The Power of Faith

  

Text: Matthew 21: 23-32

Focus: obedience

Function: to see that faith is proven by obedience

²³When 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?” ²⁴Jesus 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. ²⁵Did 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?’ ²⁶But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for all regard John as a prophet.” ²⁷So 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.

²⁸“What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ ²⁹He answered, ‘I will not,’ but later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰The father went to the second and said the same, and he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. ³¹Which 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. ³²For 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.

Good morning to the beloved of God.

The Spirit behind the questions of those questioning Jesus compared to the answers that Jesus gives indicates a way for us to understand just what it means for us to believe in Jesus for our salvation.

The events in this story today take place right after Palm Sunday and Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

His entry caused quite a stir and the leaders who were questioning Jesus were upset that he was so popular and they were threatened by his presence.

And in these chapters of Matthew, we get several incidents during Holy Week where Jesus is called into question and he answers them all tactfully with a spiritual redirection component to his answer.

If you spend time reading through the book of Numbers, you will find that the Jewish people are big on genealogy and who belongs to who and what family and tribe they are from and who has proper standing when it comes to serving God in the priesthood or political roles.

In order to lead one had to have the right credentials, training and genes. The leaders knew that Jesus didn’t qualify based on his birthright or education and training, so they try to humiliate him publicly and call his leadership into question.

So, they ask him for his credentials and instead of giving them to him, he asks them to validate the prophet John’s credentials because he wants them to know that this is a move of God and he is tied to John’s movement that started with this new ritual, baptism for the cleansing away of sins.

And again, I pride myself on keeping politics out of our church and here is one of the reasons. The leaders were religions, but they were also politicians and they knew that they couldn’t do the right thing by Jesus or John, so they refused to answer in order to do the political dodge.

When Jesus was asked by Pilate if he was a politician, Jesus answer was that we are part of a Spiritual kingdom and it doesn’t adhere to human politics.

And just like the head of the Church today, the Pope, and today’s political leaders who clash, Jesus kingdom raises above human politics. It is Spiritual and not subject to the powers and authorities about which the leaders are trying to question Jesus in this story.

And look at the next paragraph. Jesus’ answer. It doesn’t seem to follow the question. It doesn’t seem to make sense unless one understands that Jesus is indeed here to establish a spiritual kingdom of love that finally breaks down the power structures of humans that keep us in bondage.

They question Jesus about authority and he answers with a parable about obedience. What does the disobedience and obedience of these two sons have to do Jesus authority to ride into Jerusalem, cleanse the temple and start this following?

It is a mystery until one understands what Jesus is trying to do with his life and ministry here on earth. He wants to transform humanity into a loving place.

The leaders were reverting back to a legal argument of authority about Jesus’ actions and Jesus answers with a story that gets them thinking about what is really important?

And the parable is interesting. One son answers with obedience and then disobeys. The other son answers disobediently and then obeys. The one that actually obeyed is the one who is in a right relationship with the father.

And I believe the point is that it isn’t what you say that justifies you before God, it is what you do.

It helps us to see what faith really is. Faith is not mere mental acknowledgment of God’s existence. Faith is trusting and following in the footsteps of Jesus.

Faith is trust. Faith is rest. Faith is acknowledging that God knows best for us and following God’s way.

Faith is the action of trusting God’s ways over our own understanding.

So, for example, when we have been wronged, the world’s way is revenge, God’s way is forgiveness. It takes faith to rest in God’s justice instead of demanding our own revenge.

So, the leaders are trying to bring the letter of the law down on Jesus and accuse him of stepping beyond his place in society. And Jesus’ answer is to get them to reflect on the condition of their own hearts. Are they obeying or merely following ritual?

The leaders were all about their own religious practices as if those rituals set them apart from other people.

But when the leaders do finally answer the question from Jesus, they make his point that obedience isn’t in talk, it is in the walk.

I get to give the final clergy talk on Sunday next week at Kairos and the slang title of the talk is “walking your talk.” Jesus points out that they are essentially all talk, but no action.

God is leading people to live in the power of faith and walk in obedience by loving others.

It takes faith to walk in love. And then he says that prostitutes and tax collectors have a closer relationship with God than they do.

Later on in John, Jesus says, If you love me, you will obey me. And he says in 1 John that obeying him is loving others.

He goes so far as to say that the one who loves walks in God and knows God, again, because God is love.

The son who obeyed is the son who has the power of faith to walk in love and thusly walk in God.