The Authority of Jesus’s Arrival

This morning, we’ll continue our sermon series through the book of Mark, which highlights key events in the life of Jesus Christ. Throughout this biography of Jesus’s life, this part of the Bible has given us a number of compelling reasons to believe that Jesus has authority as the Son of God. He’s the Savior sent from heaven, in order to rescue us from corruption, and death.

The first ten chapters of Mark were focused on Jesus’s public ministry in Northern Israel. And so Mark moved rather quickly through key events that took place over the span of three years or so. But as we’ve moved into Mark Chapter 11, we aren’t flying through events anymore. But starting with Jesus’s kingly entry into Jerusalem, Mark has slowed down. He’s giving us more detail. Because we’ve now entered a part of Jesus’s life of emphatic importance. We’re now in the final week of Jesus’s ministry prior to his death on a cross.

In recent weeks, Jesus has made a royal entrance into Jerusalem to fulfil a prophecy made by the prophet Zechariah. And he’s displayed his authority by coming into the temple, and casting out the money-changers and market vendors. We’ve seen his passion to get rid of the greedy and idolatrous activities in the temple, and to promote true worship.

But as we saw in our text last week, not everyone has approved of Jesus’s actions. The people who were technically the temple leaders at that time – the chief priests, and the scribes – they’re upset with Jesus. And they seem to feel that Jesus’s arrival is a threat to their power and influence.  And so this sets up the encounter that we see between Jesus and these temple leaders in our text this morning.

So if you haven’t already, please turn with me to the end of Mark Chapter 11. I’ll be reading verses 27 through 33. But before I do, let’s specifically ask for the work of the Holy Spirit to give us minds & hearts that are receptive to God’s Word. Let’s pray:

[Pray and Read Text]

Is This Authority Legitimate?

There are a lot really great things about living in the modern world. We can travel to the opposite side of the world in an airplane within a day or two. We can have video conversations with people in real time, even when we’re separated by thousands of miles. We can fill a room with light, simply by flipping a switch. And there’s no fire involved, so we don’t have to worry about burning the house down. We have thermostats that can be controlled from a smartphone. Companies are even beginning to produce self-driving cars, which is quite an achievement.

And yet the modern world also has unique challenges. And one of those challenges, in particular, is the problem of hackers and scammers. Especially with the rise of artificial intelligence, scammers can now try to steal money and personal information in ways that seem more convincing than ever before. With AI, they can craft emails, logos, phone calls, and websites that really look genuine and authoritative, even though they’re ultimately false. And so I think many of us are aware – it’s all the more important to confirm the credentials, of whoever that person is, who’s asking for personal information. I should check, am I really being contacted by someone who has legitimacy and authority here? It’s just a part of what it means to be responsible.

And as we look in our text, how the chief priests and elders, here, are questioning Jesus’s authority – it might seem at first that they’re simply doing their due diligence. They’re trying to be responsible, to check his credentials. But actually, as we take closer look at the situation, we’ll see that the priests and other temple officials aren’t trying to see if Jesus’s authority can be confirmed. All they’re trying to do is see if they can get Jesus condemned. They’re aren’t asking questions sincerely, here, as people searching for truth. But they’ve already made up their minds, and they’re confronting Jesus here is an expression of their unbelief.

In fact, the unbelief of the chief priests and elders, here, is very similar to how unbelief continues to operate in the world today. Even now, there are many, many unbelievers who are antagonistic toward Jesus and his claims of authority. And one thing that can be rather intimidating, is a significant number of those people have power and influence. Some of these people have high positions in government, industry, and education. And yet what we ultimately see in this part of Scripture, in spite of all that, is that the authority of Jesus remains established by heaven, even when it’s challenged by human ignorance and unbelief.

