A Matter of Authority

In Nomine Iesu
St. Matthew 21:23-27
October 1, 2017
Proper 21A

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus~
An intruder entered our house this past Monday morning—unwelcomed, uninvited, unannounced. It was our own fault, I suppose, for not locking the back door. I have to tell you, it was, frankly, a little bit scary. My wife was the one who discovered him as he was ripping insulation out of our walls. He seemed to have a bit of a personality disorder, the way he obsessed over our electrical wiring, dickered with our ductwork, and pondered our plumbing.

Well, long story short, it turns out that this intruder was the village building inspector, just doing his job—trying to find faults on a molecular level with our kitchen remodeling job. This man had the authority—authority to enter our house. He had the authority to stick his little flashlight into every crack, crevice, and floor joist in the parsonage. Now, if anybody else had walked into our kitchen on a Monday morning and started doing what he was doing, we would have called in a few squads of Whitefish Bay’s finest. But the village building inspector—he had full authority to do what he was doing.

“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you the authority?” That was the question that the Chief Priests and the elders posed to Jesus in this morning’s holy gospel. They were challenging His authority. Who did Jesus think He was? He had just ridden into Jerusalem like some kind of Messiah—with palm branches and “hosannas” lining His path. From there He had marched into the temple as if He owned the place—like some kind of religious building inspector, turning the tables of the money changers, putting pigeons to flight, and referring to the temple as “His” house (which was supposed to be a house of prayer). Where did Jesus get the authority to do these things?

As you’ve probably figured out by now, the word of the day is “authority.” We often confuse authority with power. You can exert your power—you can make a power play—even when you have no authority. But authority is always a matter of permission—permission granted by someone greater to say and do certain things. The President is authorized by the voters to act as the chief executive officer of the nation. Our judges are authorized to try cases.

My authority is indicated by the stole I wear. When I forgive sins in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I do so in the stead, by the command, and under the authority of my Lord Jesus Christ. He has authorized me to absolve repentant sinners. He approves of it. He delights in it. He recognizes it. He stands behind it. He gives this special authority to forgive sins to the church; and when you called me to be your pastor, you authorized me to exercise that authority publicly on your behalf. Authority is a big deal.

And for some time now in Matthew’s gospel, the religious superstars of Jerusalem had noticed that their authority was slipping away. First it was John the Baptist who had drawn crowds of thousands, and had referred to the religious elites as a brood of vipers. And then, Jesus came along. He taught the people as one who had authority in Himself—who had no need to sprinkle His sermons with quotes from other rabbis. What’s more, Jesus demonstrated His authority—healing the sick, casting out demons, stilling storms, walking on water, raising the dead. Only someone authorized by God could do such things.

By the time Palm Sunday rolled around, there was no one in Jerusalem who hadn’t heard about the astounding authority of Jesus. Today’s challenge to Jesus’ authority happened during holy week—just days before Jesus would die on the cross and rise again. It was late in the season—almost time for the playoffs. Jesus’ authority had been on the table for nearly three years, going back to when He was baptized by John, and the Spirit descended, and the Father declared, “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.” Authority granted.

But the religious establishment would have none of it. As the authority of Jesus increased, their authority shriveled and shrank down to nothing. Their questioning of Jesus’ authority was a last ditch attempt to trap Him—to make Him stumble—to make Him say something that could and would be used against Him in a court of law. As usual, Jesus turned the tables on them, requiring them to give a “thumbs up” or a “thumbs down” on the baptizing John had done. It was a question they couldn’t and wouldn’t answer—and their authority sank to new levels of shrinkage.

There’s no middle ground where the authority of Jesus is concerned. Either He is the Son of God or He isn’t. Either His Word is the truth or it isn’t. Either all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him or it hasn’t. And you would think that, among baptized believers, the authority of Jesus would not be up for debate. After all, we recognize His authority. We honor His authority—at least, when it suits us, and when it agrees with our savvy sensibilities.

The sad truth is that our sinful nature delights in chipping away at the authority of Jesus—carving out a few exceptions to the Law—looking for some loophole which will allow us to live as we please—to subtly shrink the authority of Jesus down to a more manageable size.

How easy it would be, for instance, to jump on the LGTBQ bandwagon—to align ourselves with celebrities and professional athletes—to have praises rain down upon us for re-defining marriage and human sexuality—to encourage people to choose their own sex regardless of the body God has given—to concede that the concept having both a mother and a father has gone the way of phone booths and dial-up modems.

Sex and marriage aren’t topics that appear in our text today. But sex and marriage—just like life and death—fall under the authority of Jesus. Homosexuality and transgenderism are two culturally approved ways to negate Jesus—to neutralize Jesus—to amputate His authority in your life. No human being has the authority to redefine marriage; because marriage rests on the authority of Jesus—who said, “for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife; and the two shall be one; and what God has joined together let not man separate.” No human being has the authority to do away with fathers and mothers—and, ultimately, the family. No human being has the authority to reject the body God has given—be that body male or female.

These things don’t represent a new kind of freedom, or even a loving approach to life. These things are an assault on the authority of Jesus—the author of life and the Savior of sinners. And when we begin to think that we know better than Him—or that we can just work our way through the faith “cafeteria style,” picking and choosing what we like and leaving behind what we don’t like, we are ultimately rejecting Jesus and rejecting His authority.

Beloved in the Lord, we need to repent. We need to turn back to Jesus and confess that all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him (and not to us). We need to return to the font of Holy Baptism, where Jesus used His authority to wash us and cleanse us and claim us for Himself. We need to return to the regular hearing of God’s Words and promises; for Jesus says that those who hear the Word of God and keep it are blessed. We need to return to the Supper of Jesus’ body and blood, to find strength and forgiveness to live as lights in this dark world—to light the way for others who are lost and confused.

Life under the authority of Jesus is never easy. Doubts and temptations and fears will still find you. But you can know this for a certain fact: Jesus Christ died for you, rose for you, reigns for you over heaven and earth, and is working all things for your eternal good. Nothing in this life can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus. God has claimed you as His own in your Baptism. He has justified you in Jesus, His Son, whom He sent with divine authority to love you, to be your Savior, and to take away the sin of the world. He is authorized by His Father to save you; and He has done it.

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