Luke 20:1-8 "Authority, Law and Gospel"

I used to make a lot of music videos. One time I wanted to make a video for one of my band’s songs and I thought I had the perfect location. I asked everyone to meet up at that beautiful cemetery on Washington Ave, the one where Howard Hughes is buried. We didn’t even get the gear out of my van before security shut us down. Apparently, we needed permission to do any kind of photography or video shoot there. Some people frown on having their loved one’s graves trampled on and exploited by rock bands. Who knew?

So, we went to our second location—an abandoned warehouse. Didn’t check with anyone about that either. Just jumped the fence, set up drums and everything—got away with it this time. 

Ever done something you didn’t have the authority to do? Maybe not as stupid as trespassing to make a music video but something. We used to ride motorcycles in farmer’s fields without permission—some of my friends would go hunting in private wooded areas, or fishing in private ponds. Hey, what’s a little felony-level aggravated trespassing amongst friends?

Or maybe you just spoke up and said something that made the room cringe. Like Michael Scott on The Office when he took the mic at Phyllis's wedding reception and gave the most painfully awkward speech—I almost can’t watch it. “Hi, I’m Michael Scott and for the next forty minutes, I’m going to be your tour guide through the lives of Phyllis and Bob Vance—their celebrity couple name would be Phlob… I mean, look at her, it kind of fits!.”

This sort of thing seems like a national pastime these days—saying things in the wrong place at the wrong time without any thought to whether they have the right to say it. Whether it was a good idea to say it or not. Whether they really have the authority to say it or not.

We are continuing in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 20… 

One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel… Luke 20:1

Jesus had cleared a spot in the temple so He could set up and hold court teaching all the faithful people of Israel who had obeyed God’s Word and traveled to Jerusalem for Passover. I’m sure they had been to many great Passover festivals throughout the years but this was going to be one for the ages. The Passover was a celebration of when God saved His people from Egypt—if they put the blood of the Passover lamb on the door frame of their house before the Angel of Death showed up, he spared the life of their first born. It was the final sign and wonder for Pharaoh, the one that finally got his full attention and convinced him to let the Israelites go. 

Well, the One greater than Moses had arrived. The Messiah. The One who promised salvation was finally here—not only Israel but to everyone who believes. He was bringing the true exodus to real freedom. And it was going to happen during this year’s Passover festival.

So, all these faithful people of God had come to the temple in Jerusalem like they were supposed to, it was the busiest week of the year, and what do they find when they get there? Jesus is just sitting there in the temple teaching. 

Can you imagine? This would be like Kemper taking over Lakewood on Christmas Eve and grabbing the mic from Joel—after he chased Victoria out the front door and flipped over the tables in the bookstore. “Merry Christmas and read your freaking Bibles!” 

Jesus has the attention of all the festival goers, teaching them about the kingdom of God—notice how Luke says it, says He was “preaching the gospel.” The “good news.” 

What was the “good news?” What’s the gospel? What exactly was He preaching? 

Larry Norman was a Christian rocker I used to really like back in the day. He said sometimes preachers are like, “Listen to me! I’m trying to tell you the good news!” “What’s that?” “You’re going to hell!” And people are like, “That doesn’t sound like good news.”

Jesus was preaching the Gospel. It was good news. That God was saving them again. This time for good. A rescue even greater than the Exodus and the parting of the Red Sea. This is the beginning of Holy Week, the cross and the resurrection are happening before they go back home. Jesus was getting all these people who had come to the temple ready for the Passover of all Passovers.

The temple was the place where God promised to be in the midst of His people—His special presence on the earth. God is actually everywhere of course, but He promised to be present in the temple in a special way. The people could come to the temple to pray and worship and offer sacrifices—and God promised to be there in the midst of them. 

And you have to love this, Jesus is where the special presence of God on the earth is now. He is the walking, breathing divine presence. The incarnation. The Word made flesh. Emmanuel, God with us. So the divine presence comes to the divine presence and preaches about a cosmic shift that is about to occur in the world—the central event of history. By taking His final stand in the temple, Jesus is asserting that His authority is that of God Himself.

