Who Gave You the Authority?
By Rev. Heidi L. Barham | September 27, 2026
Click here to listen to the service
Read Matthew 21:23 – 32 (NIV)
As I was preparing the bulletin for this week and thought about the theme for the sermon… WHO GAVE YOU THE AUTHORITY? I was reminded of some of the catch phrases of my younger days…
Perhaps you remember a time when you told a sibling or a friend to do something… and they asked, “Who died and left you in charge?” Or they might have simply stated categorically and defiantly, “You’re not the boss of me!”
In either case, the underlying question was really… WHO GAVE YOU THE AUTHORITY?
Now, as we look at our text for the morning, we find Jesus, the chief priests and the elders of the temple engaged in a rather heated discussion during which the religious leaders asked Jesus, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”
For the record, the real reason they were asking this question was that the Pharisees and elders mistakenly thought they were going to trap Jesus by asking what they believed to be a trick question.
Using rather flawed logic… they figured that if Jesus said that His authority came from God… they would be able to use His answer to subsequently accuse Him of blasphemy.
However, if Jesus said that He was operating under His own authority, that left the door open for the crowds to be persuaded that the Pharisees had greater authority than Jesus…
After all, they were the chief priests and elders of the Temple… so, either way, they were poised and ready… just waiting to say, “Gotcha!”
But suffice it to say, Jesus saw right through their ploy and knew exactly what they were up to. He knew that their motives were far from pure… and that they were trying to lay a trap to set Him up and get Him to say something they would then attempt to use against Him.
But rather than give them the satisfaction of being able to use His answers as fodder for their foolishness… Jesus responded back with a question of His own.
Jesus said, “First let me ask you a question. You answer my question and I’ll answer yours. About the baptism of John—who authorized it: heaven or humans?” (MSG)
It would seem that rather than catching Jesus in their trap… the Pharisees were the ones who were caught in a trap themselves… leaving them with only one thing to say which was, “We don’t know.”
If they responded to Jesus’ question and said that John’s baptism came from heaven… they would then have to explain why they had not followed John in what they were now acknowledging was a heavenly directive.
On the flip side, if they said John’s baptism came from men… they ran the risk of incurring the wrath of the people who rightfully believed that John was a prophet.
So, they took what seemed like their only way out… they admitted that they did not know the answer to the question.
And in response to their inability to answer His question… Jesus refused to answer their question of WHO GAVE YOU THE AUTHORITY?
Now, as we continue looking at this morning’s text… following this exchange between Jesus and the religious leaders… we find Jesus’ teaching on “The Parable of the Two Sons.”
In this story, Jesus explains that there was a father who had two sons. The father instructed the first son to go out for the day and work in the vineyard. This son initially declared that he was not willing to acquiesce to his father’s command… however, he had a change of heart and did as his father requested.
The father also went to the second son and issued the same instruction to go out and work in the vineyard. Although this son initially agreed to do so, he ultimately failed to do it.
After telling this story, Jesus posed the question to the crowd, “Which of the two did what the father wanted?”
In responding to what seemed like a simple, no-brainer… the crowd was quick to respond, “The first one.”
However, what they did not realize was that Jesus was using the parable to illustrate the way many of those gathered… some of whom were actually religious leaders… were simply paying lip service to the Word of God.
They were like that second son… claiming they were willing to do God’s will… while in reality they were constantly disobeying God and simply going through the motions.
They are not so unlike some of those people we see today who claim they are “good church folk” and declare they are committed to following the will of God… but they continually miss the mark.
They are clearly not following Jesus’ command to love one another and to show compassion to others…
What they are doing instead is creating commandments of their own… instituting practices, policies, and procedures that seek to exclude and marginalize the very people that Jesus came to seek and to save.
Jesus issued a stern rebuke to the folks back then… and let me suggest it still holds true to this day… Jesus warned that tax collectors and prostitutes would enter the kingdom of God before those religious hypocrites would.
If you are wondering why that would be the case… it was the “sinners” …the tax collectors and prostitutes… who truly understood and acknowledged their need for repentance…
They rightly believed in what John had declared as he pointed them to Jesus… the true path of righteousness… This was a vastly different response than the religious hypocrites who incorrectly assumed that they did not need to repent of anything…
Clearly, they were not familiar with the Apostle Paul’s declaration that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) or John’s admonishment that “If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:10).
It’s a good thing that we know better so we can do better…
So, what should we take away from this text today?
At its core, the text lays a foundation for us that is built first on accepting the authority of Jesus Christ and then doing what God commands… it ought to be as simple as that… just living out what we learn in the Word of God.
