What Is So Unusually Striking About This Lowly Born, Middle Class, Itinerant Rabbi?

Starting together to Luke chapter 20, as we continue this morning, our study in the gospel according to Luke. This passage, this episode, actually the first 20, we're only going to read the first nine verses, the first 26 verses of Luke chapter 20, have to do with the same subject. They're taken as a unit and we'll break them up into two or three Sundays. As we talk about one of my favorite and think together about one of my favorite subjects and it's a subject that I call the hidden subject in the gospels, hidden because it stands behind everything and you're looking at it in every single passage, we want to say this morning, you're looking at this, every single passage, you're looking at it and it's so like the blue sky. You just, we pass it by and say, well, of course, the subject is the authority of Jesus Christ, beginning with verse one of chapter 20. One day as he was teaching the people in the temple courts and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and teachers of the law, together with the elders came up to him. Tell us by what authority are you doing these things? They said, who gave you this authority? He replied, I will also ask you a question, tell me, John's baptism, was it from heaven or from men? They discussed it among themselves and said, if we say from heaven, he will ask, when you believe him, but if we say from men, all the people will stone us because they're persuaded that John was a prophet, so they answered, we don't know, if we have it, it was from Jesus said, neither will I tell you by what authority I'm doing these things. Let's pray together. Our Father in heaven, we read these words, and they're not just words spoken two thousand years ago for Jesus Christ is here this morning. These words are ever, ever fresh. My Father, we cannot find a line in the gospel that's passé or antique. It all has to do with us and where we are right now, and it's because he is living and your word is alive and real in living.

Our Father, if it were left up to John Sartel, my eloquence or lack of mythology, my understanding would change or affect no one from the inside out, but Jesus Christ can affect us from the inside out. He can change us even though we have no inclination. Some might be here this morning with no inclination to be changed by him. Our Father, he still can change us,

so once more, confessing that we are helpless to speak or helpless to hear in any way that would make us different people. Our Father, we throw ourselves upon the grace of Jesus Christ and we ask once more that we would hear His voice in our hearts and that we would be changed. Some of us for the first time in Jesus' name and for His glory. Amen. What is so unusually striking about this lowly-born middle class, a tenorant rabbi? We're still talking about him two thousand years later. Several weeks ago, I was listening to a commentator as he spoke of the most influential men of the 20th century. He mentioned Einstein, Churchill, Hitler, Mayo St. Dung, the key word here was influential. It did not matter whether it was for good or for bad. Then the secular commentator, this was not a Christian station, it was not a Christian program, the secular commentator gave his choice for the most influential man of the 20th century. Jesus Christ. He said even though Jesus had lived two thousand years before, no individual who lived inside the 20th century influenced the 20th century and affected the 20th century more than Jesus. I think he was right. I think most historians would say he was right. Usually when we think about well-known people, our famous people, we confuse fame with it. Now, this commentator was not saying Jesus was famous. Michael Jordan is famous. Hitler was infamous. Jesus influenced and changed nations and generations and civilizations. Not just for one or two generations, but for two thousand years so that a man two thousand years later can say after the world says he died two thousand years ago and still in two thousand years they were saying he affected this century more than any other individual. Now, what is the astounding about that fact is that when he lived, he held no political office, was not a great warrior, did not have an army, had no money. He didn't write a book. He was lowly-born, middle-class at best, not tenorant, rabbi. His humble background and life seemed contradictory, not to fame, but seemed contradictory to his incredible influence. This morning, in the episode before us, actually it's the first 26 verses of chapter 20. We find a key connection between the humble background, the humble life, and the incredible influence he will did.

The subject of the episode, the subject of these verses is the authority of Jesus Christ. How could such a man have such a low station without a world-class education with no money, who wrote no books without political power? How could he have so much authority?

