Good Morning Friends,
The word “authority” has many applications. A person who is an expert in a particular subject area is called an authority. Another word for government at various levels is authorities. Some are authorities in religion. Others are moral authorities who act out a sense of violations of their moral views. One could see Jesus acting in such a manner when he drives the merchants and moneychangers out of the Temple. He acted out of a sense of moral outrage. But there is more to the authority of Jesus than being a religious leader, a moral philosopher or being a social justice warrior. He is the judge of all things. I doubt very seriously that we understand what God considers reasonable and just in this regard, that Jesus died for our sins. It is hard to grasp the will of God. We are never really impartial. With this in mind we contemplate today’s passage from the prophet Ezekiel, the parable of the two sons from Matthew and a letter from Paul to the Philippians where he pulls it all together, or at least gives it a shot. Regardless we are left with a question that we have to answer for ourselves. So, Will We Honor The Authority Of Jesus To Judge What Is Fair In God’s Eyes?
Yet you say, “The way of the Lord is unfair.” Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way unfair? Is it not your ways that are unfair? When the righteous turn away from their righteousness and commit iniquity, they shall die for it; for the iniquity that they have committed they shall die. Again, when the wicked turn away from the wickedness they have committed and do what is lawful and right, they shall save their life. Because they considered and turned away from all the transgressions that they had committed, they shall surely live; they shall not die.
Ezekiel 18:25-28 (NRSV)
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 his 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.
Matthew 21:23-32 (NRSV)
If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:1-11 (NRSV)
Message: Today’s gospel passage reminds me of the story of the Prodigal Son. Both have an inside story that could be interpreted as a direct challenge to the Pharisees in their formalism and to the Sadducees in their pretended devotion to the Temple. Jesus had after all overturned the tables in the Temple. He was confronting them with their shortcomings. The priests understood that their authority was not recognized by many in Israel. The Essenes were outraged that during the previous short-lived independence when they were ruled by Jewish kings that the King had misappropriated the right to be High Priest as well, something which was forbidden by the Torah. The Pharisees also were outraged by the corruption of Judaism by the Sadducees and priests in Jerusalem. They exercised their authority in the villages and the synagogues. There was also a challenge to the priest’s authority by the Roman government who ruled over the area. They had to be sure not to offend them. The authority of the Priests was in crisis. What Jesus had done in cleansing the Temple would have been wildly popular among various factions of the Jews. The Sadducees needed to confront the authority of Jesus. But they could not say who had given John the Baptist authority to baptize without revealing their hypocrisy. It all points to righteous conduct in the form of repentance and love that God the Father is seeking in us. And that relates to our passage from Ezekiel, for it is about repentance too. Here the setting is during the Babylonian captivity and the people were complaining because they felt they were being punished not for their own sins but for the sins of their fathers. The prophet points out that they do not understand what is fair and unfair from God’s perspective and are sinners in their own right and need to repent if they want to survive. And that is a message for all of us for all time. It is not about who is nicest or who is pleasant to be around but about who follows the will of God for their lives. It is about responding to the call of the Holy Spirit. In all three passages we have to confront the issue of who has authority. The questions being raised is who has authority in Babylon to save those in captivity, who has authority in the Temple of God to set the means of worship and who on the street corners of both heaven and earth has authority to bring salvation. Sounds relevant to our times. The answer is Jesus as Paul makes clear in his letter to the Philippians. Perspective matters here and we are to have the mind of Christ if we hope to get it right.
And So, we are to realize that Christianity appeals to our reason and to our emotions and the fires in our dormant souls but that it is not enough to repent unless we do something about the love we have been given. Typically, we vow obedience but find it too hard to do today and though we have pledged our response to Christ we wait to respond. The promise of Christianity is that we need not be slaves to an insolent past but that in Christ might not only repent but then do something about the forgiveness we have been given. Paul is giving us the path to becoming like Our Lord Jesus Christ so we will more likely do the will of God. We have to put on the mind of Jesus, each of us having the same love for God and for each other that Christ did. The worldly person is always scrambling for himself or herself, not caring a flip about what happens to others on our way to money or glory or power. Yes, we can look to our own interests, but we are always to be keeping in mind what others need. Our comforts, our pleasures cannot infringe on the rights of others, especially the helpless, to life, freedom, and adequate shelter and food. You see, the real crisis of authority is centered in the person of Jesus Himself. There are so many who abuse the authority of Jesus. Jesus told the disciples in Matthew 28 that all authority in heaven and earth had been given to Him. Whether the authorities know it or not, they have no authority which does not derive from Him. This means He is to be obeyed. This is especially true within the church who claims to be His disciples. He calls all to repentance and acceptance of His authority. Thankfully, the One who has authority over all is merciful and will receive all who will come to Him in faith. This is the only way out of the final crisis. We must believe that He is who He says He is and will do as He says He will do.
Pray we realize that Jesus is the judge. Pray therefore that we repent. Pray we are thankful for what Jesus has made possible for us. Pray that in appreciation we become heralds of a New Kingdom. Pray we realize that what we consider fair and what God considers fair may not be the same. Pray we realize that we do not always understand what is really reasonable in God’s eyes. Pray we have the mind of Christ when it comes to glorifying God. Pray we realize that God reigns now with power. Pray we love others. Pray we honor Christ’s authority to rule in our hearts. Pray we honor the authority of the Father as faithful children of God.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 