Chapter 87
AUTHORITY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST AND JESUS
Matthew 21:23-27
Before we begin this study to explore the topic of this chapter, let us pray.
Dear Heavenly Father, Almighty God,
We come before You in Jesus Christ’s Holy Name. Father God, please open our ears, eyes and heart so we can truly begin to hear, see and understand the authority and power that John and Jesus had to do the things that He did. In addition we ask You bring us into a closer and more intimate relationship with You, Your Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen
INTRODUCTION
In Chapter 84 we found that after Jesus cleansed the Temple, He began to heal the blind and lame. To refresh our memories let us read from,
Matthew 21:12-14
[12] Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. [13] And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.” [14] Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.
After Jesus did all these things, He went to lodge in the city of Bethany (Matthew 21:17).
Let us now read what occurred when Jesus returned to the Temple and began to teach the people about God and His Kingdom. To do this we go to,
Matthew 21:23-27
[23] Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?” [24] But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things: [25] The baptism of John—where was it from? From heaven or from men?” And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ [26] But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet.” [27] So they answered Jesus and said, “We do not know.” And He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
As we reflect upon the above interchange between Jesus and the chief priests and elders, the question arises as to; “What about us?” “How would we answer Jesus’ question?” and “Where do we think Jesus received the authority to do what He did?” To help us answer these questions we will,
1. Review by what authority John administered the baptism of repentance.
2. Find that Jesus had and has the power and authority within Himself to do the things He did.
3. See that Jesus is the Son of God.
4. Discover that Jesus Christ is our Lord and our God.
5. Discover that Jesus, in all things, submitted to the will of God the Father.
With the above introduction in mind, we begin this study by reviewing,
JOHN’S AUTHORITY TO ADMINISTER THE BAPTISM OF REPENTANCE
The Bible teaches us that the arrival of John the Baptist fulfilled what was foretold in the Old Testament. To see this, we will review the following,
TWO OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECIES
The first prophecy is recorded in,
Isaiah 40:1-4
[1] “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. [2] Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. [3] A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. [4] Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.”
Let us notice the following verses,
1-2 … Through the prophet Isaiah, God told the nation of Israel that a time was coming when their sin will have been paid for.
3a … A messenger will come to prepare the way for the Lord.
3b-4 … This type of preparation was a custom of how a path or road was cleared and leveled prior to the arrival of a great dignitary such as a king. This was done to not only show respect for the king but also to ease the difficulty of his journey. The Bible also teaches us that this portion of the prophecy was not intended to be about the physical leveling of a road. It was intended to foretell that the hearts of the people were to be prepared to receive their Messiah. To see this we go to,
Isaiah 40:5
[5] And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.""
The second prophecy God is recorded in,
Malachi 3:1-4
[1] “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty. [2] “But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. [3] He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, [4] and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years."
Let us notice the following verses,
1 … God will send a messenger to prepare the way for Him to come to His temple, which was the physical structure in Jerusalem.
2-3 … God asked the question of who will be able to stand when He appears. The reason for the question was because He foretold that when He comes, He will purify the sons of Levi. These were those chosen by God to be priests and those chosen to maintain the temple.
Also, notice that our God stated that after He does this purification, He will then have men who will provide offerings in righteousness.
JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS THE FORETOLD MESSENGER
To see that John fulfilled the prophecies of Isaiah and Malachi, we go to,
Matthew 3:1-12
[1] In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea [2] and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." [3] This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'" [4] John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. [5] People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. [6] Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. [7] But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? [8] Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. [9] And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. [10] The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. [11] I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. [12] His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.""
Let us notice the following verses,
1 … John came and preached in the desert of Judea. This fulfilled a portion of the prophecy given through Isaiah (Isaiah 40:3a).
2… Repentance was to prepare our heart to receive the Lord.
3 … By quoting the prophecy given through the prophet Isaiah, made it clear that the arrival of John the Baptist was its fulfillment.
5-6 …This was a baptism of repentance. To gain insight into the significance of John’s baptism, let us first read the definition of what it means to be baptized. According to W. E. Vine’s, “An Expository Dictionary of the New Testament”(1) the Greek meaning of the word baptism is:
"consisting of the processes of immersion, submersion and emergence, that is to dip." The phrase “to baptize”: "was used among the Greeks to signify the dyeing of a garment or the drawing of water by dipping the empty cup into a bowl full of water."
Thus, the purpose of the baptism of repentance was to demonstrate or signify that the person being baptized wanted to change their ways and live a new lifestyle. They did this by symbolically washing away their old ways and came out of the water with the resolution to lead a life pleasing to God.
8 … True baptism of repentance is not in word only, is also to be reflected through our actions and/or behavior.