But as unfathomable as it may seem… there are some folks who would have us to believe that… far from being the inspired Word of God… the Bible is nothing but a book of fairy tales and cute stories that have little or no relevance or application to our lives today…
And sadly, there are even some so-called church leaders who have gone so far as to say that the words of Jesus are nothing more than liberal talking points… and suggesting that they are weak (see Evangelicals Are Now Rejecting 'Liberal' Teachings of Jesus (newsweek.com)).
And if it was not bad enough that there are people who would encourage us to doubt the authority of God’s Word… we are constantly being bombarded with messages and images created by advertising executives that would have us believe that what we should be doing is marching to the beat of our own drum and following any path we choose.
After all, Nike has been telling us for years to “Just do it” even as Apple has encouraged us to “Think different.” We have been told that we are in “Good hands” with Allstate and according to LG “Life’s Good” while Burger King says, “Have it your way.”
Then when you add to that the whole movement that encouraged folk to “Keep calm and carry on” …and couple it with McDonald’s assurance that “you deserve a break today” …what we end up with is a picture of the idyllic life that is nothing more than fluff.
But the Word of God is filled with much more substance and significance than a bunch of catchy sayings and creative jingles.
Although Johnson’s Baby Shampoo may have promised “no more tears” …it is God who promises in Revelation 21 that He will wipe every tear from our eyes and that there will be no more death or mourning, or crying, or pain.
L’Oreal Paris might have encouraged us to use their products because we’re worth it… but the word of God tells us in 2 Thessalonians 1 (4-5) that it is perseverance and faith during persecutions and trials that is the real evidence of the righteous judgment of God… and that is what ultimately will make us worthy of the kingdom of God… not simply using a bunch of cosmetic products.
The fact of the matter is that slogans, jingles and catch phrases can never take the place of reading, knowing, understanding, and living out God’s Word.
Because regardless of how easy advertisers and Hollywood moguls want us to believe life can and should be… the reality is vastly different.
You have likely heard me share the words of Jesus found in John 16:33, on more than one occasion, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Then, consider what Jesus said about anyone who wanted to be His disciple… they needed to deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Him (Matt. 16:24).
But what does that mean for those of us who call ourselves disciples today… are we able to take up our crosses and follow Him?
Back in the days when Matthew wrote this gospel… the concept of taking up one’s cross was probably a literal reference to the fact that condemned criminals who were being crucified for their crimes had to carry their own crosses through the streets to the place where they would be executed.
It is in John’s Gospel that we read about Jesus carrying His own cross (John 19:17), while in the synoptic Gospels… Matthew (27:32), Mark (15:21), and Luke (23:26) we read about Simon of Cyrene being made to carry the cross.
Scholars suggest that Jesus would have started out carrying His own cross… highlighting Jesus’s willingness to walk the path of suffering… fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy about the Suffering Servant.
Simon of Cyrene subsequently being forced to carry Jesus’ cross the remainder of the way to Calvary causes us to shift our focus to what it means for Jesus to be fully human… to feel the pain and exhaustion of carrying the cross.
Now, in Luke’s Gospel, it says that they “seized” Simon while Mark and Matthew both say they “forced” Simon to carry the cross. No matter which account we read; however, it does not appear that Simon voluntarily carried Jesus’ cross…
Nor do we see evidence that Jesus asked anyone else to carry the cross for Him.
Ultimately, what it boils down to is this… in carrying that cross, Simon was put in a position to share the weight of Christ’s burden and to share in Christ’s mission.
And we, as disciples, as followers of Christ, are also called to carry the cross and share in Christ’s burden and mission in the world today.
But what does it mean for us to share in Christ’s burden and mission?
Well… Jesus has given us the answer to the first part in Matthew 11 starting at verse 28 reads:
The burdens of this life may be too much for us to bear on our own… but Jesus offers us rest from our burdens… and we receive that rest when we accept His unconditional love and the gift of a peace that surpasses all understanding.Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Now, that does not mean that everything from here on out will be peaches and cream… but when we share our burdens with Christ… He promises to lighten our load.
There is an old saying that “A burden shared is a burden halved” …but when we share the burden with Jesus… He promises to carry far more of the weight than we will.
And that brings us to the second part of the question about what it means to share in Christ’s mission. We can find clarity by looking at the end of Matthew’s gospel where we read these words of Jesus:
What it all comes down to is accepting Jesus’ authority and doing what He commands.All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
And Jesus’ commands for us as His disciples are simply this… to love God and the people of God… as we follow Him and His example… going out and making more disciples… teaching them to follow Jesus as well.
And can I let you in on a little secret? I have it on the absolute Highest Authority… that while it may not always be the easiest thing to do… surrendering our lives to follow Jesus and do as He commands is always the right thing to do.
And it is with that thought in mind that I want to invite us all to stand and join in singing our Hymn of Discipleship: I Am Thine O Lord #601. Back