And I want to unpack this idea from the text by working through four main points. If you’re taking notes – here they are: First, we’ll see that unbelief questions Christ. Second, we’ll see that Christ questions unbelief. Third, we’ll see that ignorance is a common cover-up for unbelief. And then fourth and finally, we’ll see that ignorance is a common consequence for unbelief.

Unbelief Questions Christ

So again – the first point we see in our text is that unbelief questions Christ. In verse 27, we’re told that “they (Jesus and his disciples) came again to Jerusalem.” (This was the day after he did his work to purify the temple). “And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him.”

Now, you have to understand – the chief priests, the scribes, and the Jewish elders of Jerusalem – these men would have been viewed as being the highest-ranking Jews in the whole city – the highest-ranking Jews in the whole Roman Empire. These were the council members who settled disputes in the Jewish faith. These were the most respected heads of Jewish society. And importantly, for this context – these were the people who ordinarily made decisions about running the temple. And so when they hear that Jesus has come back, this whole council of Jewish authorities publicly confronts him. They interrogate him about his actions the day before – about the things he was doing in the temple.

And they ask him, in verse 28: “By what authority do you do these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” Now again, it might seem like they’re innocently asking Jesus to help them understand. But we can be certain that isn’t the case, because you may remember from last week, we were already told what the chief priests and scribes thought about Jesus’s work to cleanse the temple. You can just glance back at verse 18: “And the chief priests and scribes heard it (they heard what Jesus was doing), and [they] were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching.”

So, you can see, these Jewish leaders already have it in their hearts – they want to destroy Jesus. They’ve already decided they don’t believe him, and they don’t want him. They don’t like how Jesus questions their beliefs. They don’t like the way Jesus is a threat to their public appearance. They don’t like the way Jesus asserts his authority over the temple, and even over them.

And so in a show of force, the whole council comes out against Jesus, publicly. And by asking some hard questions, they want to humiliate Jesus. They want to discredit him. They want to trap him, and get him to say something self-incriminating. And, of course, they want to send the message to the crowds, loud and clear, that Jesus isn’t recognized by the authorities. Jesus is a nobody! And so that’s why they question him: Jesus, “by what authority are you doing these things?” It’s not by our authority! You don’t have our permission to be here. And remember, we’re the ones in charge here. It’s been that way ever since the days of Moses, when God established the priesthood. We have authority. But Jesus, “who gave you this authority?”

But I hope you understand, it’s not just these unbelieving Jewish leaders who question Jesus. But this is a very common, timeless way that people express unbelief. Even today, there are people who feel threatened by the idea of Jesus having authority over them. Some people take issue with his moral teachings. And so in their unbelief, they retaliate with confrontational questions. They go out of their way to come up with these targeted questions – not because they’re searching for answers – but because they want to discredit Christians, or trap them, or make them look foolish. You might even know someone who has this sort of cynical attitude.

And I think that sometimes, as Christians, we’re uncomfortable to bring up Jesus in conversations, because we’re afraid we’re going to run into somebody like this. Maybe you feel nervous – what if someone shoots back at me a question that I can’t answer? How can I possibly defend all the details of the Christian faith? For many people, staying quiet just seems easier.

But keep a couple things in mind: first off, even if being witnesses for Christ has a social cost, we shouldn’t give it up. We should consider it an honor to be mistreated for his sake. But in addition to that, make you realize, most non-Christians you encounter won’t be hostile like the temple leaders. They may still be questioning the legitimacy of Christ privately. That’s tied up in what unbelief is. It questions Christ. They’ll may have stubborn doubts. But many non-Christians in our area, especially young adults, really are open to having conversations about God. So often our anxieties are unfounded. Conversations about Jesus usually don’t turn into complicated, contested arguments. Be all the more bold.

But there’s one more key thought to point out, here. Some of us may benefit from rethinking the way we have conversations with non-Christians. Because I think there’s something of a cultural assumption – and unfortunately, I think that many Christians have bought into it! – It’s simply assumed that unbelief is normal and acceptable. But believing Christianity, on the other hand, is treated like some sort of weird two-headed zebra creature that doesn’t make sense, that needs some extra explanation.