And He’s preaching the Gospel. 

The book we are working through line-by-line is called “The Gospel of Luke.” There’s also the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Mark, and the Gospel of John. The message of salvation is called “the Gospel.” But there’s also Gospel music, Gospel brunches, and Gospel Cola. So, what is the Gospel exactly? I’m going to tell you. Try to remember this, write it on your hand and on your forehead in reverse so you can read it in the mirror: The Gospel is everything God does for us through Jesus that we could have never done for ourselves. 

That’s what Jesus was preaching about. Jesus is the Gospel. For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him would not die but would live forever.

NewChurch is a Lutheran church, (hopefully that’s not too much of a shock to anyone here this morning) and probably the most important idea in Lutheran theology is an idea called the proper distinction between Law and Gospel. The Law is what God commands us to do, and the Gospel is what He does for us. The Law is what God expects us to do and the Gospel is what Jesus did for us. It’s important that we don’t get those things mixed up. It seems like a simple concept but most Christians have these things very confused. 

Ask people why they think they’ll go to heaven when they die and see if they don’t say something about how they think they’re a pretty good person, done good things—compare themselves to other people they think are worse than they are. Ask people what they have to do to be saved and see if they don’t come up with a list of things they think THEY have to do.

There’s nothing you can do to save yourself. You can’t add anything to what Jesus has done for you that will save you more than He already saved you. He made you right with God by coming down here Himself and doing it for you. You have as much to do with it as when He raised Lazarus from the dead. That’s the Gospel. The Gospel is everything God does for you through Jesus—everything else is Law. 

But that’s not to say the Law is nothing. The Law is also very important. If God tells you to do something, you better do it. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and then He told him to get up and come out of the tomb—he better get up and get out of that thing.

God saves you through Jesus. That’s the Gospel. Then He tells you to start doing all the things He saved you to do. And guess what? You better freaking do it!

It takes more than a lifetime to understand all the implications of what these things mean and how they play out in our faith and practice. Both Law and Gospel are absolutely necessary and essential to the life of faith but only the Gospel can save you. Law and Gospel. Both are vital. Both are a gift. But only one of them saves. If you stick around, we can sort this out together, we’ll spend the rest of our lives digging through the treasure of everything the distinction between Law and Gospel means for our life and salvation. 

Jesus was in the temple preaching the Gospel. He was talking about what He came to do for His people. And all those people who had traveled to Jerusalem for the holiday were eating it up—hanging on every word. Wouldn’t you love to go back and be in that crowd? I mean, give me enough warning so I can learn how to understand Aramaic before I get in the time machine, but count me in!

…the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.” Luke 20:2

Security shows up. You had to know this was coming. Jesus had cleared the temple courts by driving the flea market out with a whip then He sat down right in front and started teaching like He owned the place. Of course the people who run the temple were going to notice.

“Where’s your permit for a public assembly?”

“Can we see your rabbi certification?”

“Do you have a license to flip tables or registration for that donkey you rode in on?”

It was a “who’s who” of Jewish religious leaders: the Sadducees, who were the priests who ran the temple. It was the Pharisees, the lawyers who ruled in all the legal theological charges against people, the ones who trained and put their official stamp on rabbis, the ones who kept a tight grip on all the synagogues throughout the country. It was the members of the High Council, the Sanhedrin, who were the chief rabbis—kind of like their congress. Other than Herod and his political cronies, these were the most powerful and influential men in Israel. These are the ones who show up to confront Jesus about what right He has to be doing what He’s doing.

But they don’t ask Him in front of the crowd, they wait and corner Him on a break. 

