Introduction

Last week we saw that real prayer comes from a heart full of faith and forgiveness. There were a few other sheep gates I wanted to close from last week before we move to our next for today.

1. Is forgiveness costly? (nuances of how much the debtor was owed)

We emphasized in the last sermon the off-the-charts amount of the debt we owe God—like 10,000 talents. However, we did not have time to comment on the amount of debt that the debtor refused to forgive (100 denarii). It was a significant amount. If we look at it in today’s equivalency in America—let’s say an average yearly wage right now is $19,000 (including food workers, waitresses, farm workers, cashiers, movie theater workers, etc.).

The figure of $19,000 divided by 365 would be about $52 per day. Take that multiplied by 100 days, and that equals $5,200. It is not an exact equivalent, of course, but it is a good starting point. 

Many of us think of $5,000 as a significant amount of money. For many of us it would be like someone taking our car. I do not want to pretend that the debt that needs to be forgiven is light and easy. It is hard. It feels like loss. It is only small once put into perspective and compared with the incalculable debt we have been forgiven.

I generally find this principle to be true. If I try to forgive, I cannot make it feel small and I cannot make myself feel merciful. I have to bask in mercy before I become merciful. I need to bask in forgiveness in order to forgive. Something similar happens with the way Paul talks about afflictions. He can say that they feel overwhelming from one angle, but then when compared with the heavenly glory to be revealed, they are indeed “light and momentary.”

2. What is the difference between forgiveness and trust? 

Forgiveness is purchased, not earned. Forgiveness is not earned, but trust is. Please do not conflate those two things, and do not let someone put you under an ethos of demand with respect to forgiveness/trust.

Let us do some category formation. We don’t forgive because someone is worthy of it, but we forgive because Jesus is worthy of it. Forgiveness is purchased by the blood of the Savior, but trust is earned by the behavior of the offender. I need to say this clearly because here is what I have found: Abusers abuse almost everything—including the idea of forgiveness. They will point out all that the Bible says about forgiveness and use it as an oppressive law that they place their victims under, but they never put themselves under what the Bible says about love and accountability. They are selective. They weaponize forgiveness and trust and will collapse forgiveness and trust together into one confusing mess. They say that if someone is a Christian, then that person should forgive, which they take to mean the removal of all boundaries. But that is nonsensical. If someone is your financial planner and takes all your money, you can forgive the person, but you should not entrust your money to him again. Time needs to pass and trust needs to be reestablished before healthy boundaries can be removed.

Abusers can weaponize almost anything to make their point and gain an advantage. We see something very similar in our story today where the Pharisees pretend to ask a question (i.e., what looks like honest inquiry), but it is actually a veiled accusation.

Outline 

1. The question (vv. 27–28)
2. Jesus’ question (vv. 29–30)
3. Their response (vv. 31–33a)
4. Jesus’ response (v. 33b)

1. The Question (Mark 11:27–28)

And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?”

The Sanhedrin (or Jewish ruling council) was comprised of 71 members in three groups: the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. Verse 27 says all of them were present for this confrontation. The first group, the chief priests, were former high priests and priests with permanent duties in the temple. The second group, the teachers of the law, were the trained legal experts of the day (trained in the Law). The third group, the elders, were typically lay people who came from the wealthy aristocratic class.

Jesus used these three terms earlier to predict who would kill him (Mark 8:31).

And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.

This was not an honest inquiry. Remember back to the conclusion of the previous story after what Jesus did in the temple (Mark 11:18).

And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching.

In fact, we learn that they have been plotting murder ever since Mark 3:6. Because they fear the people, they will not kick someone when they are up (floating on top of public opinion). They will wait to kick him when he is down. But first they have to bring him down before they can safely kick him and destroy him.

So they choose a topic with which to tackle him: authority. This always seems to be the issue with the religious authorities: authority. They ask him about who has authorized him to do “these things,” which is a reference to recent actions in the temple and his teaching in the temple. “Who is authorizing these things? You or someone else?” They think they have heaven’s authorization and they have not authorized Jesus to do what he is doing.

