Actions Speak Louder Than Words -- Jesus' warning to the Jewish authorities in Matthew 21:23-31
- mww
- 1 day ago
- 15 min read
It's not possible to be the people of God in name only.
Bible Study Ideas and Commentary for Matthew 21:23-31
In this week's passage, the Jewish authorities challenge Jesus why He thought He had the right to upend their temple commerce. And to make a long story short, the fact that they had turned God's house of prayer into their house of profit was proof that they were no longer God's obedience people. God is not fooled by hypocrisy.
Truly I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you (21:31)
Getting Started: Things to Think About
Here are some wide-ranging topics you might use as an icebreaker. They all connect to this week's passage in their own unique way.
Procrastination and Disobedience
Has somebody ever asked you to do something, you say you will, and then you don't? (The answer is yes, btw.) This topic is finding out why we do that. Here are my theories:
You say yes to too many things and can't possibly do them all.
You get distracted easily by other things to do.
You don't set a reminder and simply forget.
You don't intend to and say yes to get the person off your back.
You don't know how but are embarrassed to admit it.
What are other reasons? What am I missing?
What's the problem with that behavior? Or, when does that behavior become a problem?
In this week's passage, Jesus wants us to think about that very thing.
Which Authority Figures Do You Trust?
This hasn't been a great couple of weeks for Congress; I just saw these headlines:
Add that to the list of people in other positions of authority who have been charged with misconduct, negligence, incompetence, and worse.
With all of that in mind, and without letting your group get political (which would not be helpful for this topic!), which positions of authority do your group members trust these days, and why?
For me, in times of uncertainty, the list narrows to those people I know (and trust) and the people they say they trust. And then I look really hard at the "fruit" (that's what Jesus calls it) from these people. It makes it harder to determine who to trust, but I think that's worth it.
In this week's passage, we have on full display that the "authorities" the people have trusted are not worthy of that trust.
When You've Run Askew of Authority
Matthew has been building to this throughout his Gospel -- Jesus is very much on the outs with the "religious authorities" of His day (that's a humorous statement to write).
Have you ever been in that situation? With a teacher, boss, parent, whoever? (The answer is again yes, so work with me here.)
There are two versions of this -- one where you were in the wrong, and one where you were in the right. Obviously, the closer one to what Jesus was dealing with was when you were in the right. So, talk about an experience when you were in conflict with someone in authority, but you were in the right. What was that like? How did it go? Clearly it didn't go the same way as Jesus' conflict because you're still alive, but I still want you to think about the emotions and turmoils you experienced. That way, you can be all the more amazed as you realize the grace and control Jesus exhibited in the same situation.
If Jesus Visited Your Church
The setup for this week's passage is Jesus "cleansing the temple" by driving out the moneychangers. If you've forgotten about this event, here's a recap:
The Jewish authorities had allowed all kinds of non-worship-behaviors in their "sanctuary" (set aside for God's worship), and Jesus had it out with them.
This week's passage covers "the next day" when Jesus came back to the temple and the "authorities" had had a day to argue about how they wanted to deal with Him.
This is a tough question: if Jesus visited your church this morning, how would He react? It's a tough question because (1) no church is perfect, and (2) that's because every church is made up of sinners like you (and me). If your group can have an intelligent discussion about what Jesus would find in your worship service, you need to follow it immediately with what your group members as individuals can do to "improve" things.
In other words, if they say there's not a "spirit of prayer", what will they do about that? If they say the lost are no welcome, what will they do about that?
This Week's Big Idea: Holy Week
Plus Where We Are in Matthew
The rest of our lessons in Matthew come from what we call "Holy Week". We've jumped around enough, and we've studied this part of the Gospels enough, that it might be jumbled together in everyone's brains. Let's take a moment to give an overview of Holy Week so everyone can get their bearings. In other words, this week's "Big Idea" will also be this week's "Where We Are" section.
