What is He doing? SMBC Student
Series: Mark
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 5th April 2014
00:00:00 --> 00:00:05 Loving Heavenly Father, we thank you that you sent Jesus Christ to this earth to show us what you are like.
00:00:06 --> 00:00:11 Father, we thank you that you give us your Holy Spirit so that we can listen and learn from your Bible,
00:00:11 --> 00:00:14 especially when we listen and talk about Jesus Christ.
00:00:15 --> 00:00:18 Father, help us today to understand what's before us.
00:00:18 --> 00:00:21 And we ask this in your name. Amen.
00:00:22 --> 00:00:27 I don't know about you, but I have been pulled over by the police on way too many occasions.
00:00:28 --> 00:00:33 The reason is because I used to have a car which was a bit like a sports car, but it wasn't really in good nick.
00:00:33 --> 00:00:38 In fact, it was multicoloured because I had a go at respraying it and it didn't quite work.
00:00:38 --> 00:00:41 That was after it got hit by a car when we were on the way to the zoo with the kids.
00:00:42 --> 00:00:46 Then my friend borrowed it and someone in the car park put a dent in the side door.
00:00:46 --> 00:00:54 And then when I'd just finished fixing the mess of the zoo problem, another person ran into me while I was going through a green light.
00:00:54 --> 00:00:57 So this car was a bit rough, a bit ready.
00:00:57 --> 00:01:03 And so police would often pull my wife and myself over because I think they suspected that we were doing the wrong thing.
00:01:04 --> 00:01:11 More often than not, we'd get breath tested and they'd say thank you and off you go once they realised that we were upright and good citizens.
00:01:11 --> 00:01:22 But isn't it funny how when we face authority, if we're in the wrong, how different it is from when we face authority when we're not in the wrong.
00:01:23 --> 00:01:25 I had no problems with police pulling me over.
00:01:25 --> 00:01:28 It was slightly inconvenient, but I knew I was okay.
00:01:29 --> 00:01:37 Whereas when authority of the policeman impacts us personally, when we are subject to their authority, isn't it a little bit different?
00:01:37 --> 00:01:40 But what about God's authority?
00:01:41 --> 00:01:43 What do you think about God's authority?
00:01:44 --> 00:01:47 Over you or over the people around you?
00:01:48 --> 00:01:54 Well, I'm going to suggest that we're going to be looking at a passage here that tells us about God's authority.
00:01:55 --> 00:01:58 In fact, there's a really good verse in Mark 12 verse 10.
00:01:58 --> 00:02:06 It says that the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
00:02:06 --> 00:02:17 In other words, the Bible is telling us that we are no longer rejected by God because this important cornerstone was rejected on our behalf.
00:02:18 --> 00:02:20 So this morning, let's look at three things.
00:02:20 --> 00:02:24 Let's look at the religious leaders questioning authority.
00:02:25 --> 00:02:27 Then we're going to look at these questionable tenets.
00:02:28 --> 00:02:31 And finally, we're going to have a rhetorical question time.
00:02:32 --> 00:02:35 What does Christ's authority mean for us?
00:02:35 --> 00:02:41 So, first of all, let's turn to Mark 11 verse 27 where it says,
00:02:42 --> 00:02:44 They arrived again in Jerusalem.
00:02:45 --> 00:02:53 And while Jesus was walking the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders came to him.
00:02:53 --> 00:02:56 So these are the religious leaders of the time.
00:02:56 --> 00:02:57 And they came up to Jesus.
00:02:58 --> 00:02:59 They were about to confront him.
00:02:59 --> 00:03:01 And what were they going to confront him about?
00:03:02 --> 00:03:03 They were going to confront his authority.
00:03:03 --> 00:03:05 Look at verse 28.
00:03:06 --> 00:03:09 By what authority do you do these things?
00:03:11 --> 00:03:13 They asked.
00:03:13 --> 00:03:14 And whose authority?
