Matthew 21:23-32
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?’ 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. 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?” But if we say, “Of human origin”, we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.’ 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.
‘What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, “Son, go and work in the vineyard today.” He answered, “I will not”; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, “I go, sir”; but he did not go. 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. 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.
Reflection
Well, now we know the answer to Jesus' question. Jesus is God so the authority is God's authority to do the things that Jesus was doing. It's like pretending to know something just because you came afterwards. But now that we know this... now what? What do we make of this passage? What does this passage of scripture say to you and to me?
I still need to read the parable that Jesus tells after the question. I still need to hear this and understand it a little to know what to do with this passage for myself. Jesus as God came into this world to do the Father's will. That will was to love all of us to death in a way. Jesus came from the perfection of heaven into this messy, sinful, evil world filled with illness and death in order to save all of us from this situation we have created for ourselves.
It's not just like one person created this mess either. We all have sinned. We all have contributed to the mess of this world. We all carry some responsibility for the illness, the death, the sin, the war, the hunger, the pain... All of us are guilty.
But Jesus wasn't guilty of any of this. Jesus as God came from heaven into our mess to be with us to walk with us to teach us to heal us to save us from this mess and take us to him. Jesus as God comes to us and does the will of the Father.
I don't know... but Jesus may not have wanted to come into the vineyard of this world and this mess to pick the grapes that the Father directed for him to do but Jesus did it anyway.
So, what about me and what about you? How are we to respond? We are in this mess of a world with illness, with war, with death and on and on. Now what? I think we listen to the authority of Jesus. I think we stay in this world and walk along side of Jesus and learn from our teacher to heal the sick, feed the poor, console the depressed, teach the Word, proclaim the Gospel, stand up for those that are persecuted, help the addicted...
You can go on and on with action items that even Jesus took in his day that we could perform today. You can do each or any of these things with the knowledge that the Holy Spirit will give you the gifts and the abilities to perform the tasks that God directs you to do.
You can do these things even while you yourself are sick, poor, ill, and in pain. I think God calls us to live in this world knowing that Jesus has taken care of the next world that will be vastly different. Jesus will take us to heaven... but for now... for now... we have some work to do even in the midst of our own struggles and pain.
But why?
Because God chose to come to us in the flesh and blood of Jesus and in the spirit of the Holy Spirit to save us from what we have done to ourselves and one another. God chooses to have a relationship with each and with all of us. God chooses to love us and call us God's own. God chooses to pour a new cleansing water on us and give a new birth and seals us with the cross of Jesus pain and suffering and Jesus resurrection right on our forehead and claim us as God's own.
Even in the midst of the pain and illness of this world we ARE children of God, chosen by God to live out the hope of salvation for all the people God gives to us each day.
Music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsqBApmC11s
Prayer
Lord, especially when I don't feel like it or feel good myself due to illness, sin, persecution, misunderstanding or any other reason, give me the guts to carry out the mission you have for me in this world to love those you give to me as you have loved and saved me and all the people; that we all may join in that perfect relationship of love with you... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen
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