But this is a totally wrong assumption. When people say that they’re spiritual but not religious, or when they say they don’t believe in anything in particular – that shouldn’t be considered a normal or acceptable position. Just think about it! Vague spiritualism doesn’t give any compelling answer for where the Universe came from, why humans exist, or how to define morality. A post-modern atheist can’t explain why love, and justice, and beauty are meaningful things that people should care about! People don’t have answers for how life is possible, or what happens after we die. And yet Christianity is able to give compelling answers to all these things and more. So it’s actually quite bizarre that unbelief is considered so normal and acceptable. It shouldn’t be. Because most people you meet on the street – they don’t know how to answer life’s biggest and most basic questions.

Christ Questions Unbelief

And so, here in Mark 11, we shouldn’t be surprised by the way Jesus responds to unbelief, as he observes it in the Jewish leaders. You’ll see, here, Christ questions unbelief. And this is my second main point. That Christ questions unbelief.

Because notice, in verse 29, Jesus responds to the Jewish leaders’ question with a question of his own. He says, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I’ll tell you by what authority I do these things.” – and then here’s Jesus’s question – “was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?”

Now, a quick note here. Jesus isn’t dodging the question from the Jewish leaders, although it might seem like it at first. But actually, Jews at that time would often answer questions with another question when discussing or debating an issue. And so Jesus wasn’t taking a step back. This was actually a sign that he was engaging in a respectable way.

But as Jesus asks his question here, there’s also an important lesson for us to learn from this. Jesus clearly demonstrates, that he isn’t the only one who has to defend his position on things. And the same is true for his followers. Christians today aren’t the only ones who should be expected to defend their beliefs or their actions. But if non-Christians are going to question us, well, they need to feel a certain burden of responsibility to give an explanation for their lives, too.

In fact, sometimes the best thing you can do for a non-Christian isn’t to try answering all their criticisms or questions. Instead, sometimes the best thing you can do is press them with questions! How do you know your purpose in life? How would you explain why justice is worth defending? Why are compassion, humility, and self-sacrifice worth pursuing? And you can ask these people – you only have one life to live – what makes you so confident that you’re living the right way right now? How do you know?

Of course, it won’t do much good to confront people in a harsh or arrogant way. But we shouldn’t be afraid to ask people to defend their beliefs. Because people usually won’t see how clueless they are until someone lovingly asks them to explain what life is really about, and how they know that’s true. And so we can appreciate Jesus’s wisdom here – Christ questions unbelief, here in our text. And it makes sense that we would, too.

But let’s give specific attention to the question that Jesus asks. Because when he asks his question, it’s not just a strategic maneuver around the interrogation from these Jewish leaders. But actually, the question he asks is very relevant to the question they asked him. Remember, they’ve asked him where his authority is from. And now he responds to the Jewish leaders, asking where John’s authority is from – “the baptism of John, was it from heaven or from man?”

Now, just to make sure we’re on the same page, we were introduced to this man John back at the very beginning of Mark. He’s often referred to as John the Baptist. John the Baptist arrived on the scene right before Jesus. And he was presented to us as a man who came in the spirit of the Old Testament prophets. He came baptizing – washing people as a confirming sign of their need for repentance. And John also announced, very explicitly, that someone was coming right after him who had even greater authority and importance. In Mark 1, verse 7, John preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.”

And Jesus points to John – and he asks the Jewish leaders – when John came, who sent him? Where did his authority come from? Did John just send himself, and invent a message that’s merely human? Did he come from man? Or as John called people to turn back to God, and as he announced that a greater figure was coming right after him – was John speaking with authority from heaven?

And, of course, as Jesus asks this question – he’s actually giving an answer for where his authority is from. If these Jewish officials can correctly identify where John’s authority was from, they’ll know Jesus’s credentials, too. Because Jesus and John the Baptist have their authority from the same place. From heaven.

