I want to start with this observation. The Greek philosopher, Socrates, was a man who taught for forty years. His disciple Plato, also a great Greek philosopher, taught for fifty years. And then his disciple Aristotle taught for another forty years as well. But there's another teacher by the name of Jesus of Nazareth who for only three and a half years taught.
Yet arguably, the influence of Jesus' ministry outweighs the impact left by the combined years of these greatest of philosophers. Jesus painted no pictures, yet some of the finest artists in the world, Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, were inspired by him. Jesus wrote no poetry, but Dante, Milton, Morrison, and scores of the world's greatest poets were also moved by him. Jesus composed no music.
Still, Haydn, Haendel, Beethoven, Bach, and Mendelssohn reached the heights of musical perfection in the music they composed in his praise. Jesus did not rule a nation. He was not a CEO of a company, yet governments and corporations, even in the stuff that I learned last year in the MBA, used his teachings on love and respect as core values within their institutions. He was no businessman, however. It seems that almost every sphere of humanity has been touched by this humble carpenter of Nazareth.
But how is it that a man with such a humble background could bring about so much influence in three and a half years of ministry, of teaching? Did he come with a forceful picketing and a soapbox proclamation? It doesn't seem as though people were forced to listen to him, and yet people came from far and wide to listen to him speak. Were his teachings attractive to the ear? Were they alluring to the heart?
Did they stroke the ego of his listeners? Did he promote personal wealth and easy living? Did he incite perhaps rebellion against the Roman overlords that ruled over him and his people? No. He spoke about paying your taxes to the authorities.
He spoke about being a good citizen. He spoke about choosing to live a sacrificial, down to earth lifestyle. Nothing too prosperous or easygoing about his teachings. And what were his motives? Did he teach for prestige?
Did he claim some sort of status hoping to gain powerful friends along the way that could make him rich? No, he said of himself that he had no real home. That he survived on the hospitality of strangers and friends alike, and indeed it seems as though none of these scenarios explains why he had so much influence. This morning we're going to look at a moment in this three and a half year ministry, where Jesus was questioned about his motives and why he did what he did and what authority he had to be saying the things that he said. You'll know that as a person who teaches, you must have some authority, whether that is an institutional authority that you are the teacher of a grade three class or whatever that's been placed on you, or whether that is an authority that you gain because of your inherent knowledge or expertise.
You must have some authority behind you. To be a teacher means that you are an expert or a well informed individual within your respective field, and the passage we look at this moment is a moment where people ask this very question of Jesus. And so if you're a Christian, it is worthwhile asking ourselves, why do we follow the words of Jesus? Why do we follow Jesus? And if you're not a Christian, or you're sceptical about it, you need to establish whether his authority is something that is real.
It is critical to establish his authority if you are to take Jesus seriously. So let's have a turn to Mark 11, and we're going to read from verses 27-33. Mark 11:27. They, who is Jesus and his disciples, arrived again in Jerusalem. And while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders came to him.
By what authority are you doing these things? They asked. And who gave you authority to do this? Jesus replied, I will ask you one question. Answer me and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
John's baptism. Was it from heaven or from men? Tell me. They discussed it among themselves and said, if we say from heaven, he will ask, then why didn't you believe him? But if we say from men, well, they feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.
So they answered Jesus, we don't know. Jesus said, neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. Now that might feel like a bit of a wet blanket. It doesn't lead anywhere, does it? But as we'll see, there's actually significant truth being communicated here.
We see Jesus being interrogated by the Sanhedrin, by the collective religious teachers, elders of his time. And the issue they raise is concerning his authority. You see the leaders, religious leaders of that time had the authority themselves, had the power themselves to call so-called prophets to an account concerning what they had been saying or preaching. And so they came to Jesus. The Bible says Mark 11 says, when Jesus was walking in the temple.
Verse 27, as Jesus was walking in the temple courts. Now New Testament scholars say that this walking in the temple is not simply having a stroll. What Jesus was doing was teaching, and the rabbinical tradition of that time was a rabbi would be literally followed by people as he walked and taught. The temple courts, the great piazzas that they had designed were built for this very thing, massive, and there would have been groups scattered all about and rabbis doing laps around the courts teaching. So when it says that Jesus was walking in the temple, it wasn't that he was somehow lost or whatever.
