and doctrinally sound. .

Solomon’s Colonnade /Porch