00:03:15 --> 00:03:17 Now, what things?
00:03:17 --> 00:03:18 What are they talking about there?
00:03:18 --> 00:03:23 Well, you may recall that Jesus entered the temple just a few days before that.
00:03:23 --> 00:03:27 And he saw the people selling cattle and exchanging money.
00:03:27 --> 00:03:30 And he got really, really angry.
00:03:31 --> 00:03:36 And he did something that I'm sure the religious leaders knew he was not authorized to do.
00:03:36 --> 00:03:38 He drove out the cattle.
00:03:38 --> 00:03:40 He overturned the money changers' tables.
00:03:40 --> 00:03:48 Now, I don't know about you, but if I was making some good money at the temple and Jesus came up to my table, I'd sort of go, yeah, yeah, come on.
00:03:48 --> 00:03:49 But no.
00:03:50 --> 00:03:52 No one challenged him at all.
00:03:52 --> 00:03:54 He just went and he cleared out the temple.
00:03:54 --> 00:03:58 How dare you turn my father's house into a marketplace?
00:03:58 --> 00:04:03 It was this that the authorities, the religious leaders were challenging.
00:04:03 --> 00:04:05 How can you do that?
00:04:05 --> 00:04:06 By what authority can you do that?
00:04:07 --> 00:04:09 And does Jesus answer their question?
00:04:10 --> 00:04:11 No.
00:04:11 --> 00:04:13 For some reason, he asks a question.
00:04:14 --> 00:04:14 Why?
00:04:14 --> 00:04:17 Why does Jesus ask a question when they've asked him?
00:04:18 --> 00:04:23 Well, I want to suggest to you that Jesus was bringing up the main point here.
00:04:24 --> 00:04:26 He was asking them to think about authority.
00:04:26 --> 00:04:36 Was John the Baptist's mission and what he did under the authority of God or was it by the authority of man?
00:04:37 --> 00:04:38 Now, let's think about it.
00:04:38 --> 00:04:45 What would have meant for them if John the Baptist, what he did, was actually divine?
00:04:46 --> 00:04:50 Well, I want to remind you that these Jewish leaders were appointed by Herod Agrippa.
00:04:50 --> 00:04:57 And they were often appointed for political reasons, not because they were necessarily the right people.
00:04:57 --> 00:05:13 Which reminds me, if you are a 1980s Yes Minister fan, of an episode in Yes Prime Minister where Humphrey, who was the administration person, wanted to become the dean of a high-prestige university.
00:05:13 --> 00:05:16 But the existing dean had to go somewhere for him to do that.
00:05:17 --> 00:05:19 So they were offering him a bishophood.
00:05:19 --> 00:05:22 And the Prime Minister was the one who appointed the bishop.
00:05:23 --> 00:05:29 And so this gentleman called Sir Humphrey was saying to the Prime Minister, you've got to go for this person from this university.
00:05:30 --> 00:05:32 Yeah, he doesn't really believe in heaven.
00:05:32 --> 00:05:34 He doesn't really believe in hell.
00:05:34 --> 00:05:37 In fact, he doesn't believe in the virgin birth or necessarily that Jesus was God.
00:05:38 --> 00:05:39 But he's a good man.
00:05:39 --> 00:05:40 He actually loves trains.
00:05:41 --> 00:05:43 And that means he's a really good person.
00:05:44 --> 00:05:52 And so there's this very humorous conversation, much more than I could bring out to you, about how these people were politically assigned.
00:05:53 --> 00:05:55 So Herod Agrippa is these guys.
00:05:56 --> 00:05:57 He's their boss.
00:05:57 --> 00:06:03 And can you imagine what would happen if Herod heard that those he had employed were saying John the Baptist was divine?
00:06:04 --> 00:06:05 Because what did Herod do?
00:06:06 --> 00:06:09 Herod decapitated poor old John.
00:06:09 --> 00:06:10 It beheaded him.