Jesus was teaching in the temple. And so we imagine this image of Jesus teaching people, whether they were directly his followers or people that had just come to the temple to worship God, Jesus teaching people. And so these leaders are perplexed, and they come up to Jesus, and they see him being followed, and they listen to what he has to say, and they ask him this question. What authority do you have to say these things? What authority do you come with to be able to explain things in this way?
Have a look at how it unfolds, however. Firstly, see how they designed to run Jesus aground and to embarrass him with this question in front of his followers. They didn't take him aside. They accused him as he's speaking. If the religious leaders could make it plain to the people that he didn't have a legitimate mission, that he wasn't ordained by God or at least by some institution.
Even though he spoke with wisdom, even though he spoke with great intellect and knowledge, if they could prove that he wasn't legitimate, they could tell the people that they should not listen to him. And we know from the story of the gospels that there was an agenda here. They were resolved not to receive his teaching. They were resolved not to accept what he had to say, so they were determined to find some flaw with this authority. And they would have liked to have concluded that what he said was invalid and untrue.
Why was that? Why didn't they want to accept his teaching? Because it meant that they had to change. It meant that they had to change. It was uncomfortable what Jesus was teaching.
Teaching. Because Jesus commanded not only them, but every person listening to him that they were to lose friends. They were to lose status. They were to lose even wealth because Jesus demanded some radical things from those who accepted his teaching. He demanded a radical turning to God and faith.
Jesus demanded a radical lifestyle change. And perhaps most troubling, Jesus demanded people follow him. So they designed this question to run Jesus aground, to trip him up. Who gave you permission to teach these things? What are your credentials?
Where is your degree? This morning, we may be wrestling with the question of Jesus' authority over our lives. I am convicted about this today. And you may not have realised that until this very moment because, well, you're a Christian and Christians follow Jesus. But don't be surprised if you realise you aren't following him the way that you should be.
Because his teaching, friends, is hard. His teaching takes discipline. His teaching takes ongoing commitment. And so this morning, I asked this question, is there something we know that he wants us to do? A way that he wants us to live, and yet we are struggling to do it?
We might be tempted to look for some flaws in his wisdom. To see that, well, maybe he is asking me to sacrifice in this area, but we look for a little clause. Oh, wait. My finances are mine, isn't it? Yet Jesus said, it is better to give than to receive.
I'm wrestling with anger and impatience, but Jesus said, blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called sons of God. We question the authority of Jesus over our life, yet he demands that we deny ourselves, that we take up the cross and follow him. Yet we might find ourselves throwing out red herrings like these Pharisees and teachers of the law were to try and undermine, to try and cast attention away from what Jesus was directly commanding them. Well, let's see what Jesus' response to this red herring is. We see Jesus turning the whole situation on its head.
He puts a question back on them. He says, what are your thoughts regarding the baptism of John? Was it from heaven or from men? In other words, what authority do you think that John had to come and preach, to teach, to baptise people into this new way, to gather disciples? Now at first glance, we might think that this question is another attempt to dodge, that he is not wanting to answer, so he sort of does what a politician does and answers with another question, or just blames it on labour or something like that.
We see Jesus, in fact, brilliantly answering the question by asking a question. Now we have to go back a little bit and understand again the rabbinical tradition, the way that rabbis, the Jewish teachers would talk to one another, have these intellectual jousts with one another. For example, one rabbi might say to another, what is two plus two? And instead of saying four, that rabbi might say, what is the square root of 16? And in this way, without answering the question directly, in fact, posing another question whose answer would answer both, the second rabbi shows that he is fully aware of the correct answer.
By putting this question back to them, he asked them to go right back to the origin of Jesus' ministry. Or rather, should I say, right back to John the Baptist who prepared Jesus' ministry. John the Baptist began to get the soil ready for the people of God where Jesus would come, and where he would bring a new thing, a new teaching, something that was revolutionary. John was preaching a message of repentance, getting people's hearts ready, getting people's focus back on God, and John was preparing this way for Jesus' words to sink powerfully into the hearts and the minds of people. And so Jesus is saying, listen guys, the problem here isn't my authority.
