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Submission and Obedience (Matthew 21:23-32)

First Baptist Church https://fbcbartow.org

“Submission and Obedience”

(Matthew 21:23-32)

Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]

Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD

First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida

June 28, 2020

The Passage

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? Who gave you this authority?”

24 Jesus answered them, “I will also ask you one question, and if you answer it for me, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 Did John’s baptism come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” They discussed it among themselves, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we’re afraid of the crowd, because everyone considers John to be a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

28 “What do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘My son, go work in the vineyard today.’ 29 “He answered, ‘I don’t want to,’ but later he changed his mind and went. 30 Then the man went to the other and said the same thing. ‘I will, sir,’ he answered, but he didn’t go. 31 Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.”Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you didn’t believe him. Tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; but you, when you saw it, didn’t even change your minds then and believe him.

Introductory Comments:

When I was in college three of my buddies and I talked ourselves into driving about four and half hours from Louisville, Kentucky to Wooster, Ohio to go camping, in the middle of the winter, in a tent. It was quite foolish, to be honest with you. However, my buddy was from Wooster and he had a “great spot!” We got there in the middle of the night and tried to find a flat spot amongst all the snow to pitch our tent. We finally found a spot on a sheet of ice and put our tent there. As we walked around to find firewood my buddy whispered to me, “Shh, we don’t want the farmer to hear us.” It was at that moment that I realized we were on someone’s private land. We had no authority to be there. To make a long story short, when we woke up the sheet of ice was now a puddle, my car had a flat tire, and we had to sneak out of the woods in the daylight because we had no authority to be there. 

You see, authority matters. In today’s passage, Jesus was questioned by the religious leaders as to what authority He had to do the things that He was doing and to teach the things that He was teaching. Today’s sermon is entitled, “Submission and Obedience.” Submission and obedience have everything to do with authority. 

Before we get into this passage, let’s pray together and ask God to speak to us.

(prayer)

Remember what’s going on in Matthew 21. Jesus has entered into Jerusalem triumphantly, He’s shaken things up in the temple, and He has cursed a fig tree because it didn’t have any fruit on it, which served as a picture of why we need fruit in our lives. Jesus will press into this idea in today’s passage as we discover two pathways needed for the faithful follower of God.

Here they are: first, . . . 

I. Submission to the Son’s authority (vv. 23-27) [on screen]

The first pathway we will discover today to help us in following after God is submission to the Son’s authority. 

There was an authority issue in Matthew 21:23-27. You see, there was no denying that Jesus was doing great works and teaching like no one else had taught. The religious leaders didn’t dispute that, but they wanted to know who He thought He was to do these things in the first place. Let’s check out the passage. Look at verses 23-27.

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? Who gave you this authority?”

24 Jesus answered them, “I will also ask you one question, and if you answer it for me, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 Did John’s baptism come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” They discussed it among themselves, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we’re afraid of the crowd, because everyone considers John to be a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

Jesus has been in and out of the temple a few times and now He is back in the temple. Don’t forget, He has turned over tables, healed the lame and the blind, accepted praise from children, and more. Now, He is once again teaching.

However, the religious leaders have an issue because this is their turf. The temple is under the authority of the chief priests and the elders. They want to know just who He thinks He is. 

Now, we all know the answer to this question. Jesus has the authority to teach in the temple because He has been sent to the earth by the Father for the purpose of bringing people to God. Jesus carries the very authority of God in His DNA. He has all authority!


However, don’t forget this expression regarding Jesus, “His time had not yet come.” Jesus knew that if He spoke too boldly about who He was, why He came, and what authority He had, the end would come right away. Jesus is working His way to the end, but He is not there yet. So, Jesus doesn’t answer their question. 

Jesus does something different than answer their question. Don’t you wish that you had the wisdom of Jesus? Jesus is so wise! He says to the religious leaders that He will answer their question if they answer His. 


You see, the religious leaders are trying to box Jesus into a corner, but He is going to end up boxing them into a corner. 

Jesus asks them in verse 25, “Did John’s baptism come from heaven, or was it of human origin?”

This is such a wise question to ask! Jesus knew that the common people of Israel viewed John the Baptizer as a true prophet sent from God. They knew that if they said that John’s ministry was from humankind that the people may not accept them anymore. However, if they said that John’s ministry was from heaven then that would validate Jesus’ ministry. Don’t forget, John said in John 1:29, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

The religious leaders had to make a choice: risk the rejection of the people or risk validating John’s ministry, which in effect would validate Jesus’ ministry. They didn’t want to do either so they simply told Jesus that they did not know the answer to His question. Jesus responded that He would not answer their question either. 

Oh, what wisdom from Jesus! The religious leaders are trying to undermine Jesus’ authority, but He exposes them. They are trying to make Him look foolish, but they end up looking foolish. 

The irony of the situation is that Jesus had more authority than anyone in that temple complex. Jesus has all authority! The religious leaders couldn’t see that because they would not submit to Jesus. They didn’t recognize the power of His ministry. They didn’t see His fulfillment of prophecy. They didn’t submit to His sovereign reign. 

You see, the lack of submission to Jesus by the religious leaders of the day led to their improper worship, their lack of praise of Jesus, and their fruitless religion, all realities that we saw in last week’s passage. 

Listen, church: if we are to thrive as followers of God we must learn to submit to the authority of Jesus. 

As a church, as families, as individuals; we must submit to the authority of Jesus. 