Outline of Matthew
We are in the last "cycle" of narrative and teaching:
Part 5: Progressive Polarization (13:43-19:2)
More rejection, bigger miracles (13:53-17:27)
Fourth teaching (Life under Kingdom Authority) (18:1-19:2)
Part 6: Opposition and Grace (19:3-26:5)
Into the Passion Week (19:3-23:39)
Fifth teaching (the Olivet Discourse) (24:1-25:46)
Part 7: The Passion and Resurrection of Jesus (26:6-28:20)
Here's the detailed breakdown of the lead-up and beginning of Holy Week:
Pharisees challenge Jesus about divorce (19:1-12) (the husband is not more important)
Jesus blesses the children (19:13-15) (adults are not more important)
The rich young man asks for validation (19:16-30) (the wealthy are not more important)
The parable of the vineyard landowner (20:1-16) (God makes His own choices)
Jesus predicts His death (20:17-19)
The disciples misunderstand greatness (20:20-28)
Jesus heals blind men (20:29-34)
The Triumphal Entry (21:1-11) [Sunday of Holy Week]
Jesus "cleanses" the temple (21:12-17) [Monday* of Holy Week - see Mark 11:11]
Jesus and the fig tree (21:18-22) [Monday morning and evening; see below]
Pharisees challenge Jesus' authority (21:23-27)
Jesus challenges the Pharisees' heart (21:28-46)
Parable of the Two Sons
Parable of the Tenants
Jesus tells more parables (22:1-14) [Tuesday* of Holy Week]
Pharisees challenge Jesus about taxes (22:15-22)
Sadducees challenge Jesus about marriage (22:23-33)
Pharisees ask about the greatest commandment (22:34-40)
everything else through chapter 25 is believed to take place on Tuesday
There's debate about what happened on Monday or Tuesday. I don't lose much sleep over it; Matthew obviously didn't think it made a big difference which of these events happened on Monday or Tuesday for the purposes of his narrative.
Jesus wants it to be clear to the people that the "authorities" are in fact the blind guides He has warned them about. When the people thought about this week in the future, they would realize that Jesus was innocent, that the Jewish authorities were at fault, and they would choose to align themselves with Jesus' disciples.
This week's passage in particular highlights the obvious failures of the Jewish leaders. It would be one of many data points that would bring many Jews into the early church.
Next week we will talk more about chapter 22. The following Sundays cover passages from chapters 24, 25, 26, and 27.
Bonus Big Idea: Authority in Fallible Hands
I mentioned this a few weeks ago and said I would bring it up this week. But there's so much else going on in the world and the passage that I don't want to devote as much time to it as I originally thought.
The Jewish authorities wanted to squelch Jesus because He taught things that were outside of their carefully-managed worldview. In other words, they wanted to use their authority to promote their version of truth and deny what was clearly (at the very least) a prophet of God (let alone God Himself). That's what happens when authority falls into fallible hands.
I saw these headlines a few weeks ago, and they really bothered me:
I want to be clear here -- I am not suggesting that China's ethnic minorities are on the same level as Jesus; I am suggesting that the Chinese government's behavior is a similar sort of abuse of authority that we see in ancient Jerusalem. Does that distinction make sense?
This leads to a classic sci-fi diystopia, where the government tells you what to believe (even if the government is wrong). The Chinese policy extends to Chinese Christians -- Chinese communism is against all forms of religion because those religions claim authoritative teachings that are at odds with official Chinese doctrine.
That's not the only place where authorities are actively trying to squash Christianity. It is our responsibility as Christians to speak up for truth -- here in the United States and around the world.
One More Big Idea: Two Cleansings of the Temple?
[Note: "cleansing the temple" is what we call this event where Jesus overturned the moneychanging tables and drove out the merchants from the temple court.]
The cleansing of the temple in Matthew 21:12-13 seems to be part of what spurred this week's passage, but it's not actually part of this week's focal passage. But you might remember a few weeks ago in the Easter lesson --
that I pointed out some similarities and differences between Matthew's telling of the cleansing of the temple and John's (in John 2:1-25). We've studied both of these events:
You might have heard from someone along the way that Jesus cleansed the temple one time -- that the Synoptics put the cleansing during Holy Week, and John put the cleansing early in Jesus' ministry. To make a long story short, whoever said that was wrong. There are two separate cleansings of the temple, one early in Jesus' ministry, and one at the end. Enough time had passed (probably three years) between the events that whatever increased security the Jewish authorities had enacted would have gone lax by the time Jesus came back.
