By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?

Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?" But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John -- where was it from? From heaven or from men?" And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?' But if we say, 'From men,' we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet." So they answered Jesus and said, "We do not know." And He said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

"But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, 'Son, go, work today in my vineyard.' He answered and said, 'I will not,' but afterward he regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, 'I go, sir,' but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said to Him, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him, and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him."

- Matthew 21:23-32

In yesterday's reading, we read of Jesus' first great act in Jerusalem, after His Triumphal Entry. Jesus cleansed the temple. He drove out all those who bought and sold animals, overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of the dove sellers. He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'" He then performed miraculous healings of the blind and lame. The leadership in the temple were indignant over those who continued to welcome Him in the temple with cries of "Hosanna to the Son of David!" But Jesus replied with a quotation: "Out of the mouths of babes and nursing infants you have perfected praise." Later, Jesus left Jerusalem for Bethany, where He stayed. In the morning, returning to Jerusalem, He was hungry. He passed a fig tree without fruit. He said, "Let no fruit grow on you again" and the tree immediately withered -- a prophetic act about what is happening in Jerusalem. The disciples wondered at how quickly the tree withered. He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done . And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?" Let us recall the setting of this question. The day before, Jesus has come to Jerusalem in His Triumphal Entry. He has been welcomed by crowds; His ministry outside of Jerusalem has already brought Him a lot of fame, and He is considered a prophet. He has been welcomed with shouts that befit an expected and awaited Messiah in this great city, the center of worship. His first act was to cleanse the temple of its commercial dealings: to remove the buyers and sellers of animals, and upset the tables of the money changers, the chairs of those who sold doves (which were sold to the poor as the least costly animals for sacrifice). We know the leadership was indignant over the people's welcome for Jesus even within the temple, for which they protested to Him. So, here on this second day, He returns to the temple and they question Him rather reasonably, from their own perspective. It really is the important question, if you think about it. Where does His authority come from? Of course from the perspective of the gospel it is already accepted: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and His authority is derived from His own divinity. But the leadership asks from a different perspective. What recognizable, worldly authority does He have? Who gave Him this authority? My study bible says, "Since the chief priests and the elders cannot object to Jesus' miracles, they bring charges against Him for His chastisement of the tradesmen in the temple. Since He is not a Levitical priest and does not have the schooling normally required of a rabbi, Jesus is asked about His authority to cleanse the temple."

But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John -- where was it from? From heaven or from men?" And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?' But if we say, 'From men,' we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet." So they answered Jesus and said, "We do not know." And He said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things." What is interesting about this passage is not just that Jesus turns the tables on His accusers, asking them a question they can't answer. But if we also look closely at this question, it is a way in which to expose their hypocrisy. Jesus came into the temple, and there is no doubt about what He does, where He stands, what is His truth. But here the leadership wishes, ironically, simply to save face among the crowds -- they are afraid of popular opinion. Jesus' acts, and His authority, derive nothing from the opinions of men, so to speak. He's not dependent on the crowds for where He stands, what His truth is, and especially for His authority. Instead He is dependent on God for all, and declares Himself. The chief priests and the elders cannot say the same, and they cower before the crowd. There is yet another ironic twist to the question and its focus. Jesus' authority is questioned from the same unspoken standpoint -- is it from heaven or from men? This is what we and they are to think about, for the true answer hidden in the riddle. My study bible suggests that Jesus responds this way to them -- with a question rather than direct answer -- because they are motivated by unbelief and hostility.

"But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, 'Son, go, work today in my vineyard.' He answered and said, 'I will not,' but afterward he regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, 'I go, sir,' but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said to Him, "The first." Here is another riddle for them, and they answer correctly. But the parable is clearly about hypocrisy, and the essential importance of what we choose, what we really do. Do we pay God lip service, and act differently? Which is what counts, what we really believe and do, or how we appear to others in order to make an appearance? It is a focus on the love of God, and our real faith, our trust, in expressing that love.

Jesus said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him, and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him." My study bible says, "Jesus mentions the tax collectors and harlots, presumed to be great sinners, to jolt His hearers into obedience." There is a kind of hierarchy here, a measure of hypocrisy and the failure to accept truth. Even those considered great sinners went to John and practiced his baptism of repentance. But this made no difference to the leadership. Somehow they cannot be shaken out of their own authority, to accept that which comes from the Spirit, which has produced the spiritual fruits of repentance. John, in his own time, was greatly respected and widely viewed as a holy man. He also condemned the hypocrisy of the leadership.

There is a great deal of emphasis here on truth and directness, and a condemnation of hypocrisy. Do we mean what we say? How deep and direct is our love of God? Maybe the deeper question really is about authority, and leadership. Where does it come from? How do we get it? What is it made of in Jesus' heart and teaching? Over and over again, Jesus has emphasized leadership in the past several chapters in Matthew's gospel, and how the leadership in His church should differ from that of the Gentiles, in which some "lord it over" others. In His church, the leadership must serve all -- and the one who would be first must be slave to all. Here, Jesus condemns a kind of servile hypocrisy, that doesn't really love anything but the praise of men, the rank of authority. Where are their hearts? What do they really believe? How do choices bear this out? Ultimately, the parable He gives tells the story. How do we love God? Is our love authentic? With what faith do we finally choose? Authority is rooted in our hearts, what we really put our faith into. Remember the withered fig tree from the reading just before. It is the fruits we bear that tell the story of the heart, the spiritual fruits that reveal where leadership and authority begin.