12 … John also warned the people that the Person (Jesus Christ) who was coming after him will fulfill the prophecy given through Malachi. Specifically, that Person will cleanse or purge His threshing floor. As we read in Chapter 84 this is exactly what Jesus did when He cast out of the Temple the money changers and those who were buying and selling the sacrificial animals.
From the above account, we come to realize it was by the authority God gave John that: (1) He, through the baptism of repentance, prepared the hearts of the people for the Lord Jesus Christ, and (2) He also told them that when the Messiah comes, He would cleanse the Temple.
Now that we confirmed that John’s authority to baptize was given to him by God, let us now address the question Jesus was asked. Specifically, “By what authority do you (Jesus) do the things you do?” The answer to this question is twofold. First, we must realize that,
JESUS HAD AND HAS THE POWER WITHIN HIMSELF TO DO THE THINGS HE DID
To see this we will find that,
1. Unlike John the Baptist, Jesus was not an ordinary man.
2. Jesus Christ was and is the only begotten Son of God.
To confirm these truths, we begin by refreshing our memories that,
JESUS CHRIST WAS NOT AN ORDINARY MAN
To find out who Jesus Christ really is, we begin by reading about,
Jesus’ miraculous birth
The Bible teaches that the Messiah would be a man born by a virgin. Thus, His birth will be a miraculous event. This is recorded in,
Isaiah 7:14
[14] “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."
Each year at Christmas we celebrate the time when Jesus Christ was born into this world. In doing so, we proclaim the fulfillment of this prophecy. To remind ourselves about the specifics of His birth let us go to,
Matthew 1:18-25
[18] “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. [19] Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. [20] But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. [21] She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." [22] All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: [23] "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" --which means, "God with us." [24] When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. [25] But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus."
Let us notice the following verses,
18 …Before Mary and Joseph came together, she was with child.
20 … An angel told Joseph that Mary’s child was from the Holy Spirit.
21 … Note that Jesus came to save His people from their sins.
25 … Joseph and Mary had no union till after she gave birth to Jesus. Consequently, there can be no legitimate argument that Jesus’ birth was not a miraculous conception by God the Holy Spirit.
The significance of the virgin birth is that Jesus did not inherit the sin nature of Adam. In other words, His birth came outside of the natural course of things. More specifically, the Bible teaches us Jesus was begotten of God not man! Thus, Jesus was not an ordinary man.
This realization becomes clearer when we read about all the miraculous things He did. To see this let us read,
A SAMPLE OF THE THINGS JESUS DID
We begin by seeing that,
Jesus had and has power and authority over sickness and disease
A good summary of these works is provided for us in the account of what Jesus did while traveling throughout Galilee.
Matthew 4:23-25
[23] “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. [24] News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. [25] Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him."
In addition to having power and authority over sickness and disease, we find from the above account that He also cast out demons. In other words,
Jesus had (and has) the power and authority over the demons
To expand upon this a bit, let us read about the time when He healed two demon possessed men, as recorded in,
Matthew 8:28-33
[28] When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. [29] "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?" [30] Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. [31] The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs." [32] He said to them, "Go!" So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. [33] Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.”
The bible also reveals to us that,
Jesus had (and has) the power and authority over the physical elements
We see this when, on His way to the region of the Gadarenes, He calmed a severe storm.
Matthew 8:23-27
[23] Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. [24] Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. [25] The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" [26] He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. [27] The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!""
At this time, His disciples realized Jesus was no ordinary man.
In addition to having power and authority over sickness, disease, the demons and the physical elements and forces of the earth, we find that,
Jesus had (and has) the power and authority to raise the dead
This was revealed when He restored to life a widow’s son,
Luke 7:11-17
[11] Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. [12] As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out--the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. [13] When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry." [14] Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" [15] The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. [16] They were all filled with awe and praised God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said. "God has come to help his people." [17] This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.
In addition to all the signs and wonders He performed, the most glorious thing Jesus Christ did was to clearly demonstrate that,
He, Jesus, had (and has) the power and authority to forgive sin
To see this, we go to the time when He forgave the paralytic of his sins and read from,
Matthew 9:1-8
[1] Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. [2] Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven." [3] At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!" [4] Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? [5] Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? [6] But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…" Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." [7] And the man got up and went home. [8] When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men."
With the above observations in mind, Jesus Christ was clearly sent by God and is someone very, very special. Was He a great prophet as some said? (Or) Is Jesus Christ much greater?
What we find is that,
JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD
Previously, we read that the demons acknowledged Him to be the Son of God (Matthew 8:29)! Were they right? Did they understand correctly? To find out we begin by reading,
JOHN THE BAPTIST’S WITNESS
His witness is recorded in,
John 1:29-34
[29] The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! [30] This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' [31] I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel." [32] Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. [33] I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' [34] I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God."