He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?” Luke 20:3-4

He’s not avoiding the question. He’s answering the question with a question but it’s a solid answer. They had asked Jesus who gave Him the authority to take over the temple and teach in the position of an official rabbi—because it sure wasn’t them—the temple priests, or the scribes, or the lawyers, or the Pharisees, or the members of the Sanhedrin. They’re like, “Who gave you the authority to do what you’re doing? It certainly wasn’t any of us!”

And He answers them as clear as day. “The same one who gave John the authority to baptize people.” Which is to say, “None of you people. John baptized with the authority of God, he didn’t need your permission—neither do I.”

At the beginning of the Gospel of Luke, we meet John the Baptist’s parents. We find out his mother, Elizabeth, is a relative of Mary. We meet his father Zechariah in the temple—the very same place this story is happening. Zechariah was a priest. He went in to do his priest thing and an angel told him his wife was going to have a baby and the baby would be a prophet. Everyone knew this story. Zechariah thought his wife was too old to have a baby so he didn’t believe the angel—Gabriel didn’t think his doubt was acceptable, so he zapped him and didn’t allow him to speak until John was born. “You want a sign, Zech? Here’s your sign.” We’re told everyone talked about the miracle of John’s birth throughout all of Judea—everyone was waiting to see what great things John the miracle son of Zechariah was going to do.

Which directly impacts our story because what great thing did John the Baptist do? He prepared the way for his cousin. He told the people to repent—get ready for the Messiah. Everyone went out to hear John preach and get baptized. Everyone thought he was a prophet. Everyone except the chief priests and the scribes and the elders—the same guys who were questioning Jesus here. They had gone out to see John, too, but they rejected him just like they rejected the one he was preparing the way for.  

Then one day Jesus comes walking up and John says, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is the One. He’s finally here. This is the One we’ve been waiting for, the One I’ve been talking about!”

And Jesus says, “Hey cuz. I need you to baptize me.” 

John was like, “No way! I’m the one who needs to be baptized by You!”

Jesus steps into the water of the Jordan river and John baptizes Jesus. And do you remember what happens next?

Authority happens. A voice from heaven says, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased—listen to Him!” The Holy Spirit descends on Jesus like a dove. The Son of God standing in the river with holy water dripping from His beard, God the Father speaking from heaven giving Him the authority to speak for Him, and the Holy Spirit resting upon Him. The Three Persons of the Holy Trinity—the same Three Persons that all of us who are baptized are baptized in the name of. The Holy Name of God. The name of all authority. Where does Jesus’ authority come from? God, of which He Himself is a person.

They had heard all about this—they knew all about John the Baptizer, whose entire ministry was to prepare the way for Jesus. They got the point.

“So, was the baptism of John from heaven or man?” 

And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” Luke 20:5—6

Either John the Baptist and his cousin Jesus are prophets from God who were sent to usher in the new era of salvation, or they’re false prophets who should be put to death according to The Law where it says,

“But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ [Deuteronomy 18:20]

It was these religious leaders' job to judge these things. Was John a prophet or not? 

They knew he was. They knew.

But they had rejected God’s plan of salvation by rejecting John and his baptism—they were also rejecting Jesus who John said was greater than him—all the people knew Jesus was greater than John. The leaders might want to take Jesus down but they don’t want to go down with Him.

They refused to answer because they were afraid the crowd would pick up some of those stones laying around the temple, which was under construction so there were a lot of them, they’d use the actual stones of the temple to stone the priests and all their cronies. I can’t help but remember what Jesus said, “If you reject me and try to silence these people, these very stones will cry out.” 

So they answered that they did not know where it came from. And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” Luke 20:7-8

This is funny. These are not the kind of people who would admit when they don’t know something. These were professional know-it-alls. So, this was like an episode of Jeopardy where the stakes are life and death. 

“I’ll take Religious Figures for 200, Alex.”

“This prophet prepared the way for Jesus with the authority of heaven.”

One of the scribes hits the button, “What is ‘I don’t know the answer.”

Tribek says, “I’m sorry, that is not the response we were looking for.” 

