St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Wesley Chapel, FL
Preacher: The Rev. Adrienne R. Hymes
Proper 21/Year A ▪ October 1, 2023
Gospel: Matthew 21:23-32
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Our gospel passage, in the 21st chapter of Matthew, takes place during the last week of Jesus’ life and on the day after Jesus had zealously cleansed the temple of the corrupt commerce taking place. By this point in the gospel, Jesus had boldly entered Jerusalem with a triumphal procession and had a growing following from his teaching, preaching casting out demons and healings. Jews and Gentiles, alike, were following Jesus. Jesus had shown up in Jerusalem, on the turf of the religious authorities, interrupting their regularly-scheduled temple business, and they were angry (vv.12-17).
Understanding what happened the day before frames the tense one-sided turf war of words that publicly unfolded between Jesus, the chief priests and the elders of the people. As Jesus was teaching in the temple, his opponents interrupted him by asking, “By what authority are you doing these things and who gave you this authority?” (v. 23). Was Jesus’ authority from God, Satan or self-proclaimed? This challenge to Jesus’ authority was a “gotcha” question intended to entrap Jesus on the basis of his answer. There was an unspoken, implicit question being asked, “Who do you think you are?”
Jesus responded to his opponents with a “gotcha” question of his own. Jesus asked, “Did the baptism of John come from heaven or was it of human origin?” (v. 25). Jesus’ challengers’ question implied, “Who do you think you are?” and Jesus’ implied question was, “Who do you think you’re talking to?”
We can get a clue from earlier in Matthew’s gospel. John the Baptist prophesied about the one who was more powerful than he who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. Prior to Jesus showing up for his baptism in the Jordan river, many Pharisees and Sadducees had also come for baptism—the religious leaders whom John condemned a brood of vipers. In that scene, Jesus had come to be baptized by John. And, when John baptized Jesus, the heavens were opened, the Spirit of God alighted on Jesus and a voice from heaven was heard by all, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased” (Mt 3:17).
John’s ministry had stirred up the people, and it is reasonable to think that the religious leaders feared that Jesus’ actions were doing the same. Answering Jesus’ question was risky for the religious leaders because, for them, there could be no “right” answer. Either response could jeopardize their own credibility and authority amongst the people, and could potentially ignite an angry backlash from the people who believed that John the Baptist was truly God’s prophet. Choosing to avoid the consequences of either answer, the leaders gave a calculated response to Jesus, “We do not know.”
Jesus refused to answer their question, “Who do you think you are,” because they could not answer his question, “Who do you think you’re talking to?” Note that in Jesus’ refusal to directly answer the religious leaders’ question, he communicated an unspoken truth that they were incapable of perceiving—that the temple was, in truth, not their turf and that Jesus was not empowered by their earthly religious authority. And, they in fact, had no authority to ask Jesus questions at all.
At first glance, it would appear that the leaders disrupted Jesus’ teaching in the temple. But Jesus masterfully used the exchange with the leaders as a teachable moment for those who had come to hear Jesus, as well as his opponents, using the parable of the two sons. Jesus was still actively teaching, but his opponents, who feigned ignorance when asked to answer Jesus’ question, actually “did not know” that they were being taught by Jesus who did so with the authority given to him by God.
In the parable, a father had two sons, both of whom are commanded, “…Go and work in the vineyard today.” The first son denied his father’s command, but later changed his mind and went to work. The second son said that he would go and never showed up. The religious leaders acknowledged that clearly the first son had been obedient to his father’s will.
It is interesting that that was something Jesus’ challengers did know, and no doubt, they saw themselves in the character of the obedient son. Without mincing words, Jesus shattered their self-righteous thoughts by revealing that the moral outcasts of society—the tax collectors and the prostitutes—would enter the kingdom of God before them.
On that day, in the person of Jesus, the kingdom of God had come near to the chief priests and the elders, in the sacred space of the temple, obliterating their cast system, by teaching that God loves not only the Jews but the outcasts and the Gentiles. Their obedience to their own religious power, hindered them from being obedient to God and from bearing fruit worthy of repentance. They were more aligned with the character of the second son who blew off his father’s command for his own interests.
As followers of the ultimate authority for all Christians, Jesus Christ himself, this parable warns against self-righteous religion which hardens the heart to God’s presence. Guarding against that very human temptation, Jesus calls us to develop a discipline of repentance—a turning of our hearts away from the sinful self and toward God, and showing up to work in God’s vineyard even when worldly interests pull us away. When we intentionally develop a discipline of repentance, we not only believe that Jesus Christ is Lord; we believe in Jesus Christ, through whom God enables us, “…To will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil 2:13).
Often the Church’s focus is on evangelizing the unchurched or de-churched persons. Consider that this passage might be about the need to evangelize the churched—the religious community—us.
We need to be reminded of our own susceptibility to rejecting God’s commands like both of the sons did. And, we need to be reminded that, each day, by God’s grace, we can change our minds and follow in the footsteps of our savior and choose obedience.
The same Word of God, which came to John in the wilderness, and propelled him forward as a prophet, calls each of us to claim our prophetic voices and to reclaim the prophetic voice of the Church, both of which are instruments of God’s grace and mercy, speaking truth to power in this broken world. We can do this with confidence because we know who we are; we are children of God, and we know by whose authority we have been sent into the vineyard “out there” to work. And, we only know who we are because we know who Jesus is and what he did for us on the cross.
Amidst a world that increasingly denies and mocks God’s children with the implied question, in its varied forms, “Who do you think you are,” we might take advantage of those teachable moments, as Jesus did. We just might enlighten those who have not yet heard the good news of Christ, and make space to make Christ known by asking, “Who do you think you’re talking to?”
Amen.