And yet – Jesus isn’t just implying that he’s on the same level as John. Because Jesus knows, and the Jewish leaders know, that when John came, he had a special message. He was announcing that someone exponentially greater than him was right on his heels. And so if John’s message was declared with the authority of heaven, and Jesus is now arriving on the heels of John’s ministry – it should be evident that Jesus’s importance and glory and authority is even greater.

It’s a good question for the Jewish leaders – do you know where John came from? But it’s also a good question for all of us. Do we see the authority of John, and how it points to the Supreme heavenly authority of Jesus Christ? We need to see it.

Ignorance Is a Common Cover-Up for Unbelief

But unfortunately, the Jewish leaders here – they don’t want to admit the legitimacy of either John or Jesus. And so they aren’t willing to give a straight answer to Jesus’s question. They ultimately pretend to be ignorant – but this is just a cover-up for their unbelief. And this brings us to the third idea that we see in our text – that ignorance is a common cover-up for unbelief.

Because notice how the Jewish leaders react to Jesus’s question. Essentially, they circle up – you can just imagine a group of these old bearded men, huddling together. And they’re whispering – what should we say about John’s authority? We get a small glimpse of how the Jewish leaders wrestled with Jesus’s question, here, in our text. Verse 31 says, “And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why, then, did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man’ – they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet.”

And so, you see, Jesus asked a brilliant question here. Because there’s no way that the Jewish leaders can win the conversation. Of course, they should just own the fact that John came from God. But they don’t want to admit that, because then they’d have to admit they were wrong for ignoring him. For the Jewish leaders, that’s too humiliating, so they can’t do that. But on the other hand, if they deny that John was sent from God, they’ll lose respect from many of the Jews. They might even start a riot. Because the vast majority of the common Jews believed that John was a prophet from God. So they can’t say that John came from man.

And so what the Jewish officials end up doing – rather than declaring their unbelief outright, is they come up with a creative third option. And they simply tell Jesus that they don’t have the answer. Vs 33: “So they answered Jesus, ‘We do not know.” This wouldn’t have been a really respectable answer. But the Jewish leaders decided it was the best option they had. Because by giving this response, they could still pretend to be somewhat neutral – not making any commitments to Jesus, but also not doing anything publicly against him. So, you see, they use ignorance as a cover-up for their unbelief.

And even though this might seem like a unique thing to these Jewish leaders, this is actually very common. Because there are a lot of people – they can probably tell that Jesus is significant somehow – and yet they don’t want to be held accountable to his authority. They don’t want to tie themselves down to any commitments. And so when you press them, “What do you think about Jesus?” they just give that non-committal response, “I don’t know.”

For other people, though, they really don’t have interest in Jesus at all. But they don’t want to hurt the feelings of friends or family members. And so when they friend or family member asks, “What do you think of Jesus?” again, they give the same response, “I don’t know.”

But in both cases, even though it might seem like a neutral response, it’s not neutral. In fact, there is no neutral place. Because when it comes right down to it, people who say “I don’t know” are essentially saying, “I still don’t believe. I still don’t acknowledge the authority of Jesus.”

Now, it’s possible that for some of you this morning, your attitude toward Jesus has primarily been to shrug and say, I don’t know. Maybe someday I’ll figure it out. And it might feel like it’s okay to say that – like it still keeps you in some sort of gray zone with Jesus. But make sure you see, saying “I don’t know,” is just a disguised way of saying, “I still don’t believe. I still am refusing to turn to Jesus.” That’s really what you’re saying, whenever you say, “I don’t know.”

Now, with that being said, sometimes people are just learning about the Christian faith, and they’re eagerly asking questions. And so their attitude different. They may say, “When it comes to Christ, I still don’t know. But I want to know. I’m searching so that I can know.” Well, that’s a much better place to be. If you’re in a season where you have some questions you need to wrestle through, I’d love to help you find answers.