Then the audience is given 200 stones to throw at the scribe.

[They refuse to answer where John’s authority came from, so Jesus refuses to answer them. They know the answer to their question, they may or may not want to believe it, but they know Jesus said His authority was from God—they also know in their heart it’s true. They know what He’s saying is true. They just don’t like it. That’s still not an uncommon response to what Jesus says.

The next parable is going to get to their motives behind all this. The next few chapters are going to be a sample of some of the teaching Jesus did in the temple that week.

Notice they didn’t show up prepared to arrest Jesus or shut down His teaching. When He doesn’t answer them they just slither away to make their murderous plans.

I have to admit, one of the things I really love about Jesus is His ability to shut people down with truth bombs—I think I might love that too much. 

My mom used to say I should have been a lawyer. She said I could argue with the wall. She said I’d argue for the sake of arguing—that I’d argue one direction and then when I got tired of it, I’d turn around and argue the other direction. In the 8th grade, I got sent to the principal’s office for arguing with a teacher. The principal scolded me. He sat behind his big desk and said, “Frank, if I said my jacket was blue, you’d argue that it was red.” I looked at his jacket and said, “It looks gray to me.” He was already mad but that set him on fire. He leaned forward and pointed his finger in my face, getting ready to let me have it, I guess.” I stood up and looked down at him pointing his finger at me—I had grown to my adult height in the 7th grade, I was a big kid. He told me to get out of his office. Later I found out he called my mom and said he was afraid of me—and she laughed at him, “Let me get this straight, you’re afraid of Frankie?”  She laughed when she told me the story, too. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Ha. 

I try not to argue with people anymore. Although it took me a long time to get there. I can still fall into the trap sometimes. Just trying to win an argument, instead of being concerned with the person I’m speaking with. I try to remember that it’s more important to love people than to prove I’m right. I’m not saying I’m great at it.

As followers of Jesus, we’re supposed to be people who speak the truth but He commands us to speak the truth in love. Truth without love is cruel. It’s just brutal judgment. And love without truth isn’t love at all—it’s just sentimentality. Shallow and plastic. Truth must always be said in love—kindness, gentleness, self-control. All that fruit of the Spirit stuff.

Our culture is so deeply divided. We can’t have a conversation about anything without it escalating into an argument that ends up with people calling each other terrible things like “Hitler” or “racists” or “Nickelback fans.” 

Stop setting the world on fire with your prideful temper tantrums. Read the room! If what you’re about to say isn’t going to help the person you’re saying it to—shut up—you don’t have to say it. You don’t make things better by making them worse. 

People don’t need to hear you talk about how much you disagree with their ideas. They don’t need to hear about how stupid you think their opinions are. What they need to hear is the Gospel. What God does for them through Jesus that they can’t do. That’s the first truth they need to hear.

So, try to stay on the grace side of the fence. Try not to argue. When it’s important, speak the truth in love. But then say what you have to say and be done with it. Don’t escalate. Don’t repeat yourself. Don’t answer questions no one has asked. Don’t let yourself get caught in a situation where you’re not concerned with anything but winning the argument. No one ever wins an argument.

You have been saved for a purpose. That purpose is to bring the hope of heaven into your present world in whatever way you can. To share the hope you’ve been given with people who need it. You’ve been commanded to tell people the Gospel. The Gospel—remember what that is? You’ve been given the authority to do this in Jesus’ name. Everywhere you go. Everyone you talk to. You don’t need to ask permission from anyone, your authority comes from God Himself.

Jesus didn’t allow anyone to stop Him from preaching the Gospel. He still doesn’t. His teaching still commands authority and priority today over all other teaching. It’s all subject to His reign and the wisdom of His Word. Pray that you will have bold faith that honors Christ, keeps His name holy—and try to stay on the grace side of the fence. He claims you as His holy temple now, you are the special presence of God in the world, may He rule your heart, soul, mind, and strength in forgiveness, peace, and love. AMEN