That's what striking. What is so unusually striking about this lowly-born, middle-class, at tenorant, rabbi? Some would say his birth, some would say his miracle, some would say his teaching, but all of those would be wrong. The most unusual striking fact of his life was his authority. His authority was the background. It was the sky. It was the background behind every miracle. His authority was the background and basis for his teaching. So how does a lowly-born, middle-class, at tenorant, rabbi have such authority? Where did he get it? That's the subject before the house. Next week it's going to be, what has the world done with his authority? What do we do with his authority? But today, what's so unusually striking about this yet? First, I want you to see in this passage an intrinsic authority. Look at Luke, verses 20, verses 1 and 2. One day, he was teaching the people in the temple courts and preaching the gospel. The chief priests and teachers of the law together with the elders came up to him. Tell us, by what authority you are doing these things, they said, who gave you this authority? Their question. How can you act with such authority? Why did they ask that question? What did they mean when they said, how can you do these things? Look back at the verse, he said, tell us about what authority you are doing. These things, what do they mean? You've got to understand Jesus was just not there teaching for an hour one day, walking in. Jesus was staying in the temple, teaching all through the day. He had been doing that we've seen in previous messages since he entered the city. He was sitting as if the temple was his. Remember he had ridden into Jerusalem as a Messiah? He came in the most unusual way for a king to arrive. The prophet said, he'll not come riding up on a great state. He'll come riding on the fold of a donkey and there came Jesus riding on the fold of that donkey on the coat. Now those chief priests and teachers and laws, they watched it remember? They said, why, Jesus, are you letting these people say, who's there to you? Why are you letting them call you Messiah? They understood what was doing. They knew what the prophets have said. They knew what he was doing. That was one of those things. Why are you doing these things? By what authority? And then after you had ridden into the city, you went to the temple, remember? And he claimed ownership. He broke up the trademark, the thievery, set up by the high priest tennis. And Jesus said, in the fact, this is my house and you've desecrated it and he just ruled it. Then he began to preach in the temple like some prophet or rabbi. Now to teach in the temple, you had to be ordained. But here's this unordained, untrained Nazarene, Galilean, just teaching in the temple. Jesus was acting, the fairest that these religious leaders saw this. Jesus acting as a man with tremendous authority. The truth is it was impossible for him not to admit this authority. Why? Because this authority flowed from him naturally, it was an intrinsic authority. It was an authority that came from him naturally. Authority came from him. Why? Because of who he was, because of his deity. Remember, think with me through this. Remember, what did the angel said to Mary? Luke 135, listen to it, the Holy Spirit will come on you. And the power most high will always shatter you, so the holy one to be born of you will be called the son of God. This authority that we watched all through the book of Luke was not a learned authority. It was not an affected authority. A pretentious or artificial authority. It flowed naturally from him just like water from a spring, because it really was. Jesus had already answered this question hundreds of times. They knew it. In Luke chapter 5, this man's brought before Jesus. And he's a paralytic. And everyone says, Jesus is going to heal him. And they pressed real close and said, Oh, we're going to see him there. I'll go. We're going to see him healing. Something very dramatic because this man was paralyzed when he couldn't walk. And Jesus looked at the man and instead of touching him and instead of saying, get up and walk. He said, your sins are forgiven you. 20 said. Now listen, Luke 5, 21, the Pharisees, the teachers of the law, these are the very ones who ask Jesus in the temple, in the passage this morning, asking, where do you get us a authority? They were there that day. And the Pharisees and teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but but alone? Now their theology was right.

Who can forgive sins but alone? That's all. Only God can forgive sins. They understood. That's what they said. Jesus said, look at him. He said, you're asking, how can I forgive sins? How do I have the authority for gift sins? And then he said this, but that you may know that the son of man, the son of man is a messianic title, that the son of man has authority. He's turned that passage just circle. Every time you see authority now, you just thought a circle amazed you. How much it's just interwoven all through the gospels. What the gospels are about, the authority of Jesus Christ. But that you may know that the son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins. He said to the paralyzed man, I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home. Their question was about authority. They were right. Only God can forgive sins. God, Jesus is not arguing with their theology. He was saying so that you may know that I can forgive sins. I'll do something that the God can do. I'll heal by fear. No other person heals by fear. They pray and say, father, heal this man. Jesus said, man, take up your bed and go home. And the man walked off and he said, obviously, only God can do that. And so that you may know, I have the authority for gift sins. Take up your bed and walk. Jesus claimed to be God. And he acted up on that claim. And this is the key. Not in a pretentious way. Not in a pretentious way. There's not a hint of arrogance. There's not a hint of megalomania. Now, if this is true, maybe this morning you're sitting here and you're saying, well, I don't believe in the deity of Jesus Christ. If this is true, if he indeed was God and is God, it was impossible for Jesus not to speak and act with honor because