The problem here is your stubbornness and your pride. Even when John was around, you were rejecting his preaching and you asked him the same questions. Where is your authority, John? And so Jesus is saying that the problem here is not with the person of Jesus, but with his message. Jesus and John were two different people but they preached the same message.
They preached the kingdom of God coming. A message that demanded change. A message that changed lives. But we see in the Gospel of John 1:19, that they asked John the same question. This is what it says, John 1:19, when the Jews of Jerusalem, meaning the religious teachers, when they sent priests and Levites to ask John who he was, what is your authority?
John did not fail to confess but confessed freely, I am not the Christ. But they were questioning John. Now, so Jesus, what was the result of your inquiries about this man? What were the results of your inquiries about John? But now they stuck because John had been murdered and he was murdered because he preached against the Jewish king and he demanded of the Jewish king a change of lifestyle in face of the kingdom of God.
The Pharisees are in a predicament because if they say the baptism and the teaching of John was from heaven as it was, they would shame themselves because Jesus would then say, why didn't you repent? Why didn't you get ready for the coming of the Messiah? Why didn't you believe him and receive his baptism as a sign that his teaching was true? And they couldn't bear this. This would have been absolutely and utterly devastating to their pride.
But if they say on the other hand, this baptism comes from man, in other words, it wasn't sent from God, then his teaching and his baptisms were inventions of his own. And if they said this, they would totally expose themselves to be completely, spiritually bankrupt. To be totally oblivious to the spiritual needs of the people that they were meant to be leading. And in fact, the people, as they were having this conversation, may have really hurt them then and there if they had said this, because everyone received the teaching of John the Baptist. And so now Jesus brings them to this dilemma.
Firstly, they were completely flabbergasted and baffled and therefore, they were forced to make a dishonourable retreat and say, we don't know. And even this was already a massive blow to their egos, but it was better than being killed or losing their comfortable lives by accepting Christ. And then the second thing is that Jesus comes off with honour and respect for his wisdom. He proves himself to be the rabbi of rabbis. Jesus is then justified in refusing to give them an answer to their arrogant demand.
Well Jesus says, if you can't answer me, then neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. Jesus is saying, you don't deserve to be told. Because it's plain that you aren't searching for the truth. You were looking for some sort of victory in debate. And he didn't tell them because his works, he had performed right in front of their eyes over and over and over again, had shown them plainly that he had authority from the divine.
He had authority from God because no man could do these miracles unless God was with them. And I want us to come back to Jesus again this morning because I want to ask this question of all of us. What do we make about the message of Jesus? This may be the first time you hear the story of Jesus. You may be very new to church or you may have been sitting in church for a long time.
It doesn't matter. When we are faced with this question, everyone is on the same playing field. What do you make of Jesus this morning? What authority did Jesus have that you can claim to be his follower? If you follow a teacher, you follow them because they have some authority.
We've already said that, right? If you claim to be a Christian, you follow Jesus. But by what authority do you profess to be a Christian? Maybe you've never thought about it that way. You may have experienced that internal struggle that the religious leaders felt when they asked Jesus the same question.
You may feel that frustration of wanting to believe this morning. Wanting to believe, but at the same time, fighting to keep your head down. Resisting the person of Jesus and the tug that he has on your heart. The late C. S.
Lewis, author and Christian writer, wrote in his book, Mere Christianity, that we cannot remain neutral to Jesus. You have to make a choice with Jesus. You have to do something with him and his message. This is what Lewis writes. He says, I try to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about him.
That I am ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say, Lewis says. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things that Jesus said, for example, I forgive your sins, he would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic on a level with a man who says that he is a poached egg, or he would be the devil of hell himself. You must make your choice.