This is important, in part, because it makes more sense out of this week's passage. In Matthew's telling, Jesus does not tell the Jews where His authority comes from. In John's telling, Jesus says His authority comes from His resurrection (more or less). Is that a contradiction? Of course not. These were two different events. Early in Jesus' ministry, it was not time for a direct war of words with the Jews, so Jesus gave a vague statement. But here, late in Jesus' ministry, Jesus wanted it to be clear to the people that the Jewish authorities were frauds, so He backed them into a corner.
Part 1: The Jewish Authorities Are Frauds (Matthew 21:23-27)
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.
[About the timeline. I know I gave you a lot of information above, but this might still be confusing; we have to combine Matthew 21 with Mark 11. Mark 11:12 explains that the cleansing of the temple took place the day after the Triumphal Entry, hence Monday. And then Mark 11:20 explains that the Pharisees' confrontation (this week's passage) took place the day after that, hence Tuesday. But Mark also says that Jesus cursed the fig tree on Monday, and the disciples noted it withered on Tuesday. Matthew does not give that layer of detail -- he just describes the event of the fig tree in one fell swoop. In other words, Matthew 21:18-19 happened on Monday morning, and Matthew 21:20-22 happened on Tuesday morning. This is helpful for understanding the second part of this week's lesson.]
"When he entered the temple" suggests that time has passed since Jesus cleansed it. This is why it is clear to me that this is a different event than what John described in his chapter 2, when the Pharisees challenged Jesus' authority immediately. That first event in John 2, the Jewish authorities dismissed Jesus as a zealot. But this time, following Palm Sunday, the Jews are much more wary of Jesus and definitely afraid of the people. So they were much more cautious of how they attempted to "deal" with Him.
But in both cases, Jesus was acting outside the "norm" for Jewish temple behavior. To be fair to the Jewish authorities, they could not let Jesus go unchallenged. He was directly condemning what they had allowed to happen in the temple. (Read my Moneychangers in Worship post above if you want to be reminded of what was so wrong about their activity.) (And yes, I think it's clear that the Jewish authorities were getting a kickback from the activity they were allowing in the temple.)
[Aside about Palm Sunday. We often say that "the same voices that shouted 'Hosanna!' on Sunday were shouting 'crucify Him!' on Friday". That's not entirely true. The voices shouting "Hosanna!" belonged to the people who followed Jesus into Jerusalem. They were Jewish pilgrims come for the feast. They were "outsiders" to Jerusalem, more zealous in their faith and those who had seen Jesus' miracles with their own eyes. Those are the people who would come to the temple to pray when Jesus was there -- they were the people the Jewish authorities were afraid of.
That's why when the Jewish authorities pushed Pilate to try Jesus, it happened deep in Jerusalem and on their schedule when and where they could gather as many of their cronies as possible and influence the crowd to their will.
So, yes, some of the voices were the same on Sunday and on Friday. But it is better thought that the voices on Sunday were those following Jesus. And the voices on Friday were those influenced by the Jewish authorities -- and they were loud enough to sway folks in the crowd who didn't really know what was going on. It's a classic "insiders vs. outsiders" event.]
Jesus is probably sitting and teaching under one of the porticos surrounding the Courtyard of the Gentiles. I think it's safe to assume that it's much quieter there than it was the day before.
"These things" suggests that the Jewish authorities were concerned with Jesus' actions the day before rather than whatever He was teaching at that moment.
Jesus' response is truly consummate. He doesn't duck their question. He answers it in such a way that makes it clear to the entire crowd who is "in charge" -- who has true authority and who pretends.
Note that the Jews didn't really care about the answer. They were just going to say whatever what the most self-serving. And they knew that they were in hostile territory -- the same people who supported John (clearly and obviously a prophet of God) now supported Jesus. And that's why the Jews needed to isolate Jesus from this crowd so they could have Him executed.
They weren't interested in speaking the truth in front of this crowd. They were trying to manipulate all of the words being used for their own appearance.
Aside: Focus on Lies
This is for my FBC Thomson folks. David just preached a sermon on the Ninth Commandment -- false witness. And he covered five common kinds of lies and the reasons why people use them. Do you remember?
The cruel lie / resentment
The cowardly lie / fear
The conceited lie / insecurity
The calculated lie / selfishness
The convenient lie / laziness
His defense against this was to tell the truth
completely
consistently, and
lovingly
Here's an exercise for our FBC Thomson folks: what kind(s) of lie did the Jews tell? How many of those categories did they meet?
