YOUR MINISTER. Keep me down, Father, so I can get up. Make me want the bottom instead of the top. Help me to honestly want to serve. I want to be like Christ in all the ways that I live. A servant has to be with the people.
Others have needs far greater than I. Others need help that they cannot buy. Give me the grace to act now; not in bye and bye; But that God through His servant will truly draw nigh. A servant has to be with the people.
MARK 11 The ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ was about to take a different turn, as we read about the last days of His life before He died for our sins on the cross and rose again three days later. He had been ministering to the physical and spiritual needs of the people for three years. Some believed in Him and others did not. Those who had put their faith in Him as Savior and Lord had everlasting life, and the same is true today. The wrath of God still abides on those who will not believe in Him.
In His ministry, He is the Savior who came into the world to save sinners. To do that, He had to suffer the humiliating and painful death of the cross. His sufferings were in His body, soul, and spirit, as He became “sin for us, He who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” His bodily resurrection guarantees our salvation and the results of that salvation, now and for all eternity. He is the “Great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.”
He is also the Great High Priest in His ministry. High priests brought the people of God, to God on the Day of Atonement. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the True Great High Priest, who is qualified in every way to bring us into the presence of the Holy God as our representative. He was appointed by God as our eternal sinless Priest. His offering to God on our behalf was final and His mediation for us is effective. He is the only High Priest who is qualified to intercede for us. “There is One God and One Mediator, between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus; who gave Himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time.”
Jesus enters Jerusalem as the Messiah, v.1-11 As we read in this chapter, our Lord Jesus Christ is also King. He is the Sovereign Authority and Ruler over everyone. He is “the King of kings and Lord of lords.” He is destined to rule over all people and nations, and to Him “every knee shall bow, and every tongue will confess that [He] is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Those who come to Him as Savior and acknowledge Him as their Lord and King will live and reign with Him. Those who will not come to Him by faith will be judged by Him.
The Lord Jesus did not declare Himself as the Messiah when He was in Galilee, because the people there were anxious to have Him lead them in a rebellion against those who ruled over them. They were ready to draw their swords and follow Him into battle to overthrow the government. So consequently, in Galilee, He did not openly proclaim His Messiahship. When He was in Jerusalem, He openly took His place as the Messiah. Those Jews who led the spiritual life of the people from the capital city, would not receive Him but rather plotted against Him. He asserted His place as the promised Messiah whenever He was there, beginning with the cleansing of the temple on the first visit of His ministry. He healed people there on the Sabbath because He was Lord of the Sabbath. He declared Himself to be the “Light of the world” – the Messiah of God when He was in Jerusalem.
Now, He was back again just before the Passover. On the first day of Passover week, He entered the city of Jerusalem in just the way the prophet had written. Without anything hidden, and without reserve, His visible announcement as the Messiah was there for all to see. Just like Zechariah had written: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; O daughter of Jerusalem: behold the King comes unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass and upon the foal of an ass.” His declaration as the Messiah was unmistakable, impressive, and deliberate as He rode in dignity and lowly state, into the city of David.
It was only a small animal with not very much speed. Lowly, never ridden – not at all like a king’s steed. But the Lord of lords and the King of kings chose this colt so that the prophecy of Zechariah would be plainly fulfilled. Sitting on that beast of burden with “Hosanna’s” being shouted all around, the Lord of glory, in quiet grace, entered David’s city just like the prophet had said. The nation of Israel didn’t know that their final call had come. Jehovah had come looking for some fruit from the prophetic fig tree, but alas, He found none.
Everybody there knew what that entrance meant. The citizens of the city knew; the pilgrims who had come from many places for the Passover knew; the rulers and the Pharisees knew – they all knew what it meant when He entered the city. The shouts and praises and hopes of the people resounded as the Lord rode in grace and lowly honor into that place where there had been so much blessing and so much sin and cursing. There was no reserve or concealment on the part of the Lord as He rode into that city like a King into His capital city.