his authority was in his very being. His authority was in his very soul. His very essence. It was not that he was taking authority. It was not that he was seizing authority. He owned authority. His authority was intrinsic authority emanated from him. There's an unusual event in the life of Jesus that most people pass over with little notice. I play a game with several different ministers that I know. And we always want to pick out that one time. I'll say, you know, if you could, if you could be one time in scripture, you know, where would you want to be? And we'll see each other once more. I said, I would be here. And we've spent some time thinking about it. And we think we've gotten one up on them. Well, this is one of those places where I said one time, this is where I would like to be in the ministerial census. Yeah, that's good. It was, it was when Jesus, after he was baptized, he returned to Nazareth to some synagogue and he took up the book. He took up the scroll and he began to read from Isaiah. Remember, we talked about it earlier in Luke and he read from Isaiah and he said and it was a, Isaiah was speaking of Messiah. And he looked at these people who had been his next door neighbors and what did he say to him? He said, today, this is fulfilled in your presence. In other words, I'm the one. Now listen, what happened? Luke 428, listen to it. All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. In other words, they looked at this as blasphemy and they got up, they drove him out of town and took him to the brow they yield on which the town was built in order to throw him down the cliff. Now you say, how does that show his authority? Listen to the next few words. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way. Do you read that? One instance they have it, they have it in their hands, their anger. They're going to kill him. They're going to rightfully throw him off the precipice because he's blasphemous. They're going to kill him and he just walks off. Hello, send it. He didn't fight them. He didn't lift a finger. He just walked off through the crowd. What happened? I think Jesus still that crowd by command, just like he's still in the storm. His native authority spoke in the people and nerve choice. People, when this Jesus approached anyone in the gospels, anyone in the gospels, read it this week, read the gospels this week, see if you can find any person he approached without this kind of authority, whether he was speaking to a blind man or the pilot, a leper or a Pharisee. There was always this authority just emanating from him out here. Jesus would not come to you without this authority ever, ever, ever, ever. You'll never come to you without this authority. You see, somehow because of phraseology, we think that we give him this authority when we bow the knee to him. You don't give him this authority. He has this authority out bowing the knee to him is acknowledging that he has this authority. It's already there. The bad news is, if you don't bow, it acknowledges it now. One day you will because one day he will come and unveil that authority as has never been unveiled before. And you'll understand for the first time, some of us will understand for the first time that it was always there. It was native. It's not something we have given. It's something that he has. Look at this and see an intrinsic authority. Secondly, we've seen an appointed authority. Look again back at verse one. One day as he was teaching the people in the temple course and preaching the gospel, there was another reason for this authority besides being intrinsic. Was he in the temple simply because he was deity? Was he preaching the gospel simply because he was the son of God? Was he? No. Go back. I want you to turn to this passage with me because this, this one we really need to say and understand Luke chapter four. We don't think about it very often. Luke chapter four, if we were Jewish, I think we would think much more about it. Luke chapter four, verse 18, Jesus is speaking. And he says this, the spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recover and the recovery of sight for the blind to release the oppressed to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. What was he saying? Why was he preaching? Why was he healing? He said, I'm preaching and I'm healing because the father has anointed. Look at verse 18, the spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me. What does the word Messiah mean? It means anointed one. The Messiah, one anointed of God is coming, anointed like no one has ever been anointed before, not like the prophets, not like the kings, but I like the priests, but anointed on a completely different level, one anointed of God, a Messiah, the anointed one. Why was he preaching? Why was he healing? The father has anointed me, the father has appointed me Messiah. Now where was he anointed Messiah? He's talking about something, actually took place here. He was always the son of God, born the son of God with the authority of the son of God. But this is, this other part of his authority is anointed authority. Turn with me to Matthew, chapter three. Matthew, chapter three. Look at verse 13, then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John, John the Baptist. But John tried to deter him saying, I need to be baptized by you. And do you come to me? Jesus replied, let it be so now. It is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness. In other words, to fulfill what God has commanded to be done, then John considered it as soon as Jesus was baptized. He went up out of the water. At that moment, heaven was opened, and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove. Now what was it back over? What did we read in 418 of Luke? The spirit of the Lord is on me because he's anointed me. At that moment, heaven was open. He saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, this is my son whom I love and with him I am well pleased. And Jesus was not baptized to be cleansed of sin. He had no sin. Jesus wasn't, did not receive the baptism of repentance. He had no need of repentance. The Old Testament, when someone was being set aside for a special office, for a holy duty, priest, prophet, king, so being set