“IS THAT YOUR FINAL ANSWER?”

MATTHEW 21:23-32

 

23  When 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?"

24  Jesus 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.

25  Did 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?'

26  But if we say, 'Of human origin,' we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet."

27  So 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.'

29  He answered, 'I will not'; but later he changed his mind and went.

30  The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, 'I go, sir'; but he did not go.

31  Which 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.

32  For 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.

 

Is that your final answer? That’s the question that you heard all the time a few years ago.  It was the question that contestants were asked over and over again on the game show “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.” It meant that the time had come to make a decision. It meant you couldn’t straddle the fence any more.

 

That’s the way it worked on that game show.  It doesn’t always work that way though in your day to day life. There are times when it isn’t easy to make one of those firm and final decisions. Sometimes it’s because you’re afraid of making a mistake.  Sometimes it’s because you know that people aren’t going to like your decision. Sometimes it’s because you just don’t want to do what you know you really have to do.  That’s true for the elderly person who knows that the time has come to stop driving.  It’s true for the parents who aren’t ready to let their teenage daughter start dating.  It was certainly true for me when I was growing up and it came to eating my vegetables. I knew it was something I should do, but I still didn’t want anything to do with those lima beans, brussel sprouts, asparagus, cauliflower, zucchini, turnips, green beans, wax beans or anything other bean that came out of a garden.

 

Sometimes you keep putting that decision off because you know what you have to do.  Sometimes you keep putting that decision off because you’re not sure what you should do.  You feel like you’re betwixt and between.  When that happens you end up just like the minister who put a sign on his desk that showed his indecisiveness.  The sign simply said, “Don’t bother agreeing with me. I’ve already changed my mind.”

 

God doesn’t want you to have to live your life that way.  God doesn’t want you to spend your days wondering and worrying if you should or shouldn’t; wondering and worrying, “Is this what I’m supposed to be doing with my life?”  “Am I doing the right thing here?”

 

Now, the best way to get rid of a lot of that wondering and worrying is by answering the question that the elders asked Jesus that day in the Temple. The scene took place just a couple of days after Palm Sunday.  Jesus had entered the holy city to a chorus of hosannas and hallelujahs. The next day he went into the Temple and sent the money changers running for cover.  In doing that he was challenging the authority of the elders.

 

That was something they weren’t going to tolerate. You see the elders were convinced that they were the ones who were supposed to be in charge. Their attitude was similar to the one that political commentator Bill Moyers encountered many years ago.  Moyers was an aide to President Lyndon Johnson at the time. One day he had lunch with the president.  Because of his strong Baptist background Moyers suggested that they say grace before the meal.  Moyers didn’t get very far with his prayer though before Johnson interrupted him.  “Speak up,” Johnson grumbled,” I can’t hear you.” Without even looking up Moyers tersely replied, “I’m sorry Mr. President, but I wasn’t speaking to you.”

 

The elders were like that.  They needed to feel important which is why they challenged Jesus by asking him that question.  “By what authority are you doing these things and who gave you this authority?”  Jesus didn’t answer the question and the elders didn’t answer it either.  Jesus didn’t answer the question because he knew that the elders were just trying to make trouble for him.  The elders didn’t answer the question because they didn’t want to entertain the possibility that his authority really did come from God.  If it did, it meant they had to accept the fact that he really was the messiah.  It meant they had to follow him. It meant they had to let him be in charge of how they lived their lives.

 

By what authority did Jesus do the things that he did and who gave him that authority? If you want a life where that makes more sense, if you want a life that’s richer and more rewarding, if you want a life where you’re not overwhelmed with doubt and difficult decisions then you start by answering that question. You decide without hesitation that the authority Jesus had came from God. That’s what it means to say that Jesus is Lord. It means his authority comes from God and because of that you’re going to follow him. You’re going to follow him and let his truth guide you in the decisions that you make.  You’re going to follow him and let his love keep you going when your life gets a little crazy.

 

Now when I look at what happened that day in the Temple I see a very good reason why it makes a lot of sense to do that.  You see, Jesus is a lot smarter than you or I will ever be.  Just take a look at how he turned the tables that day on the elders. He totally out maneuvered them.  When they fired that question about authority at him he fired a question right back at them.  His question about John the Baptist put them in a bind.  If they said John’s authority was from God they knew that Jesus would then ask them why they didn’t believe him.  If they said John’s authority wasn’t from God they knew that would get them into trouble with the people.  So, they said they didn’t know.