Watching eyes would have seen holy tears as the Mighty King came into the city. Those who knew the truth and who He is would have been filled with fears as they listened to the Savior's words filled with pity for that city. The outward forms they so prized were just that, mere forms with no substance, no reality, no faith in the Perfect Servant who was God. Business and profit had taken over the city and even that holy place where sacrifices were offered. There was no way to question the appeal He made to the city to repent and believe in Him as a final warning. No wonder the Lord wept as He looked over that city and into the future of that special place. The rulers and all the leadership of the people, sinned with their eyes wide open when they rejected His obvious offer.
The owner of the donkey responded without questioning any further when he heard, “The Lord needs it and will send it back shortly.” The people carpeted the road with their clothes and palm branches, so the Messiah would enter the city as befits the King. The voices of a huge crowd joined in praise and honor to the King that came from their lips but not their hearts. The Supreme Ruler of the universe came on that day of proclamation, but his crowning day would come later. Even Pilate was aware of what was happening and eventually wrote His title and placed it above Him, “This is Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews.”
It is important that all of us who have come to know Him and love Him as our Savior and Lord, and we know Him also as our High Priest mediating on our behalf; to remember He is also our King. That means we have no right to ever consider Him in a casual manner, nor question His word and will. True, He is meek and lowly in heart, and we find rest in our souls when we take His yoke on us; but He is majestic, lofty, and higher than the highest in authority. When we are weak and without courage, it is our strong and mighty King who goes with us and before us. Our King came to bring peace, not to make war. He preached peace to those of us who were far off as well as to those Jews who were near to Him by the ties of nationality. He came to make peace between conflicting Jews and Gentiles, between neighbors and nations, between God and man. “He made peace through the blood of His cross.” He has broken down the middle wall of partition, and so made peace.
Our Lord Jesus Christ has an empire that is like no other. He conquers by grace motivated by love. He doesn’t make alliances and treaties signed by people who cannot be trusted to even tell the truth. He alone, is “The Way, the Truth and the Life.” He alone can bring us to the Father who is absolute in His holiness. His government does not depend on armies but on the unconquerable power of moral influences of truth, righteousness, and love. More people would be willing to die for Him than for their own country.
He is meek, in that His power is always under the control of His own divine plans and purposes. Nothing that He does is out of spite, or without thought and reason. He was God’s Obedient Servant who obeyed divine prerogatives and decisions. It is obedience that He expects from those of us who are in His kingdom who love Him and want to please Him. He has the right to expect from us our allegiance, our faithful service, and our willingness to do His will. The people who shouted, “Hosanna, blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord,” only gave lip service to our Lord Jesus Christ. They were paying homage to an idea, a dream they had in their own minds of a new kingdom. They were interested in their own hopes and what would be to their advantage. They were like those who say, “Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say.”
A useful illustration of how the Lord Jesus looks at those He wants to use. The colt that was tied: Unused before – but now, no higher work than his. Despised before – now honored by the King of kings. Owned by man before – now claimed for God’s use. Bound before – now at liberty to walk where God wants him to walk. Untamed before – now controlled by the Lord God Himself. Overlooked before – now able to focus the attention of the crowd on his Rider.
Another had owned him. An innocent substitute had died for him because someone had valued him. Another had tied him and had it under his control. But when Jesus came, a new claim was on him. A new Master needed him. A new work lay before him that would never be forgotten. Our response to Him as those who believe in Him, who have trusted in His saving grace, and who know Him as Savior and High Priest must also acknowledge Him as our Supreme Ruler, our King!
“King of my life, I crown Thee now; Thine shall the glory be; Lest I forget Thy thorn-crowned brow, Lead me to Calvary.”
The Fig Tree and the Cleansing of the Temple, v. 12-26 The Lord Jesus had entered the temple when He came to Jerusalem. He looked around at what was happening there and saw they had gone back to the practice of charging high prices at the expense of pilgrims who had come to Jerusalem to worship on feast days. The first time He was there He drove out the moneychangers and those who sold animals and doves for sacrifices. This time He had entered the city to the sound of singing and praise, but He knew the people were drawing nigh with their lips, but their hearts were far away. What we see and hear, is not always what is real and true. There is much in “Christianity” today that seems good, but the reality is that the practice of religion in many places, is not the practice of faith, nor is it taught in the Bible.
At the first of His ministry, religion had turned into a business. Now once again, near the end of His life, the temple had become a marketplace for the covetous. We are warned again of the fact that the Lord knows well what is in the house of God, and it is our highest wisdom to pay good heed to this lesson. It is the same in prayer, if only words characterize my thanksgiving and requests instead of faith, I can pray all I want, but without true faith, that prayer doesn’t even rise above the ceiling. If a barrier is there, or some little hurt, I am told I must forgive. I am forgiven by my Father Himself, and in freedom, I live my life.
When the Lord Jesus saw that fig tree at a distance and saw that it was already in full leaf, as a man who hungered, it was only natural to see if there was fruit, even if it was before the season of fully ripe figs. The fruit buds of figs are edible, but there were none there. As the Perfect Servant of God, He used that whole incident as a “teaching moment.” The barren fig tree was like the nation of Israel. It looked good on the outside, but it was like a fruitless fruit tree that had no useful purpose, even though it looked like it should have fruit. Jews were gathering for the Passover; people were singing the praises of the Messiah, but it was merely an outward form. The religious practices of the Jews had become a holiday, rather than a time of remembrance of their deliverance from bondage.
Previously a parable had been told by the Lord about a fruitless tree. The owner wanted to cut it down because it had been fruitless for three years. The dresser of the trees asked for one more year of grace to tend the tree and see if there would be fruit. For more than three years the Lord Jesus Christ had been publicly ministering to His own people, and they had not shown any real interest in Him as the Lord and Savior. To most of them, He was merely a miracle worker and a teacher who had come among them, and they were going to get as much out of Him as they could. Thankfully, there were some who had come to know Him and believe in Him. They trusted Him as their Messiah, the promised Lord and Savior of the nation.
That same attitude is common among the majority of people today in regard to our Lord Jesus Christ. He provides a reason for gathering to listen to music, hear a brief message, give people a good feeling about themselves, and give a good reason to interface with people about business, pleasure, and other matters. The religious forms make it a “good thing,” and they are not all that inconvenient as long as they don’t last too long. When those things are all over, people can go back to pleasure-seeking at ballparks, the beach, or campgrounds. “Our duty to God has been done; now let’s get on with life as we really want it to be.”
The day before, Jesus had just looked at what was going on in the temple. The next day He returned to do something about it. He knew there was no fruit for God there. There were only the leaves of religious forms and making money off of people who were there to carry out the practices they had become used to. Profiting off people by preaching the Gospel or religious activities, has become big business for some religious hucksters. The practice of religion has an appeal to many people who are looking for some religious feelings of excitement and experiences that are beyond what is normal. So, they are willing to give money to those who provide the excitement and surroundings that make them feel religious.
The different setting to accommodate large crowds is very appealing, and the atmosphere created moves the emotions to be very different than that which is commonplace. Then, to be assured, the money they give in the collection is “laying up treasure in heaven,” which makes any cost worth it. Money given in a scriptural way for scriptural purposes is truly an offering to the Lord. Money given because people ask for it may be used in ways that have nothing to do with furthering the kingdom of God.
The Lord Jesus cleansed the temple that day, He had that right. His authority was questioned by sinful men, but what He did was right in God’s sight. That authority is His today, the house of God is not our own. What He allows us to do, we must always remember, is under His authority alone.
By turning over the tables of the moneychangers and those who were selling doves to poor people to be used for sacrifices, the Lord Jesus cleaned the temple from being a den of thieves. It was to be a house of prayer where openness and honesty before God was intended rather than a place for greed and covetousness to flourish. People had been using the temple courtyard as a shortcut from one side of the temple mount to the other. By filling the space of the courtyard of the Gentiles, with businesses, they were hindering Gentiles from coming as close as they could to where God met with His people. The practices of counterfeit religion were a hindrance to those who were seekers of God in those days, the same as it is today.
The “fig tree,” Israel, had a lot of outward appearances of life, but there was no fruit. All they were doing was useless as far as God was concerned, and it was a hindrance to those who were looking for spiritual life. When we allow the externals of our practice of Christianity to overcome the reality of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance, we have created a stumbling block for other people. The simplicity of God’s plan for the practices of a scripturally gathered assembly does not meet the expectations of unsaved people or carnal believers. People now want to be “excited” about everything instead of grateful, humbled, and reverential.
People, in general, want a meek and gentle Jesus who will let them away with anything. They do not want to hear about the “severity” of the Lord. They only want to hear and believe in His “goodness.” Our Lord is gentle and kind. He also is alone in His majesty, and austere in His holiness. He is our Lord and Savior, and He is also our Judge. He loves every person without partiality, but that doesn’t mean He is simply a good-natured person who doesn’t view sin and wrong with indifference. “He can by no means clear the guilty.” “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”
An indulgent father who never corrects his children's wrongdoings is not a good father. A weak, foolish father who has no guidelines for himself and his children and has given them no barriers does his children a great disservice. Without boundaries, a child has no understanding of the consequences of their choices and actions until it is too late. In time to come, that child will resent their father for not giving them the simple tools for living a wholesome life.
The fact of our Lord’s “severity,” lends credence to His holiness and perfection. When we overlook and ignore the holiness and justice of God, then we have lost the understanding of what true kindness and love are. The chastisements of the Lord are evidence of His love for us. “Whom the Lord loves, He chastens.” Like a barren, fruitless tree with lots of covering leaves that are valueless, the loud noise of religious profession and activity, emphasizes the fact that there is no fruit there. Obedience, faith, love, truth, and mercy do not make a lot of noise. Nor do they attract a lot of attention to themselves. The silence of grace is all that we would have heard from the cross if we had been there when Jesus died. His loud cries were not demands, but evidence of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ when He was obedient unto death, “even the death of the cross.”
The Lord Jesus didn’t use the lives of counterfeit professors of religion to teach His disciples the importance of spiritual reality. He used one useless tree instead. The principles of judgment are governed by the law of God. Rather than cause the fruitless lives of religionists to be taken, the Lord let the disciples see the end of counterfeit religion through the death of the fig tree. Barrenness is evidence of sin. Something may look good, but that doesn’t make it good or right. Condemnation comes because of what is not done that is right, as much as of what is done that is wrong. To do nothing is a sin. “To him, that knows to do good and does not do it, is sin.”
If we don’t use what God has given us, we are sinning against Him. Profession and practice need to go together. A fruitless Christian life is pitiful, and a great obstacle to the Gospel. To profess to be a child of God and have no fruit, is to bring contempt on the truth of God. “Not everyone who says, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of the Father in heaven.” Unfortunately, the character of fruitlessness is usually permanent.
Some people look at the place where God meets with His people in a collective way, as nothing more than a community building. In one way, that is true because it is only lifeless material put together. However, when God’s people gather there to do holy service such as preaching the Gospel, being taught from the scriptures, praying together in public prayer, or remembering the Lord in the breaking of bread and drinking from the cup, the purpose of the place defines the place. To use a place set aside for those purposes, and then use it for shameless profit by price gouging, greed and extortion is to misuse the property. It doesn’t change the property but it changes the character of all that goes on there for any purpose.
It wasn’t really wrong for people from distant lands who came to Jerusalem for the Passover, to be able to buy animals that were suitable for sacrifices. The court of the Gentiles was being used in the wrong way. Those who sold had gone beyond providing a way for pilgrims to get what was necessary, to profiting by extortion from holy things. The motive of the moneychangers and sellers of doves was not to provide a needed service but to make a profit beyond what was right. Moneychangers were defrauding those who needed the kind of money used for the temple tax. Greed, fraud, cheating, and price-gouging profaned the temple. That was why the Lord acted in righteousness. He saw beyond what was happening, to the motives behind it all.
We need to be reminded that a thing may be right in itself, but if the motive behind it is wrong, the whole thing is wrong. The real character of any action is determined by the present need, the way the need is met, and the spirit and motive behind meeting the need. Preaching and singing of hymns can be worshipful, mere entertainment, or profane; depending on how and why it is done. If it is done in the wrong way, with a wrong motive, and for the wrong reasons, what should be worship may instead be a sin. We can pollute the house of God when our thoughts and intentions for participation are for the wrong reasons. The Lord Jesus had entered the city the day before and had been proclaimed as King, by the voices of the people. In the action He took in cleansing the temple for the second time; the King and Lord of all was exercising His rightful authority. This time of cleansing, He called the temple “My house,” rather than “My Father’s house,” as He had said the first time.
Moral authority has tremendous pressure on those who know what they are doing is wrong, questionable or inappropriate. The character of our Lord was beyond questioning, whether it was with “gracious words” that he spoke, the acts of kindness and healing He did, or the words of forgiveness that gave hope to people. Holy indignation against sin is also evidence of moral authority. In themselves, people know what is truly right or wrong because of the God-consciousness that is in us and the conscience that convicts us. When a place of worship becomes a place of extortion and greed, it is a barrier to the people of God that has to be removed.
When the disciples saw the fig tree withered the next day, they drew attention to it because it had happened so quickly. Like the nation that had seemed so enthused with the Lord Jesus Christ when He entered the city riding on a donkey, the tree had seemed full of life. Within the week, those same people would be calling for the crucifixion of Christ. How quickly the change comes when it is not from the heart. The tree was dead. Israel was done, as that generation of people rejected the Lord Jesus Christ, who “came unto His own, and His own received Him not.”
The Lord’s reply to the comment of the disciples, seemed to be irrelevant to theirs when He said, “Have faith in God.” What does faith have to do with the death of the fig tree? Within a few short years, the temple and the city of Jerusalem would be destroyed. True faith lasts but not form. Faith in God, by its very nature, removes obstacles from the minds, hearts, and lives of those who know and trust in the Lord. Our attitude toward God expresses itself in prayer: how we pray, the motives behind our prayers, and our assurance that God hears and answers prayer.
Our faith is in God Himself, not in the object of our request. Effectiveness in prayer depends on whether we are a believer in the One who answers prayer, our attitude toward other people, our motive in praying in the first place, and the actual reason for the request. Our prayers should always have God’s interests in mind, not just our own. We also have to make sure our connection with other people has created no barriers, even if one has been wronged. It is wrong to hold a grudge against anyone. Faith, when it is real, changes us within, and pride, vengeance, hurt, and demands are rejected, as faith, forgiveness, and love, give power to prayer.
Who has true authority? v.27-33 There is a place that is special to the heart of God. “The City of Peace,” “David’s City,” and “Jerusalem the Gold” are the places where the Lord wanted His people to come. At that place, He received their tithes and offerings, He received their worship and acts of consecration, and the people of God dedicated their children to Him at that place. But it was not a perfect place. There was a lot of counterfeit activity going on in the name of God. There was covetousness and greed there.
However, Jerusalem was the place where His kingship was to be seen by His own people. So as he came near to the place of His choosing, He found that animal which belonged to another, and it was made clear in one sentence as to whom it really belonged. “The Lord hath need of him.” The Master/King has a right to whatever I might think is mine. Not only what I try to claim as my own property, but also my own person. “Ye are not your own; ye are bought with a price.”
“Not that I have, mine own I’ll call, I’ll hold it for the Giver. My heart, my strength, my life, my all; Are His and His forever.”
When they came to Jerusalem, we saw what it was really like inside. From afar it would be an awe-inspiring sight to see such a place of renown and ancient glory. Its history would impress our hearts as the glow of the sun turned the towers and domes into shades of gold. But inside, where the holy things should really overwhelm us with their consecration, types, and foreshadowing of things yet to come, and our sinfulness contrasted with God’s holiness, inside, it was not at all what it should be. Greed, covetousness, selfishness, anger, malice, and even the plotting of murder by those who “hated their brother” was going on right in the place where “prayer was wont to be made.” Can it be that such things can go on in a place and yet it still be called “My house?” This place was to be a “house of prayer for all nations.” His teachings cut right to the heart of things and don’t leave room for man’s manipulation for his own advantage.
He came again to Jerusalem and back again to the temple. Again, His authority was questioned, and again, He answered them with the wisdom of a well-worded question. When those who would challenge His authority refused to answer, His parable of the Owner of the vineyard sending His well-beloved Son caught them right in the openness of their hypocrisy. The opportunity was there in front of them to repent and accept Him but they left Him. The place we are called to is a holy place and we must never underestimate how God looks upon it. A holy place, demands a holy people and a holy priesthood.
Again, the Lord Jesus Christ was in the temple, His house, that He had sent the panic-stricken moneychangers and greedy salesmen out from. The religious authorities who were angry when Jesus entered the city as the Messiah, were now even angrier at His cleansing of the temple. He was acting as if He owned the temple, which, of course, He did. What He had done was an official act and they knew it. He was the Lord of the temple; it belonged to Him, and He had the right to lay down the rules for the use of the house of the Lord. Priests were only custodians of the temple, and the others who came to question Jesus’ authority, only had civil responsibilities and some national obligations as those who were under Rome’s rule.
However, they recognized the moral authority of the Lord Jesus Christ far exceeded their own, and they didn’t like that at all. They could see their lucrative positions slipping away from them by the obvious supremacy of the Lord’s authority that could not be repudiated. They had ignored and abused the responsibility of their positions. The Lord of the temple took away from them, that for which they could not be trusted. Self-interest, concern with position and personal reputation at the expense of divine interests and responsibilities, will be exposed by God in His own way.
Any person who has been allowed to be a participant in the work of God should recognize that such a privilege carries with it, obligations that must never be ignored. To overlook sin because it is popular or to not make the guidelines of a scriptural work clear to those involved is a spiritual disservice to them. Condemnation because of neglect as well as condemnation because of allowing wrong to continue without correction, will be forthcoming by the Lord whom we serve. The quenched or grieved Holy Spirit will make such neglect a barrier to fellowship with divine Persons.
The righteous action of our Lord Jesus Christ in cleansing the temple was a moral action that convicted the consciences of those who had allowed such perversions by the religious hucksters to take place right at the temple. By allowing it to happen, they had abdicated their own positions and showed moral weakness. Indifference to wrong, and either inability or unwillingness to do what is right, exposes sin for what it is in a person. They could not defend their lack of guidance and refusal to take action to correct open and obvious sins. So, they did not, nor could they condemn or challenge what the Lord Jesus did when He drove the moneychangers and salesmen out.
However, those men were determined to trap Jesus in some way, so they could charge Him with being a fanatic or against the temple and all that had been taught to the Jews. They did not ask their questions with a sincere desire to know what He had already made plain. They asked their two questions out of spite and hatred, hoping that they could spin His reply to suit their own -advantage. They wanted revenge for the humiliation they endured from the events of the day before. They were looking for some reason to be able to cause His death. As far as they were concerned, Jesus had no official position as a rabbi, granted by the Sanhedrin. But His authority was obvious to all.
Consequently, they had to acknowledge what He had done was under an authority higher than theirs. Everyone who heard the Lord Jesus teach recognized He taught “with authority, and not as the scribes.” Those who had seen His healing miracles knew He had far greater authority than they possessed because He could drive out sickness from people. When He cast out demons, they knew that His authority was greater than the power of darkness, even though they accused Him of doing that by satanic power. His authority over creation and ability to create was only possible by the power of God. When He raised Lazarus from the dead only a short time before, they were confronted with the obvious fact that He had power over life and death. Yet, they still challenged such testimonies of His divine Personhood.
Everything about our Lord left it unquestionable that He was in control of all that happens. The words He spoke and the tone of His voice was that of “the voice of authority.” He clarified the teaching of the law by making sure the spirit of the law was understood as well as the letter of the law. He had pointed out the truth for what it is and showed grace that was real and beyond that of mere human experience. His blessings were granted to those who were despised by those who questioned Him. His authority was demonstrated, and yet they asked by what authority He did what He did. It was obvious that He was the final authority.
His actions of authority were open to being seen by everyone, and so they had to admit to and recognize He had authority. Friends and foes alike gave testimony to that fact. “Never man spoke like this Man!” “We have never seen it like this before!” Their question was to get Him to say He was God, which they felt was not proven, and to tell them He did His works by His own authority. Then they would say the law condemned Him because He made Himself God. To those questioners, He was unauthorized as a teacher and He wasn’t a priest or scribe, so he had no right to do what He did, even though it was done with obvious success.
At first glance, answering them with a question about John the Baptist seems to be irrelevant to their question regarding His authority. But the accusers got the point right away. He was not avoiding their question but was going to the root of the questions. Their answer would give them the answer to their own questions and would come from them. Therefore, they couldn’t avoid answering. Even though John was the son of a priest, he was never a priest because priests are appointed by men in families. John was a prophet, and prophets were appointed that role by God. All the people of Judea knew John was a prophet, and it was John who had testified to the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ was “the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.” He witnessed that Jesus was the Messiah.
If they confessed to the fact that what John said was true, they would have to believe the Lord Jesus was the Messiah, and they would be openly rejecting the Messiah all the Jews were waiting for. If they denied John as a prophet (whom they had never defended), they would be going against all the people they professed to be leading. They would not say John was a false prophet, so they realized whatever way they answered the Lord’s question would openly expose their falsehood to the people who were gathered to hear their answer, and to the Lord Jesus. They would not answer His question, so He would not answer theirs. They knew He knew their deception.
The authority of the Lord is moral and spiritual, not that kind of authority that is passed on by mere sinful men in an “official” capacity. The Lord was not filling a man-made office designated by man-made officials. His authority was His own, and His power was from the highest possible source – Himself! As a man, He was a citizen of Nazareth without any designated power from the community, but people could not resist the power of His words. The fact that His moral authority and power were spiritual was evident by His perfect incarnate holiness. People could see His perfect purity and holy conduct of life. They instinctively submitted to the authenticity of His words and works because they could see it in His Person. His words, His deeds were all open to scrutiny and needed no official to designate whether they were right or not. He had not been ordained by men into some religious position. He was commissioned by the Father who sent His Son to be His Perfect Servant.
There can be no moral authority without moral character. People may hold an “office” or be “ordained” by men into an official position, but if their character is not consistent with the position, they are no more than chaff, sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. Such people are abhorred by God and ignored by people. The ultimate authority to teach and preach in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is God Himself. If a man is not ordained by God, nothing that men give him in a way of position is of any value. He may have the position, and fill an office, but unless the Holy Spirit has raised him up, he is not qualified to speak for God.
It is possible, in the interest of pleasing everyone, for us to compromise or abandon what God intends. Much may be happening, but the most important thing left undone when we try to bring God down as simply one of our friends is that He is infinitely holy in His character and His Being. He has holier eyes than to "look upon sin." He sees the inward thoughts of human hearts, and He knows exactly what people think of Him.
One may say, "I think you are making God out to be severe. I am sure He wants me to have lots of fun." Those who think like that, need to listen and hear what the Lord said about the prodigal son. We need to consider carefully once again what God meant when He said His thoughts are higher than ours. To "have faith in God" is where prayer begins and the fruit of the Spirit overcomes the power of sin.
There are consequences to faithlessness we can't miss. If we continue in sin, the abundant life will soon be gone. However, those who come in faith to our Father in heaven, in the name of His Son, will find that from the “fig tree” of my life there can be produced fruit that can bring God honor and glory. Forgiveness that comes by faith when we hear the word of God and act upon it, can make victorious living the end of faith's story.