aside for that office, they would be anointed. Old are with water. Baptism wasn't anointing. Jesus was being anointed, baptized, set apart to be Messiah. That's why Jesus said the spirit of the Lord is on me because he's anointed me to preach good news to the poor. This is no small matter, pikes. This is huge. He was anointed by God to be Messiah. For thousands of years, God had talked about Messiah's coming, Messiah's coming. This is a Messiah. God has anointed him. Listen to this prayer from the early Christians in Acts 4.26. Just listen to these words. The kings of the earth, the early Christians are praying and they're saying to God, the kings of the earth take their stand and rulers, and excuse me, the kings of the earth take their stand and rulers gather together against the Lord and against his anointed one. Indeed, Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus who you anointed. Now, in the Jewish mind, when they wanted to emphasize something, they didn't circle it, they didn't capitalize it, they didn't underline it. They repeated it and here in this verse, over and over again, he's saying, the anointed one, whom you anointed. It was not a small thing to those early Christians that Jesus was appointed Messiah by God. His authority was indeed intrinsic. It flowed naturally from his deity, but his father had appointed him Messiah. He had an appointed authority that flowed from position, so he had an authority that poured from his person because he was somebody an authority that poured from his office, from him because of his position. It's like the president of the United States. Now, the president has no authority in his own being. He's not deity. He's a citizen of the nation just like we are. However, when he's elected at the United States and put an office by virtue of our constitution, he becomes the most powerful individual in the world. He has more authority than any other human being in the world. Now, this authority is not intrinsic. It is not emanate from his being. His authority isn't appointed authority. It comes from his office. When he leaves office, he leaves his authority. Jesus was anointed Messiah. That was his office and authority fled from that office. Now, this position of authority was appointed by God himself and has no less important, no less significant than his intrinsic authority. It's important to realize that he was ordained of God to be Messiah. Robert Bella, his Elliott Professor of Sociology Emeritus at the University of California at Berkeley. You probably don't know him because of that. You may know him. He's best known for his book Habits of the Heart. In the book, he speaks about the unhealthy individualism that's prevalent in our society. He said individualism is good to a point, but it can become very, very dangerous. In this book, he interviews a woman named Sheila. And for him, she embodies this dangerous individualistic attitude. This is what Sheila said. Sheila said, I believe in God. I can't remember the last time I went to church, but my faith has carried me a long way. I call it Sheilaism. It's just my own little voice. True that he is. She was claiming authority for herself. What Sheilaism? I just listened to a little voice inside of me, but he'll appointed her to be her authority. The question we must ask about anything that claims to be an authority in our society is to appointed you an authority. Do God appoint you to be an authority in this area? You know, listening to unappointed authorities can be a very, very dangerous thing when we were young, different country. And there weren't many kids around children around my age. And so I ran around with my brother who was four years older and his friends. And I don't think they liked it too much, but I think my mom and dad said to them, if you're going to go, you've got to take him. And after I had a children, I understood why they did that. They wanted me to be gone. But in about two miles from the house, one of the places we liked to hike, there was a cave. And we liked to go in that cave. And dad had told us no more in the cave. Do not go in the cave. One day we were out hiking and we came across the cave. And I think they had planned it that way. And they said, come on, let's go in. And I said, Preston, we can't go in. Dad told us not to go in. And Preston, John, it's all right. We can go in. He said, he just didn't want you going in by yourself or me going in. He said, if there were a lot of us, we could go in. Well, we went in. And of course, dad found out we had been in the cave. We came him all covered with dirt and mud and a cave junk. And dad said, you've been in the cave. Yes, John, why did you go in the cave? Did not tell you not to go into that cave. Yes, but Preston said it would be all right. He said that you said that if there were several of us, we could go in. Now, did I escape a spanky? No. I don't know. I don't remember what happened to my brother. I expect it was extremely bad because he had lied and misrepresented dad. But on that day, at that moment, my father wore me out. Why? Because he understood that I needed to learn the dangers of listening to non-appointed authorities. He said to me, that said to me, John. Whose boss? Whose in control? Whose your authority? Is it me or Preston? He was saying you better check and make sure whoever you're taking his authority has been appointed. That's the message of the gospel that you can't get away from. Over and over again, this appointed authority of Messiah and intrinsic authority, an appointed authority. Third language is a visible authority. Tell us by what authority you're doing these things. By virtue of them asking the question, it was obvious that they could see. They could see that he was claiming authority. He had no army. He had no typical physical weapons. He had no money. He had no position with Caesar. He had no position in the palace or temple. Yet, he acted with such authority that the Pharisees were just astounded. They said, how can you do these things? The very fact that they asked the question meant that Jesus' authority was quite visible. Everyone, even the common people could see it. Listen, listen to these verses. You don't have time to turn to them. Matthew 728, when