We must love as Jesus taught us to love, we must forgive as Jesus taught us to forgive, we must honor the truth as Jesus taught us to honor the truth, we must be salt and light as Jesus taught us to be salt and light, we must have compassion as He taught us to have compassion, we must be generous as He taught us to be generous, we must sacrifice as He taught us to sacrifice, we must endure persecution as He taught us to endure persecution. We must submit to the authority of Jesus. Nothing can be off-limits to Jesus!

Submit to the Son’s authority. 

Also, the second pathway for spiritual victory is . . . 

II. Obedience to the Father’s will (vv. 28-32) [on screen]

Jesus is so good at teaching deep spiritual truth through the use of parables. Remember, parables are earthly stories that communicate a heavenly meaning. 

In this passage, Jesus provides another parable to teach us about the importance of obedience to the Father’s will. Let’s look at verses 28-32. 

28 “What do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘My son, go work in the vineyard today.’ 29 “He answered, ‘I don’t want to,’ but later he changed his mind and went. 30 Then the man went to the other and said the same thing. ‘I will, sir,’ he answered, but he didn’t go. 31 Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.”Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you didn’t believe him. Tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; but you, when you saw it, didn’t even change your minds then and believe him.

We’re blessed that in this passage, Jesus not only gives us the parable, but He gives us the explanation. 

These two sons are charged with a task, but only one performs it. The other says that he will perform the task but he doesn’t. He is disobedient. One says he will not do it, but he does. He’s obedient, but with an apparent bad attitude. 

Clearly, this parable is aimed at the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, and He says as much.  Jesus, speaking to the religious leaders, says that they are like the first son. They have said that they will be obedient to God the Father but they really have not been obedient. 

Getting back to the subject of John the Baptizer, Jesus said the religious leaders rejected John’s message. They did not repent before God and they did not accept Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. These religious leaders were just pretenders. 

Conversely, Jesus drops a bombshell of offense by saying that the tax collectors and prostitutes, those who didn’t claim to be obedient to God, believed John’s message and were actually the ones who would enter the kingdom of heaven. 

This would have been supremely offensive to the religious leaders. They were the spiritual elite. They were the Jewish scholars. They were those who knew every aspect of God’s Word. 

On the other hand, the prostitutes and tax collectors were sinners. They were scoundrels and scum. They didn’t know God’s Word. They didn’t perform any religious rituals or sacrifices. Yet, they were the ones whom Jesus said would enter the kingdom of heaven first. 

With God, it’s not about pretending, it’s about true belief. 

We must get this, church: pretending to be a follower of God doesn’t get you one step closer to heaven. Claiming to be religious won’t get one letter of your name written in the Lamb’s book of life. You can’t fake your way into heaven. 

Jesus was coming to let the religious elites know that it’s not by their pretentious effort that they were getting to heaven, it was only by true obedience to the will of the Father, and that will was revealed and fulfilled in the work of Jesus, the very One whom they are now questioning for teaching God’s people. 

The irony of the situation is amazing. Those who should be most open to God’s will and Jesus’ teaching are the very ones who are disobedient to God the Father and unaccepting of the authority of God the Son. 


Yet, the grace of God is still extended for anyone and everyone who turns to Jesus to receive God’s grace and be shown the path of obedience to God’s will. 

Just like that second son, the religious leaders, at any point, could have changed. They could then pursue the will of the Father and submit to the authority of the Son, and so can we. 

Concluding Thoughts:

Let’s keep it simple this morning. Let’s nail down two pathways to faithfully following after God: (1) Submission to the Son’s authority and (2) Obedience to the Father’s Will. 


Can we walk away with those two goals this week?


Let’s boil it down to this bottom line:

Bottom Line: Jesus is authoritatively calling us to obedience to the Father. [on screen]

(repeat)

The irony is by His authority, Jesus is pointing us to obedience to the Father. You know what else? The foundation of obeying the will of the Father is discovered by being changed by Jesus, the Son. 

You see, the two are so intimately intertwined in their work and will that to submit to one is to submit to the other. Jesus said in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.” To obey the one is to obey the other. So, follow after God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Submit to God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. 

As a church and as individuals we must submit to the Son’s authority and obey the Father’s will. 


Challenge yourself to live this out this week in the following ways:

Weekly Challenge: [on screen]

1. Identify something you need to submit to Jesus. [on screen]

Perhaps you have an attitude, an affection, an addiction, or something altogether different that you need to submit to Jesus this week. 

If you were an employer and your employee came in when you told them to come in, displayed the attitude that you required, was kind to their fellow employees, yet they refused to complete an essential task of their job, you wouldn’t label them as a great employee would you?

Well, Jesus doesn’t want us to be submissive in some things, yet not submissive in others. Don’t be like the religious leaders in the temple. We must recognize that Jesus has all authority. He has divine authority. We must submit to Him in all things. 

If you are holding something back from Jesus, submit it to Him this week. 

2. Identify something you need to switch from pretending to obedience. [on screen]

We don’t want to be pretenders, do we church? We want to be genuine faithful followers of the Father!

Is there something in your life where you are just pretending? Perhaps you pretend like you love God’s Word, yet you’re not loving like it calls you to. Perhaps you say you love the church, yet you sometimes act selfishly towards your church instead of selflessly. Perhaps you pretend like you are holy, yet you’re holding onto some secret sin. Where is God calling you to stop pretending? 

Take some time this week and identify something that you need to switch from pretending to obedience. 

Closing:

Those of us who have been changed by Jesus must submit to His authority and obey the will of the Father. 

Have you been changed by Jesus? He’ll change you forever. He’ll help you discover who you were created to be. 

(Gospel presentation)

(closing prayer)

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