This is a trap—a thinly veiled accusation. What is Jesus supposed to say? “By my own authority”? They will jump all over that. Will he say that God himself sent him? Will he say something that in their eyes that is blasphemy? They have been looking for him to say something that will get him in trouble. Do you see the problem? 

Jesus finds himself on the horns of a dilemma. What if the recognized authorities are corrupt? How can someone challenge the recognized authorities in a way that they will accept?

The great Anglican bishop, J.C. Ryle, reflects on this trap set by the religious leaders, and he quotes another writer to show this is a common tactic (Mark, Wheaton, Crossway, 1993, p. 178):

Those who find themselves vanquished by truth generally endeavor to reject authority. There are no persons more forward to demand of others a reason for their actions than those who think they may do everything themselves without control. 

What will Jesus do with this weaponized question? He practices verbal jujitsu to trap them in their own game.

2. Jesus’ Question (Mark 11:29–30)

Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” 

What an astonishing note of authority. Jesus asks his question and says, “Answer me.” Who is on trial here after all?

Jesus proposes a test. They clearly rejected John’s authority, and so he quizzed them about John. Did John’s baptism come from heaven (was he sent) or by man (an idea invented by man)? Why John? A couple of answers.

First, Jesus and his forerunner are always linked in the Gospels. John prepared the way for Jesus (Mark 1:2–8). John baptized Jesus—and it was at that baptism that God the Father declared that Jesus is the Son (1:9–11). The reader already knows where Jesus gets his authority! Furthermore, Jesus did not begin to preach until John was handed over (1:14). The ESV translates the word “arrested,” but it is really the word for “handed over.” I wish translators would keep the words translated in similar ways so we can see these connections. John was handed over and Jesus will be as well (Mark 9:31, 10:33, 14:41). 

Second, John was sent from heaven with a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. It did not involve the temple and the sacrifices. It was free. The only requirement was a repentant heart. (I first read this point in David Garland’s, Mark [NIVAC; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), p. 443].

How will they respond?

3. Their Response (Mark 11:31–33a)

And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet. So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” 

They deliberated and they found themselves on the horns of a dilemma. If they said, “From heaven,” Jesus was going to say, “Why didn’t you believe him?” But if they say “From man,” then they would land in an unpopular position, which they did not want to do because they feared the people.

So they said, “We do not know” (v. 33).

In so doing, they simply proved that they were not interested in the truth. They were not genuinely seeking an answer. They were asking to trap Jesus. They were close-minded and unwilling to really engage honestly. They were a gigantic waste of time.

Mark highlights the fact that fear of the people is a chief motivating factor for them. Recall once again that the previous story put the spotlight on the same thing (Mark 11:18).

And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching.

The next story shares the same conclusion (Mark 12:12).

And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.

They have to step away from the challenge and retreat. So Jesus states the conclusion to the encounter. 

4. Jesus’ Response (Mark 11:33b)

And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” 

Jesus knows the heart of man. He already knows the duplicity and hypocrisy of these religious leaders. They cannot trap him, but he traps them. They failed to knock him down so they could kick him when he was down.

Application: How Then Shall We Respond?

But this story has a deeper level, does it not? The religious leaders were asked about authority from heaven or from men, but in the end what they really fear is man, not heaven. All they seem to care about is saving face, and they do not see they need to save their souls. 

Jesus condemns them for their false use of authority in the next chapter. 

And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”—Mark 12:38–40

They are using their authority for their own benefit, not the benefit of the people.

Look deeper at their answer to Jesus’ question: “I don’t know.” I think Mark is highlighting the irony of this response. It is true that they know what they think (Jesus’ authority is not from heaven), but the story also reveals they really don’t know how to distinguish between what comes from God and what comes from man. They have been doing that very thing with Corban—adding the teaching of men to the commandments of God in a way that makes them break the commands of God. 