00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 And so these guys were there.
00:06:13 --> 00:06:18 And if they said, yes, John the Baptist was divine, then, whoops, our boss killed him.
00:06:18 --> 00:06:20 That's not such a good look.
00:06:20 --> 00:06:26 Or maybe it's a fact that John the Baptist was saying, look, here is Jesus.
00:06:26 --> 00:06:28 Jesus is the Messiah.
00:06:29 --> 00:06:38 So if John the Baptist was actually divinely appointed by God to tell the truth and the whole truth, he was saying Jesus is authorised the Son of God.
00:06:39 --> 00:06:44 So Jesus must also be divine if John the Baptist was divine.
00:06:44 --> 00:06:48 What if John the Baptist was just a human and he was just under human authority?
00:06:49 --> 00:06:51 What would be the implications there?
00:06:51 --> 00:06:54 I want to suggest to you that then maybe John was a false prophet.
00:06:54 --> 00:06:57 Maybe he wasn't religious.
00:06:57 --> 00:06:58 Maybe he was just a hypocrite.
00:06:59 --> 00:07:01 Maybe he was someone who was proclaiming what he shouldn't.
00:07:02 --> 00:07:06 And if that's the case, what can we say as religious leaders?
00:07:07 --> 00:07:09 Because let's look quickly at what it says here in verse 29.
00:07:10 --> 00:07:12 Jesus said, I'll ask you a question.
00:07:13 --> 00:07:13 Answer me.
00:07:13 --> 00:07:16 And then I will tell you by what authority I'm doing these things.
00:07:17 --> 00:07:18 Verse 31.
00:07:18 --> 00:07:20 They discussed the question amongst themselves.
00:07:21 --> 00:07:25 If we say it's from heaven, then he will say, why didn't you believe?
00:07:26 --> 00:07:28 Why aren't you followers of Jesus?
00:07:28 --> 00:07:30 Because John was pointing to Jesus as the Messiah.
00:07:31 --> 00:07:32 Why didn't you believe John?
00:07:33 --> 00:07:35 And then in verse 32.
00:07:35 --> 00:07:38 But if we say of human origin, and what were they scared of?
00:07:39 --> 00:07:41 They were scared of the crowds.
00:07:41 --> 00:07:42 And why?
00:07:42 --> 00:07:45 Because the crowds thought that John was a prophet.
00:07:45 --> 00:07:48 The crowds thought that John the Baptist was the real thing.
00:07:49 --> 00:07:51 And so they were scared of the people.
00:07:52 --> 00:07:53 And so what did they say?
00:07:54 --> 00:07:56 They answered, we don't know.
00:07:56 --> 00:07:58 In verse 33.
00:07:58 --> 00:08:01 We don't know when they knew.
00:08:01 --> 00:08:02 They discussed it.
00:08:02 --> 00:08:04 And Jesus knew that they had discussed it.
00:08:05 --> 00:08:09 And so Jesus was showing them by asking them a question about John the Baptist's authority.
00:08:10 --> 00:08:14 Do you think that I'm also authorized by God to do what I'm doing?
00:08:14 --> 00:08:16 To clear the temple and more?
00:08:17 --> 00:08:22 So I want to suggest that Jesus shows us that his authority was definitely heaven sent.
00:08:22 --> 00:08:29 that he was authorized by God to do what he was doing because he was the Son of God.
00:08:31 --> 00:08:34 And I believe that we who believe and trust in Jesus,
00:08:34 --> 00:08:41 we also are very happy to acknowledge that Jesus is the authorized person from God to do what he did.
00:08:41 --> 00:08:42 And what did he do?
00:08:43 --> 00:08:46 He died on the cross and rose again for us.
00:08:47 --> 00:08:51 So we don't fear God's authority when we trust him, do we?
00:08:51 --> 00:08:53 We don't fear Jesus' authority at all.
00:08:53 --> 00:08:54 In fact, we welcome it.
00:08:54 --> 00:08:55 We acknowledge it.
00:08:56 --> 00:08:58 I had a friend who was a policeman.
00:08:59 --> 00:09:02 And we were walking down the street one day, happily talking in the middle of the city.
00:09:02 --> 00:09:04 And we came to a set of lights.
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 And the little red man was flashing.
00:09:06 --> 00:09:09 But I was so engrossed in the conversation,
00:09:09 --> 00:09:12 I didn't even think about the little flashing red man.
00:09:12 --> 00:09:14 And I kept on walking across the road.
00:09:14 --> 00:09:15 Because there was no cars about.
00:09:16 --> 00:09:17 So I just kept walking.
00:09:17 --> 00:09:26 And, of course, my friend who was a policeman in his full blue uniform stopped because of the red man who was flashing.
00:09:26 --> 00:09:31 And the crowd who were there in the streets, they all stopped because there was an authorized person there.
00:09:31 --> 00:09:33 And they didn't want to get into trouble.
00:09:33 --> 00:09:39 I want to suggest to you that my fear of authority was just non-existent then because he was a friend.
00:09:39 --> 00:09:41 He was a great guy.
00:09:41 --> 00:09:43 And I'm a friend of Jesus.
00:09:44 --> 00:09:48 In fact, I welcome Christ's authority because he's my friend.
00:09:48 --> 00:09:52 And it helps me in my life to live under his authority.
00:09:53 --> 00:09:59 To do the things he asked me to do because I know that Jesus has asked me to do these things.
00:10:02 --> 00:10:04 So why did Jesus not answer the question?
00:10:04 --> 00:10:10 Well, I want to suggest maybe he did answer the question in the parable.
00:10:13 --> 00:10:17 I want to suggest that maybe this was a very good tactical response of Jesus.
00:10:18 --> 00:10:21 Because he was sufficiently indirect so that they couldn't accuse him of anything.
00:10:22 --> 00:10:23 They couldn't arrest him of anything.
00:10:24 --> 00:10:29 But if you look at the parable, I think Jesus is clearly telling them by whose authority he was doing it.
00:10:30 --> 00:10:32 But let's look at that parable.
00:10:32 --> 00:10:34 So what I'm going to do is I'm going to retell the parable.
00:10:34 --> 00:10:37 But I want to pretend that I'm a religious leader.
00:10:37 --> 00:10:40 So I'm going to tell it from a religious leader's point of view.
00:10:40 --> 00:10:41 So I'm a Jew.
00:10:41 --> 00:10:42 I'm a religious leader.
00:10:42 --> 00:10:45 But I've seen the death and resurrection of Christ.
00:10:45 --> 00:10:49 So I'm now a firm believer in Jesus Christ.
00:10:49 --> 00:10:53 So as I go through this parable again, I want you to think.
00:10:53 --> 00:10:58 Is Jesus answering the question about whose authority he could do these things?
00:10:58 --> 00:11:04 So there once was a man, Jesus said, who planted a vineyard.
00:11:05 --> 00:11:09 Now whenever I hear the word vineyard, I'm automatically going, Isaiah 5.
00:11:09 --> 00:11:15 Isaiah 5 is a beautiful chapter about how God planted a vineyard for the people of Israel.
00:11:16 --> 00:11:20 I remember that God let them come into the land of Canaan.
00:11:20 --> 00:11:22 And they inherited built towns.
00:11:22 --> 00:11:24 They inherited planted crops.
00:11:24 --> 00:11:27 God prepared everything for these Israelites.
00:11:28 --> 00:11:31 It was an awesome place for them to go into the promised land.
00:11:32 --> 00:11:37 So when Jesus says straight away, there's a man who planted the vineyard, I'm thinking,
00:11:37 --> 00:11:39 great, this is about God.
00:11:40 --> 00:11:43 God the Father has planted a vineyard for Israel.
00:11:43 --> 00:11:44 He has provided for them.
00:11:45 --> 00:11:46 And so this man planted the vineyard.
00:11:47 --> 00:11:48 He put in the watchtower.
00:11:48 --> 00:11:49 He put in the walls.
00:11:49 --> 00:11:50 He put in the ditch.
00:11:50 --> 00:11:51 And he put in the winepress.
00:11:51 --> 00:11:54 And then he rented it to some tenants.
00:11:55 --> 00:12:00 And these tenants, or farmers, were to look after the vineyard to produce the crop.
00:12:01 --> 00:12:03 And then he went on a journey.
00:12:04 --> 00:12:08 And my mind automatically thought when I was hearing this story, well, who are the tenants?
00:12:08 --> 00:12:09 It's us.
00:12:10 --> 00:12:11 The religious leaders.
00:12:11 --> 00:12:13 We're the ones responsible for the vineyard.
00:12:13 --> 00:12:15 We look after Israel.
00:12:15 --> 00:12:19 We're authorised to do everything we can to help Israel flourish.
00:12:19 --> 00:12:20 That must be us.
00:12:20 --> 00:12:21 We're the tenants.
00:12:21 --> 00:12:22 Awesome.
00:12:22 --> 00:12:23 Jesus is talking about us.
00:12:24 --> 00:12:27 But then he said something that just made my heart sink.
00:12:28 --> 00:12:37 He said, so God, at the time of the harvest, authorised a servant to go and collect what was the owner's due.
00:12:37 --> 00:12:47 God had the father, God the father, had organised and authorised a servant to come to Israel and to tell them about him.
00:12:48 --> 00:12:50 But what did we do to this prophet, to this servant?
00:12:52 --> 00:12:58 Well, Jesus said in the parable that this man was beaten and went away empty-handed.
00:12:59 --> 00:13:06 So the owner of the vineyard authorised another servant to go down and to collect the crop that was due him.
00:13:06 --> 00:13:11 But this servant they beat and they shamefully looked after him.
00:13:12 --> 00:13:16 And so he authorised another servant to go down and that one was killed.
00:13:16 --> 00:13:21 And he authorised another servant to go down and that one was also beaten and killed.
00:13:23 --> 00:13:26 So the owner of the vineyard said, ah, I'll send my son.
00:13:27 --> 00:13:32 I expect that they will respect him because he is my son.
00:13:32 --> 00:13:38 So the owner authorised his son to go down to the vineyard and to collect the crop that was due him.
00:13:39 --> 00:13:40 And what did they do?
00:13:41 --> 00:13:47 When the servants and the tenants heard and saw him coming, they're going, ah, the son, the son, let's kill him.
00:13:48 --> 00:13:49 It's our inheritance.
00:13:49 --> 00:13:54 Because we have this custom in Israel that if a property is left abandoned by the owners,
00:13:54 --> 00:13:58 then those who occupy the land inherit it.
00:13:59 --> 00:14:04 So if we kill the son and the dad's not around, this is our vineyard.
00:14:04 --> 00:14:07 So they did that and they killed the son.
00:14:07 --> 00:14:09 They threw him out of the vineyard.
00:14:11 --> 00:14:13 And that's what we did to Jesus.
00:14:13 --> 00:14:17 We as the religious leaders, we threw Jesus out of Jerusalem.
00:14:17 --> 00:14:23 We threw him on the cross and he died because of our disobedience to him.
00:14:24 --> 00:14:26 But it's an awesome thing.
00:14:26 --> 00:14:29 Three days later, he rose again.
00:14:29 --> 00:14:31 And my eyes were opened to this parable.
00:14:32 --> 00:14:37 Jesus was saying that because of our disobedience, he would be rejected.
00:14:38 --> 00:14:43 But because he was rejected, he would then provide the means of salvation.
00:14:43 --> 00:14:52 Because he hung on the cross, because of that cross, Jesus promises life to us because he was rejected.