Most important of all, let us read,
GOD THE FATHER’S WITNESS
To read what the Father said about Him, let us read what happened after John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. To do this we go to,
Matthew 3:13-17
"[13] Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. [14] But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" [15] Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented. [16] As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. [17] And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.""
Let us notice the following verse,
17 … God the Father proclaimed Jesus to be His Son.
God the Father also bore witness to Jesus Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration. This is recorded for us in,
Mark 9:2-8
[2] After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. [3] His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. [4] And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. [5] Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters--one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." [6] (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) [7] Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!" [8] Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.
Let us notice the following verses,
3 … He became dazzling white. Thus, Jesus’ true nature was revealed.
7 … God the Father bore witness to Peter, James and John that Jesus is His Son.
This raises the following question of: “What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of God?” As we continue to read the Scriptures, we discover that Jesus Christ is really God who came in the flesh of a man. Specifically, He is the literal fulfillment of all the promises God gave about His coming to save us from our sins and restore us to His Kingdom. As we saw earlier, this is the significance of the virgin birth and is why Jesus is called Immanuel, which means, “God with us.” In other words,
JESUS CHRIST IS OUR LORD AND OUR GOD
Specifically, Jesus Christ is the second Person of the Godhead, which is composed of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit).
To be sure that Jesus’ lives within the Godhead, let us read about the birth of Jesus Christ as given through the Apostle John in,
John 1:1-4
[1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was with God in the beginning. [3] Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. [4] In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
Let us notice the following verses,
1b … The Word, which is another identification that Jesus Christ, was God.
3 … Through Him all things were made.
4 … In Him was life.
Let us now skip a few verses and read from,
John 1:14
[14] The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Let us stop for a moment and reflect upon what we just read. Just think of it, the Lord Jesus Christ set aside His preeminence, humbled Himself and took upon human flesh. He did this to come into the world He created for us so He could physically live in it.
Jesus’ purpose was not only to teach us about God the Father and His Kingdom but also, through His crucifixion, to save us from our sins and give us eternal life with Him.
Skeptics say Jesus never claimed to be God. However, Jesus made it very clear to the Jews with respect to who He was. To see this, we begin by reading from,
John 10:22-30
[22] Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, [23] and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade. [24] The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." [25] Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, [26] but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. [27] My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. [28] I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. [29] My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. [30] I and the Father are one."
The following question comes to mind: “Did the Jews really understand what Jesus told them?” To find out we continue to read from,
John 10:31-33
[31] Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, [32] but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" [33] "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."
Let us notice the following verse,
33 … The reason they went to stone Jesus was because He claimed to be God. Thus, they knew exactly what Jesus had said.
Before we move on to the next portion of our study, let us read one more testimony. This one was given when Jesus, after His resurrection, appeared to Thomas. Jesus did this for the specific purpose to reveal to Thomas and us that He, Jesus, was not dead but alive! We find it in,
John 20:24-28
[24] Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. [25] So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." [26] A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" [27] Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." [28] Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
Since all of creation was created through Jesus and for Jesus; He had and has the power within Himself to do all things. To summarize this, let us read the following excerpt from Paul’s letter to the Colossians.
Colossians 1:15-19
[15] He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. [16] For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. [17] He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. [18] And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. [19] For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.
However, this is only half of the answer to the chief priest’ and elder’s question. The other half of the answer is that,
JESUS WAS TOTALLY OBEDIENT TO THE AUTHORITY AND WILL OF GOD THE FATHER
To see this, we begin by noting that,
JESUS CAME TO DO THE FATHER’S WILL
Jesus stated this objective when He tried to explain to the people that He was the True Bread from Heaven. To read what He said we go to,
John 6:38
[38] “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”
Consequently,
JESUS ONLY DID WHAT GOD THE FATHER DID
This is recorded in,
John 5:19
[19] Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.”
In addition, Jesus also said to the Jews and now us that,
HE ONLY SPOKE WHAT GOD THE FATHER TOLD HIM TO SAY
To read what Jesus said let us go to,
John 12:49-50
[49] “For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. [50] And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
With all of the above information let us now summarize,
THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION OF THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND ELDERS
Since all of creation was created through and for Jesus Christ, He had the power and authority within Himself to do whatever He wanted. However, He did not do that. Instead, out of love and obedience, Jesus submitted Himself to the will and authority of God the Father.
As one reflects upon this, the question arises as to,
WHAT IS THE MESSAGE OR POINT OF THIS STUDY FOR YOU AND ME?
Just as John the Baptist and our Lord Jesus Christ submitted to God the Father’s authority and will, we too should do the same.
To confirm this conclusion, we close by reading the following exhortation,
Philippians 2:5-11
[5] Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, [6] who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, [7] but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. [8] And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. [9] Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, [10] that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, [11] and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Shall We Pray?