Part 2: The Jewish Authorities Are Hypocrites (Matthew 21:28-32)
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.
As further demonstration of who really had the authority here, Jesus immediately leads them into another corner where their own words can only reveal their hypocrisy.
This is a great hypothetical, and your group should have no trouble understanding the point.
Taking a good, uncomfortable look inside, though, might be another matter. You should take advantage of this open door.
I own this shirt. I love this shirt. And it always gets a good laugh from somebody who hasn't seen it before. But the question is -- are you emphasizing the "I wish I could" or the "I don't want to"? In other words, which of the two sons is this t-shirt emulating?
We have all said things
to a family member
to a co-worker
to our church
to God (!)
that we haven't followed through on. What Jesus says in these verses is that not doing something you were asked to do -- for whatever reason -- is disobedience. You can sugarcoat it however you want, but it's disobedience.
[Parenting Aside: I was actually rather proud of my kids when they got to the "I don't want to, but I'll do it anyway" phase of maturity. I can tell that they don't want to, so they may as well be honest about it. But their sense of responsibility has become greater than their hypocrisy. Do you have a story about that with your kids?]
This week is a great opportunity to have your group do a silent inventory of those things they have failed to follow through on. What can they do to either get those things done or find another solution? (Late obedience is better than disobedience.)
Perhaps as well, what do they need to change so they stop putting themselves in that situation?
That's not Jesus' primary point with this passage. This is about the nature of the people of God, not measures of individual obedience. But that look at individual obedience is a great application for us nonetheless.
Now let's get to the big picture of Jesus' application.
This is Jesus' perspective of what it means to be the people of God. God knows the heart, so lip-service accomplishes nothing. God expects His people to obey Him with their whole heart.
In the immediate context, this means this event:
21:12 Jesus went into the temple and threw out all those buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. 13 He said to them, “It is written, my house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of thieves!”
The Jews knew the purpose of the temple of God, and they had said that they would forever treat it as God's house. But in actuality, they treated it as a place to enrich themselves.
Conversely, the Gentiles (remember that Jesus said this in the Court of the Gentiles) seemed to treat the space with the respect it deserved.
And so that brings us back around to the fig tree which Matthew mentions between the cleansing of the temple and this week's passage.
21:18 Early in the morning, as he was returning to the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, he went up to it and found nothing on it except leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” At once the fig tree withered.
Mark says that it was not the season for figs, which might make Jesus' curse seem unfair. But the tree was in leaf. On a fig tree, the figs appear with (or even before) the leaves. If it's not the season for figs, those figs won't be ripe yet and won't taste good, but they'll exist. But this tree -- it was a fig tree in leaf, but no figs. It had the appearance of being a "normal" (fruitful) fig tree, but it had no fruit. And therefore it was good for nothing.
And that was this Jewish nation. They had the appearance of being the people of God. They had the temple of God. They walked around in the garb of God's people. They carried around God's word. But they had no fruit, and therefore all of those "leaves" were good for nothing.
They had said "yes" to God, but they had not done what God asked.
But these outsiders -- the outcasts like tax collectors and prostitutes -- they had the fruit of repentance. They followed and listened to Jesus. They were the last who were now first.
Jesus is obviously not suggesting that every Jew had disobeyed God. In other words, Jesus was not saying that "one son = Jews and the other son = Gentiles". This was person-by-person. And those Jews who were challenging Jesus at that moment were examples of people who had claimed to follow God but by their actions proved that they had in fact rejected God. And these outsiders who had not followed all of the Jewish norms, they were proving by their repentance by sitting in God's temple listening to Jesus' teaching; they were proving to be more the people of God than these hypocritical Jews.
Christianity is a personal decision, not something you are born into. The Jews in Jesus' day had decided that being right with God (they wouldn't have used the word Christianity) was their birthright.
This passage becomes an opportunity for us to evaluate ourselves and our churches. Are we actually being the people of God? Or are we just paying lip-service?
It's not too late to repent and get back on track.
What Happens Next
The next two parables Jesus tells not only go into more detail about the kind of disobedience those Jews had exhibited, but also into the punishment they will receive from God. It's tough.