Either this man was and is the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him, you can kill him as a demon, or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about him being a great human teacher because he has not left that option open to us, and he did not intend to. Friends, I don't think we need more authority if the gospel accounts are true. If we believe what has been written about Jesus, and I stake my life on it, and many, many intelligent, far more intelligent people and scholars do so as well.
If what happened in those in the gospel accounts are true, it points to someone beyond this world. It points to something divine. But it's what Jesus would do right at the end of this three and a half year ministry that clinches it for everyone who calls himself a Christ follower. And it happened at the end of Jesus' earthly ministry that decided it for his disciples too. You see, it was only a matter of days from this event in Mark 11 that Jesus would be publicly beaten and crucified.
Jesus would be dead in only a few days time. At the time, it seemed like this arrogant rebel who had preached a new world order had now received his just desserts. Where is his authority now? Where is the god who says, who he claimed to be the son of, where would this god be if he let him die? Why does his father in heaven, so called, not perform a miracle and cause him to climb down from that cross?
But once again, we see Jesus having the last say. Once again, Jesus turns everything on its head. Sure, God taking him off the cross would have been a miracle. But what is more impressive, friends, saving a man's life or bringing him back from the dead? And what is more powerful, securing the health and the well-being of one good man or rescuing the whole world full of despicable, God hating people like us.
And what is more amazing? A man who loudly yells in the streets that he is God in order to gain followers or a God who humbly and quietly became man to teach people and to ultimately serve them by dying. Love him or hate him, Jesus will force you to have an opinion of him. You can question his authority. You can question his motives.
You can question his authenticity, but you cannot ever remain neutral. While some people may try to shut him up by calling him a liar, some people may try to ignore him by labelling him a lunatic, today you are called to call him Lord. Either his death was a meaningless and pitiful end to an ordinary life or it was a profoundly meaningful and priceless crowning event for the one who now stands as the king of the universe. Colossians 1:15-20. By him and through him all things were made and those things were bought back by his blood shed on the cross.
The Bible says that we will one day see him when he comes back in a moment where every eye will see and every tongue will confess, profess, and recognise whether that be in trembling regret or ecstatic joy that yes, he is who he claimed he was. This morning, I want us to take a moment to consider again what his call is on our lives. Before anything else in life, we are called to be his disciples. Before we get confused by other teachings, before we get bogged down by theologies, we are called to simply follow Jesus and his words. If you do not know Jesus as the king of your life, or if you've wandered away from him, recognise this morning that he came to earth for you.
That he lived and he died for you to be not only your saviour but to be your king. To be your Lord. And search your heart this morning. Search for it because I believe you will find your heart yearning for a saviour. Yearning for this to be true.
And if you're a Christian this morning and you know where your hope lies, let me encourage you this morning to give Christ more authority over your life than you are currently giving Him. Get rid of whatever distracts, whatever interferes with the life of glory that He demands of you because He deserves it. Give Him all of yourself because Jesus, friends, has authority over all of your life. Amen. Let's pray.
Lord Jesus, we confess that we so inconsistently follow You. We forget Your words, we forget Your teaching, we sometimes if we're honest, just want to ignore it. Lord, You called us to make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that You have commanded, yet we fail. Lord, You said, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled and we fail to hunger for that. Lord, we are called to forsake lives of bitterness and to pray for our enemies, and we really struggle with that.
But these are all things that You have taught us to do. To be. To desire. To strive for. So Lord, we do ask forgiveness this morning again.
We ask Lord that You will receive this forgiveness with the contriteness of our hearts, with truth in these words. Forgive us, Lord Jesus, but also help us. We see how humble, how gracious You were to those who followed You in Your day, Your disciples who failed so many times as well. We thank You, Lord, that You are gracious with us as well. Help us, give us strength.
Do not let our hearts be unchanged by these words, Lord. We recognise and we see Your authority. Help us to steer away from red herrings. Help us to avoid pride in our lives that may, like these Pharisees, try to undermine or distract ourselves, other people from a rebellion against You and Your words. Help us to be more faithful to You and Lord Jesus, ultimately, to love You and to worship You and to adore You and to find our greatest joy in You.
That is our heart's desire, Lord. Help us to achieve that. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.