JESUS
CHRIST: HIS AUTHORITY AND PARABLES
On
Tuesday of the week of Christ’s passion (Holy Week), his divine authority was called
into question. Those who occupied
positions of power in the Jewish religious establishment had taken strong exception
to Jesus’ forceful eviction of the moneychangers from the temple. After all, they had profited financially from
their unscrupulous business enterprises.
Jesus Christ thwarted their efforts with uncanny wisdom, i.e. he painted
them into a corner by asking them a question about the baptismal ministry of
his cousin, John the Baptist.
Matthew
21:23-27
23 And when he [Jesus] was come into the temple, the chief
priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and
said, By what authority doest thou these things? And who gave thee this authority?
24 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing,
which if ye tell me, I in likewise will tell you by what authority I do these
things.
25 The baptism of John, whence was it? From heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If
we shall say, from heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?
26 But if we shall say, of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a
prophet.
27 And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by
what authority I do these things.
On Tuesday and Wednesday of that
week, Jesus introduced numerous parables.
A parable is a simple, allegorical and practical presentation of truth. Hence, a parable is an earthly story with a
heavenly meaning. To further his dialogue
with the Jewish leaders, Jesus presented twin parables: ‘The Two Sons’ and ‘The
Wicked Householder.’ Please read them
yourself, as follows:
Matthew 21:28-44
28 But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came
to the first, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard.
29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.
30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I
go, sir: and went not.
31 Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The
first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the
harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
32 For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him
not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen
it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.
33 Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a
vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a
tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country:
34 And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the
husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it.
35 And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another,
and stoned another.
36 Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them
likewise.
37 But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my
son.
38 But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is
the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.
39 And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.
40 When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those
husbandmen?
41 They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will
let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits
in their seasons.
42 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone
which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is
the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?
43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and
given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever
it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
After hearing these parables, the
chief priests and Pharisees were convinced that he had referred directly to
them. They wanted to have Jesus arrested
(then and there), but they greatly feared the crowd who highly revered him. Instead, they dispatched spies to make a
pretense of being genuine followers of Jesus.
Their mission would be to question him and to listen intently for any
spoken words that might provide an opening for legal recourse and punishment.
(Luke 20:19-20)
That Tuesday, they tested Jesus with
two trick questions: 1) Should taxes be paid to the Roman government? 2) If a husband died and his wife married his
brother (a total of seven brothers in succession), who’s wife would she be after
the resurrection? It was a disingenuous
question since the Sadducees did not even believe in the resurrection. As always, Jesus responded with phenomenal
insight and discernment. (Luke 20:27-40)
Jesus concluded with a strident rebuke and clear warning about the Jewish
religious leaders of his day.
Luke 20:45-47
45 Then in the audience of all the people he said unto his
disciples,
46 Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love
greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the
chief rooms at feasts;
47 Which devour widows' houses, and for a shew make long prayers: the same
shall receive greater damnation.
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