00:14:53 --> 00:14:56 And so I rejoice in Christ's authority.
00:14:57 --> 00:15:04 I rejoice that because of the authority of the Father, he came to this earth, he died on the cross and rose again.
00:15:05 --> 00:15:11 I rejoice in his authority because Jesus said when he had come, risen from the dead and he was talking to his disciples,
00:15:11 --> 00:15:17 he said, under my authority, go and make people disciples of me.
00:15:18 --> 00:15:25 Jesus Christ's authority is what makes our jobs easier in regards to witnessing to our friends.
00:15:27 --> 00:15:31 It is difficult, it is hard when we do that, when we witness to our friends.
00:15:32 --> 00:15:33 I've had plenty of rejects as well.
00:15:34 --> 00:15:38 But I know that it is by God's authority that I'm doing these things.
00:15:38 --> 00:15:46 And I also know that it is by God's authority that I can not worry about the spiritual warfare that's going on.
00:15:47 --> 00:15:52 There are many countries in Africa and many people in the Aboriginal community of Australia
00:15:52 --> 00:15:57 who are turning to Jesus because they know he has authority over evil spirits.
00:15:58 --> 00:16:02 And they are very oppressed by evil spirits in many of these countries.
00:16:02 --> 00:16:08 And they know that because of Jesus' authority, the evil spirits are condemned
00:16:08 --> 00:16:11 and they have no authority over those who believe in Jesus.
00:16:12 --> 00:16:15 They welcome and love Christ's authority.
00:16:15 --> 00:16:18 Not only that, I don't have to worry about things.
00:16:18 --> 00:16:21 I don't have to worry about what I'm going to wear or what I'm going to eat.
00:16:21 --> 00:16:24 I don't have to worry about what's going to happen to my children
00:16:24 --> 00:16:32 because God's authority is there and his authority will help me to understand that he is in control.
00:16:34 --> 00:16:36 So let's ask ourselves some questions.
00:16:37 --> 00:16:39 It's time for question time.
00:16:39 --> 00:16:42 I want you to think about it in your own heart.
00:16:43 --> 00:16:47 In verse 10, we read of chapter 12.
00:16:50 --> 00:16:52 Haven't you read, Jesus said?
00:16:52 --> 00:16:58 The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
00:16:59 --> 00:17:04 The Lord has done this and it is marvellous in our eyes.
00:17:06 --> 00:17:12 The stone the builders rejected has become the most important stone of the building.
00:17:13 --> 00:17:17 There is a tradition that when Solomon's temple was being built,
00:17:17 --> 00:17:26 that the quarry where they got the stone from sent this cornerstone or this capstone to the temple area.
00:17:26 --> 00:17:31 You may recall that the temple area, not the sound of a hammer could be heard on the temple area.
00:17:31 --> 00:17:33 So all the chiselling took place in the quarry.
00:17:34 --> 00:17:37 They sent this cornerstone to the people building the temple.
00:17:37 --> 00:17:40 But the people building the temple, they mustn't have looked at the plans or something.
00:17:40 --> 00:17:42 They didn't realise what the cornerstone was.
00:17:42 --> 00:17:45 So they rejected it.
00:17:45 --> 00:17:45 They put it aside.
00:17:45 --> 00:17:47 We don't know what this stone's for.
00:17:47 --> 00:17:52 Anyway, then it came to the important bit, the time to put the most important stone in the building.
00:17:53 --> 00:17:55 So they asked the quarry, please send us the cornerstone.
00:17:56 --> 00:17:57 And the quarry's going, what do you mean?
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 We've sent you the cornerstone.
00:18:00 --> 00:18:01 Ah, they said.
00:18:01 --> 00:18:03 Is that what that stone in the corner over there is for?
00:18:03 --> 00:18:05 Now the lightbulb goes on.
00:18:06 --> 00:18:10 So the stone that they had rejected was the most important stone in the building.
