Pentecost 15

Pentecost 15 (Matthew 21:23-32)
“I will also ask you one question.”

All wisdom comes from asking questions.

The disciples of Jesus, his students, seldom asked Jesus questions. Oftentimes, they thought they already knew the answers. Other times, they did not want to hear what Jesus was saying. They feared what Jesus was teaching and preferred to ignore it. They hoped that if they ignored the more difficult teachings of Jesus, the love of God for all people everywhere, Jesus would come back to the teaching they already knew.

The disciples knew God was a God of rewards and punishments. They knew God only loved the Israelites. They knew God only favored the righteous who did the right things and believed the right way. They knew this. So, they did not need to question what they already knew.

The religious leaders in Jerusalem shared this knowledge. In addition, they knew God only worked through approved channels. Only adult males of the tribe of Levi could be priests. Only a handful of families controlled Temple worship. Only validly ordained rabbis could ordain a man to teach and preach God’s Law.

The religious leaders only recognized the spiritual authority of a teacher within the context of their very narrow and rigid religious institutions. There was nothing wrong with the religious institutions. The problem was in the way people used those institutions to impose their will on society and even God.

There was one well known exception to the rule of religion. That exception was the prophet. Only God could call and ordain a prophet. The word alone authenticated the prophetic call and the prophetic office.

The priests and the elders disliked Jesus’ teaching. They accurately perceived that Jesus was not teaching what they and all religious people already knew to be true about God, humanity, and religion. He was teaching something new and different. They feared that Jesus would undermine their own hard earned and jealously guarded religious authority.

In their fear they attacked Jesus where they perceived him to be vulnerable. They attacked his authority to teach. It was clear that no rabbinical school had ordained Jesus. So, he could not function as a rabbi. It was clear Jesus was a Jew, a member of the tribe of Judah. So, he could not function as a priest.

The Sanhedrin, the supreme religious court, did not recognize Jesus’ authority . So, the leadership, the chief priests of the Temple and the elders of the Sanhedrin, challenged Jesus directly.

They asked: by what authority do you act. And, who gave you this authority.
Jesus took these questions and turned them into a teaching moment. Jesus knew these men were among the most intelligent and the most powerful. He knew they were lost in the pride of their great knowledge. He knew they were enslaved by the power of their own self will, the will to power.

Jesus could have given a very simple and direct answer. He also knew the chief priests and elders would react from the place of anger and fear to such a direct teaching. So, Jesus invited the religious authorities to consider the very nature of spiritual authority.

Jesus simply asked: Is the baptism of John grounded in human created religious institutions; or, it does it come directly from God?

Jesus’ question was a wonderful opportunity for the religious leaders to reflect and explore the very nature of spiritual authority in general, and the specific way they exercised that authority within the context of religious institutions.

They perceived the invitation Jesus offered. But, they chose to react with fear. They could only conceive of two ways to answer the question. If they said John’s baptism had no divine authority then the people would reject them. The people recognized John as a prophet. The authority of the prophet comes directly from God and is authenticated by the prophetic word.

If they acknowledged John as a true prophet of God then they would indeed answer their own question about Jesus. John had baptized Jesus. John had declared Jesus to be the Lamb of God. The Holy Spirit had anointed Jesus in the sight of thousands of witnesses. And, God the Father had spoken audibly declaring Jesus to His Son, the Beloved.

Jesus derived his authority from three sources: the last of the prophets, John; God the Father and God the Holy Spirit; and the multitudes who stood on the banks of the Jordan river that day and witnessed the events of Jesus’ baptism and anointing.
Jesus exercised a threefold authority of prophet through John, of priest through divine anointing, and of king by popular acclamation.

The truth was all there for the best and the brightest of Jerusalem’s religious elite to discern and proclaim. The truth was too powerful for the religious authorities to ignore. It was also too fearful for them to accept.

They chose to withdraw from the discussion. They simply said: we don’t know the answer. It was the politically safe reaction. In that reaction, they rejected a moment of grace to enter into the blessing of God.

Jesus sadly concludes his part of the conversation with a short parable and a principle. He tells the religious leaders: you do not enter into the Kingdom because you lack faith. You lack faith because you are unwilling to change your mind. You are unwilling to change your mind because the pride of your position and authority leads you to react to a moment of grace with fear. In that fear, you assert your will to power to withdraw rather than to allow yourself to be embraced by divine love and compassion.

The lesson for all people is the principle of grace. Do we choose to react from fear or respond in the welcoming embrace of divine love and compassion?

Where are we still living from pride in our own knowledge? St. Paul was one of the most powerful intellects in the apostolic church. Yet, Paul said: knowledge puffs up. Knowledge apart from compassion distorts into pride. Are we open to being taught? Do we hunger and thirst to be the students of Jesus/ Are we asking questions?
Jesus sets the tenor for the spiritual life as he stands in our midst and says: Let me ask you one question. It is in the questions that we discover our moment of grace.