But even in that case, you need to realize that for as long as you’re in that spot where you’re saying, “I  don’t know” – you’re still ultimately saying, “I don’t believe yet. I still don’t have Jesus.” And so that’s not a fine place to stay. Being indecisive is a decision – and it’s a decision that prevents many people from finding rescue and rest in Jesus. So don’t be content to use ignorance as a cover-up for unbelief.

Ignorance Is a Common Consequence for Unbelief

But there’s one more idea I’d like to point out from the text – that ignorance isn’t just a cover-up for unbelief, but it’s also a common consequence for unbelief. And this is my fourth and final point. Ignorance is a common consequence of unbelief.

Because after the Jewish officials say, “We do not know” – we don’t know where John’s authority is from – notice how Jesus responds, in the second half of verse 33. “And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” Essentially, since these Jewish leaders don’t answer Jesus’s question, Jesus declares that he won’t answer their question either.

And this conclusion is significant for a few different reasons. For one thing, we’re supposed to see from this that Jesus has basically come out of this confrontation as the victor. Since the Jewish leaders aren’t able to give him a direct answer, it frees him from the obligation to give an answer. And in fact, his decision to not explain the source of his authority is another way that Jesus further asserts his authority. And along with that, by not giving an answer, Jesus shows the depth of his wisdom here. He read the situation. He realized that the Jewish leaders didn’t really want an answer – they just wanted to trap him. And so he doesn’t play into their hands. We see his wisdom here.

But I think that one more thing that we see here, is that Jesus’s refusal to explain his authority is also something of a rebuke. It’s a consequence for the unbelieving Jews. It’s as though Jesus is saying, “Since you’re refusing to listen to my word, I will refuse to give you my word.” It’s a consequence, when Jesus leaves people in their ignorance. In fact, it’s one of the most serious consequences that you and I could face.

I think oftentimes, we have an idea of what it would look like for God to judge a place. We can envision God sending diseases into a country, or natural disasters, or armies to invade. That’s the sort of thing we usually imagine. And yet despite how terrible those disasters truly are, for as long as the Church is flourishing in those places, and can transmit the hope of the gospel, sometimes those seasons of disease or disaster can actually be times of revival.

But, you see, there’s a far more terrible punishment from God for unbelief. And that’s when God removes his witness from a place. When Scriptures become unavailable, when you can’t find faithful pastors anymore, when churches shut their doors and are turned into art museums or community centers – that’s a far worse act of judgment. Because when there’s no longer a body of Christians to bear witness for Christ in a society – when he gives a place over to ignorance – the results are devastating. Because it leads to eternal condemnation. It leads to permanent separation from God’s kindness. Friends, it’s a road that leads to Hell.

And so there’s a word of caution here. Don’t hold on to unbelief in your heart. Plugging your ears against the Word of Christ is a dangerous thing – because God might just give you the ignorance that you want! And instead of knowing the riches of God’s saving mercy, and the promise of eternal life – he might leave you on your own, to know nothing of those things.

But let me remind you – the coming of Jesus Christ into our world is forceful evidence that God desires to be known by us. And he came from heaven, not merely to point out our unbelief and evil, but to save us from it. He came, not to rob us of life, but to rescue from the death penalty we deserved for our sins. And he came, not to suck away our happiness, but actually to secure our happiness, forever, by changing our hearts, changing our lives, and changing our eternal destination. This Jesus doesn’t want us to be ignorant of these things. But as we see his authority, and his victory over sin and death at the cross, Jesus wants us to believe – this is the Savior, sent from heaven. So don’t get defensive. Don’t get antagonistic. And don’t even just say – meh, I don’t know, which is ultimately just as bad. But believe that Christ was sent to save, that he was sent to bring real cleanness. Believe that he was sent for you. He comes with authority from heaven. So trust him. Let’s pray: