Arrogating Authority • Luke 20:1-19

Notes

I know a true account of a a pretty well-known Bible teacher who showed up at another church’s Monday night Bible study and started teaching it on a regular, ongoing basis, every Monday night. After a while the senior pastor wondered about this arrangement and asked the associate pastor, “Why’d you invite “this guy” to teach?” The associate said, “I thought you invited him.” And then they realised, “This guy just walked in and started doing it all on his own. He invited himself.” The senior pastor went to the guy and said, “We won’t need your help anymore.”

Either one has lawful authority or it’s not proper authority. If it’s not proper it’s arrogated. Arrogate means to go beyond what is authorised and claim authority that is not justified. That word is related to arrogant, in that the claim of authority when it’s not proper is arrogant. It’s taking something that doesn’t belong to you.

So what? Jesus has lawful authority, and anyone resisting Him is arrogating authority. Arrogated authority is always wrong.

I’m reading in Luke 20, from verse one.

1. The authorities are not pleased with this Man exercising authority outside their own authority.

A. Jesus has claimed the identity and authority of the Messiah.

1. He came into Jerusalem riding a colt as the scriptures said

2. The crowds were quoting Messianic prophecies and saying, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”

3. He went to the temple and drove out the money changers and sellers of sacrificial animals. “My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers!”

4. Now Jesus is teaching and preaching the gospel in the temple and the people are hanging on His every word. Remember He spoke with authority, not like the scribes and Pharisees who quoted the fathers and the authorities. He says, “I say to you.”

B. The chief priests have resisted Jesus on His arrival.

1. They told Jesus to His face, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!” Tell them they’re wrong—You’re not the Messiah!”

2. They want to destroy Jesus, but the public is in the way. They can’t get Jesus alone so they can do it quietly.

3. They will not have this Man rule over them.

2. Now the authorities confront Jesus as He teaches in the temple. Showdown.

A. Look at the authority gathered against Jesus: chief priests, scribes (experts in the law of Moses), elders from the Sanhedrin, the ruling body in Israel.

B. Publicly, in front of the people listening to Jesus, they demand, “By what authority do You do these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?

C. They already know the answer to their question.

1. Jesus has taught it many times. He is the Messiah with all the authority in heaven and on earth because He is God.

2. They’ve picked up stones to stone Him for blasphemy, because He, being a man, makes Himself God. They don’t approve at all, but they understand what Jesus is saying.

D. Their question is to trap Jesus in a dilemma.

1. They want Jesus to announce the truth publicly so they can arrest Him for blasphemy. They are ready to tear their garments and cast stones at Him right now. Jesus is facing death if He makes a mistake.

2. Or does Jesus back down and admit He is not the Messiah? What will His followers do? But He believes He is! So how can He say He isn’t?

3. Does He say He’s the Messiah and get killed? Or does He say He’s not the Messiah, and blow up His own movement? Anything Jesus says will put Him in trouble either with the authorities or with His own disciples. Gotcha.

3. Jesus reverses the situation.

A. He’ll answer their question on a condition, “I’ll answer your question if you answer My question. In front of all these people, tell Me: was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?”

B. Suddenly these men have to have a little conference to figure out what to say.

1. They don’t believe John came from heaven. Theythink he’s a rabble-rouser. Herod killed him, goodriddance.

2. But if they say what they believe, that John was nota prophet from God, the people will stone them on the spot for—blasphemy! Just what they wanted to accuse Jesus of!

3. But if they say what they don’t believe, in order to save their lives, they face certain humiliation. Jesus will ask, “Why then did you not believe him?” Will they say, “Because he wasn’t from heaven”? They’re dead the minute they say that.

4. They were attacking Jesus with a dilemma, whereHe loses no matter what He answers. He suddenly putsthem on the horns of a real dilemma.

C. They get out of it by lying. “We don’t know.”

D. Jesus doesn’t have to lie or avoid the issue. He defended Himself with truth. “You won’t tell Me, I won’t tell you.”

4. Jesus tells a parable showing how lawless the authorities are, vv. 9-19.

A. A man plants and prepares a vineyard.

1. This is a well-known biblical reference to Isaiah 5. He knows the chief priests know this.

2. He adds a new part to the story: the owner leases it to vine-growers and goes on a journey for a long time. They have a contract: the vine-growers work the land, they get a share of the fruit and the owner gets the rent in fruit.

B. At harvest time the vine-growers go back on the contract. They treat the owner’s servant outrageously and send him away empty-handed. They are completely in the wrong, does everyone see that?

C. The owner continues to send slaves to collect the rent. They beat them up and send them away empty-handed. The owner is giving them a chance to change their minds. That’s reasonable. Think about the slaves the owner sends. They know what’s going to happen to them, but they go anyway. They obey and love their master.

D. Finally the owner sends his beloved son. When he does he is sending his love to these brutal robbers. Will you not change your minds?

E. The vine-growers reason, “This is the heir. If we kill him, the vineyard will be ours. We want to steal, kill, and destroy.” And they do it. The son is dead and they throw his body out of the vineyard. We did it! We got away with it! The vineyard is ours!

F. They expect the owner to conform to their will. We are the authority here.

G. The owner will never agree to what they demand. He is still the owner, and is going to kill them all and give the vineyard to someone else who will give the fruits. These men have abused their contract, been treacherous, faithless, brutal, unworthy of trust.

5. The chief priests hear this, they know He told the parable about them, and say, “May it never be!”

A. Jesus quotes Psalm 118, a Messianic psalm, to showwhat the builders rejected God has made the chief stone.It’s written, it must happen.

B. They want to kill Him right now, but the people arehanging on His every word, they can’t touch Him. Fornow.

6. So what?

A. To arrogate means to claim or seize without justification, to make undue claims to having. Unduemeans exceeding or violating propriety or fitness: excessive. You claim too much, you’re out of line, your claim is unjustifiable. You’re wrong.

B. The chief priests, scribes, and elders think Jesus is arrogating to Himself authority that He has no claim to. What does He think He’s doing? We’re the authorities here!

C. He’s just proven it’s not Him, they are the ones arrogating authority.

1. They won’t acknowledge the truth, what they really believe. They lie to stay alive.

2. They are seizing authority they have no just claim to. They are arrogant, violent, grasping, and murderous. They know He told that parable about them.

3. He’s telling them He knows what they’re going todo and it’s not going to work. Even when they kill Him they will not be successful. They are working against their own souls. Everything Jesus said about them was fulfilled. Jerusalem was completely destroyed, and they died.

D. Jesus is justified in claiming all authority in heaven and earth. He is declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead.

E. In the name of the Father Jesus claims absolute authority in your life. He’s giving you an opportunity today to change your mind and turn yourself in. That’s the good news. If you turn yourself in, He won’t kill you. He’ll give you new life and forgiveness of sins.

F. Let’s say you refuse His offer of peace. You arrogate to yourself authority over your life that you are not entitled to. You resist God. It can seem like you’re getting away with it and nothing is going to happen, but in the end nobody gets away with anything.

G. Jesus is the absolute Lord of unbeliever and believer alike. He will never adapt to your wishes and do what you want, hoping you might go His way. You must adapt to His will. You must give in completely or you forfeit your soul.

G. When you submit, surrender to His absolute authority He will care for you in all eternity. You find rest for your soul, forgiveness, peace, everlasting love.

Let’s pray.