Contrast the religious leaders’ use of authority with the way Jesus uses authority. Do not forget what Jesus said at the end of chapter 10. 

And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”—Mark 10:42–45

Jesus used power to serve and save. Instead of crushing power that puts down, here is healing power that lifts up. He was crushed for our sins. He went to the lowest place so that we could be lifted up to the highest place.

Will you receive Jesus? Will you accept his authority over your life? If you are not a Christian here today, can I just call you to be spiritually honest? (Again, from J.C. Ryle’s, Mark [Wheaton, Crossway, 1993], pp. 179–80 …)

It is a melancholy fact that dishonesty like this is far from being uncommon among unconverted people. There are thousands who evade appeals to their conscience by answers that are not true. When pressed to attend to their souls, they say things that they know are not correct. They love the world and their own way, and like our Lord’s enemies are determined not to give them up, but like them also are ashamed to say the truth. And so they answer exhortations to repentance and decision by false excuses. One pretends to be unable to understand the doctrines of the Gospel. Another assures us that they really “try” to serve God, but make no progress. A third claims to have every wish to serve Christ but “has no time.” All these are often nothing better than miserable equivocations. As a general rule, they are worthless as the chief priests’ answer, “We don’t know.”

The plain truth is that we ought to be very slow to give credit to the unconverted person’s professed reasons for not serving Christ. We may be reasonably sure that when they say, “I cannot,” the real meaning of their heart is, “I will not.” A really honest spirit in religious matters is a mighty blessing. Once [people are] willing to live up to their light, and act up to their knowledge, they will soon know the doctrine of Christ, and come out from the world (John 7:17). The ruin of thousands is simply this, that they deal dishonestly with their own souls. They allege pretended difficulties as the cause of their not serving Christ, while in reality they “love darkness instead of light,” and have no honest desire to change (John 3:19) 

Why are you trying to live without Jesus? Why would you make another excuse or waste another day? Run to him. He will not play games with you. 

Christians, if we are being conformed to the image of Christ, we should look at the way that Jesus asks questions. He asks questions to draw out the needs of people so that he can meet them. He draws things out not to shame people, but to help them. He does not put them in their place as much as put himself in their place so that he can serve them. 

So it is important in application that we have reflection on the way we ask questions or why we ask questions. What are we trying to accomplish with our questions? Are they humble and loving requests to draw people out so that we can know them so that we can better love them? That would be asking questions so that we can come alongside people and help them or go all the way under them to lift them up. 

We should also beware of those who use questions not to come alongside or come under, but to assert control over someone. Do we ask questions to put someone in his or her place? Or do our questions have an agenda other than truth and love? Some people ask questions in which love is not the issue, power and control are the issue, and questions are weaponized. That happens a lot! 

If people want to assert control and domination, they will use every available means at their disposal. Therefore, questions masquerade as honest inquiry, when in fact they are accusatory questions like the work of a prosecuting attorney. We see this all the time in our domestic abuse ministry. People vying for power and control over someone else use questions as a power trip—not for the purpose of relational disclosure (getting to know you) or humble curiosity, but as a power play.

Conclusion

We also need a holistic view of Jesus and how he engages dishonest abusers. Do not make the mistake of confusing Jesus’ first coming and the Second Coming. Jesus willingly used his authority as a sacrifice, and it can give the appearance of weakness. There will be no such confusion at the second coming. 

And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’ ” Yet even about this their testimony did not agree. And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death. And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him with blows.—Mark 14:57–65

Some try to evade the question Jesus asked (at his first coming), but they cannot evade the judgment Jesus will bring (at the Second Coming).

Do not forget that the Jesus who commissions you now said that he has all authority in heaven and earth. Jesus will build his church. The gates of hell will not stand against it. All the opponents of the church in the past lie in historical dust—yet the church stands strong. The opponents of the church today will have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Don’t lose heart. We will overcome. We know how to answer the question about Jesus’ authority. We don’t just answer questions about it—we sing about it.

(Closing Song: “We Will Overcome”)