00:18:12 --> 00:18:17 And Jesus is using this psalm to help people understand and to help us understand
00:18:17 --> 00:18:23 that the most important thing, Jesus Christ himself, was rejected.
00:18:25 --> 00:18:29 Jesus Christ came to deliver us from our sin and to die on the cross.
00:18:29 --> 00:18:38 And it was because of the rejection of the religious leaders that he did, in fact, go to the cross and die for our sins.
00:18:39 --> 00:18:43 Their rejection meant our salvation.
00:18:46 --> 00:18:49 Jesus also said something really strange.
00:18:49 --> 00:18:51 Well, when I first heard it, it was a bit strange.
00:18:52 --> 00:18:56 He said, I have the authority to lay down my life.
00:18:56 --> 00:18:59 And I have the authority to take it up again.
00:19:00 --> 00:19:03 He said this in John's Gospel.
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 Now, what is it?
00:19:05 --> 00:19:08 Jesus had authority over his death and resurrection.
00:19:09 --> 00:19:11 It was under his authority that it took place.
00:19:12 --> 00:19:15 That he had the authority to lay down his life and to rise again.
00:19:15 --> 00:19:20 So it wasn't like things were out of control and Jesus had a bad moment and there he was on the cross.
00:19:20 --> 00:19:22 That was the plan.
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 That was the design.
00:19:23 --> 00:19:25 That was what he came to do.
00:19:25 --> 00:19:34 And the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul tells us that at one time, we too, we too were disobedient to God.
00:19:35 --> 00:19:43 But he says, we have now received mercy because of the result of the Jewish leader's disobedience.
00:19:44 --> 00:19:49 Can you see how Jesus has turned the whole situation up on its head?
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 He was challenged.
00:19:52 --> 00:19:53 His authority was challenged.
00:19:53 --> 00:19:55 And Jesus says, no.
00:19:55 --> 00:19:59 You guys who are challenging me, I am the appropriate authority.
00:20:00 --> 00:20:05 And it is by my authority that I am going to bring salvation to the world.
00:20:05 --> 00:20:13 So in Mark chapter 12, verse 12, we read that they, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders,
00:20:14 --> 00:20:20 look for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken this parable against them.
00:20:20 --> 00:20:29 My original question at the beginning of our sermon was, how does God's authority impact you?
00:20:29 --> 00:20:42 In your own life, does Christ's authority give you comfort and blessing and excitement because you know that under his authority you can have life to the full?
00:20:42 --> 00:20:47 That under his authority we can witness to our friends?
00:20:47 --> 00:20:58 And under his authority we have the power to overcome sin and to overcome the evil in this world, but only under his authority.
00:20:58 --> 00:21:11 These religious hypocrites were afraid of Jesus' authority, I would say.
00:21:11 --> 00:21:18 Because when they confronted Jesus' authority, they couldn't answer.
00:21:18 --> 00:21:19 They had no response.
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 They had nowhere to go.
00:21:22 --> 00:21:27 This morning when we come to this passage, what does God's authority mean for you?
00:21:27 --> 00:21:30 Let's pray.
00:21:35 --> 00:21:42 Our loving Father, we thank you that your word promises in Romans chapter 8 that all things work for our good.
00:21:42 --> 00:21:47 We know, Lord, that we suffer in this world, just as Christ did.
00:21:47 --> 00:21:53 But we know that there's a hidden plan behind our suffering, that you are in control of it all.
00:21:53 --> 00:22:03 We thank you, Lord, that it is through your authority that we can tell others about the great love shown by you on the cross through your death and resurrection.
00:22:04 --> 00:22:10 And Father, as we come towards Easter and as we think about your cross and your resurrection,
00:22:10 --> 00:22:19 we ask, Father, that you'll help us to tell our friends that through your authority we will tell them about your great love.
00:22:20 --> 00:22:22 And we ask this in your name.
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 Amen.