Jesus, if any, saying these things, the crowds were amazed. Because he taught them as one who had authority and not as teachers in the law. Mark 122, the people were amazed to teach him because he taught them as one who had authority, not as teachers in the law. The people were also amazed that they asked each other, what is this? A new teaching and with authority, he even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him. Luke 432, they were amazed to teach him because his message had authority. All the other rabbis said, they quoted other rabbis. They said, his rabbi Benjamin says, as Rabbi Judas says, as Rabbi Sir. Jesus, when did he say in the sermon on the mouth? It has been said unto you, but I say unto you, I say unto you, but I say unto you, tremendous authority. He was visible. You could see it. The people already look at his authority. When he stopped the storm, he stood and said, stop wind. He told the waves to lie down. It's like you're telling your children to go to bed. One fact is better than that. Your children are no good to bed when you're telling. But when he commanded those waves to lie down, they did so. And what did the authority? What did the disciples say? I was, yes. We've never seen anybody command wind in ways before. Do you? He spoke. It was just an obvious authority. He stopped storms. He raised the dead. Everything from leprosy to weather to death seemed to be his under his authority. How visible, how well could you see his authority? Why not just when I'm saying this morning? These people that will come up and they say, well, you know, Jesus is a great teacher. They've missed it all. You can't possibly look at Jesus and then it doesn't have seen this immense authority. Most amazing recognition's authority. And I keep coming back to this. But the more I read it so much recently that it just comes alive every time. The most amazing recognition's authority came at a time. I would have thought there was impossible to see his authority. He was nailed naked on a Roman cross in shame and derision. The Roman cause was a place of ultimate indignity, a place of humiliation, a place of total disgrace. He had been beaten. His body was covered with deep gaseous from metal studded, from a metal studded whip that had ripped his flesh. He was dying. You had a thief, a criminal who had started off the day cursing him, saw what seemed impossible to see. I still wondered this. I still wondered this. He looked at it and he saw a king. He saw such authority that he's actually words were Jesus. Remember me when you come into your kingdom. You've got a kingdom. You're king. You've got authority. I tell you if this thief saw the authority of Jesus, if he saw it, what excuse do we have not to see it? You see, that's not the problem. We're going to see more this next week. It's not the problem we don't see it. It's not at all. You can't hide the authority. It was the incarnation God in the flesh, but it could not be hidden. There was a king who loved to leave the palace and mix with the commoners. He loved to go out and walk the streets and be in the marketplaces and with the merchants and down in the pubs. He would leave us usually in disguise under the cover of darkness. He would visit the shops and streets. One night he was standing in a bar at the end of a bar in a pub. He was off to one side. He was not standing in the light. It was the way he usually was. He was by himself. He was just having a drink and he was just watching, just observing, just listening, enjoying his anonymity. A blacksmith had been sitting on a table watching him and he walked up to the bartender. He said, who is that? The bartender said, I don't know. He comes in here from time to time. The drink's usually by himself. He's just one of us, just us.

Blacksmith went back and said, if you miss Leigh, the blacksmith came back to the bar and he said to the bartender, who is it? Do you know? Are you sure you don't know him? I don't know him. Just leave him alone. Leave me alone. He's just one of us. The blacksmith looked at him, looked at the bartender. He said, he may be dressed like one of us, but he sure does act like a king. That's a great picture of the gospel. You look at Jesus and he can be on a cross, strip naked, bloody and dying and a thief on a cross can look at him and say he may look like one of us, but he's not. He acts like a king. And Trinity authority, appointed authority, visible authority. Finally, I want you to see a revealing question. Luke 20 verse 2, tell us about what authority you're doing these things. They said, who gave you this authority? I will ask you a question. Tell me, John's baptism. Was it from heaven or from men? They discussed it among themselves. I said, if we say heaven, he will ask why didn't you believe it? But if we say from men, all the people will stone us because they're persuaded that John was a prophet. So they answered, we don't know where it was from. Jesus didn't even say, well, I tell you about what authority I'm doing these things. Jesus answered their question by asking a question of his own. You asked me the source of my authority. You asked me where I got my authority. I will answer you if you will answer my question. Was John the Baptist authority? Was his baptism from men and from heaven? Now think with me and we're done. These men knew that they wanted Jesus and they said, where's your authority come from? They knew they had heard it a thousand times. Jesus said from heaven, these in all order, they had their own claims for King and ministry came from heaven. So in questioning them, Jesus said, my authority came from the same, Jesus really saying, my authority came to the same place as John's. Now don't think that Jesus answered this way because these men placed him in a difficult position. At first, I want to say, well, Jesus answered this way because he knew they would accuse him of blasphemy and because he was God, he wasn't the temple and he said this, they'd arrest him just in. Jesus already said this many, many times. It was not in the power of any personal group to put Jesus in a difficult position, a place of fear.

He answered in that way, you can front them one more time with their own astounding unbelief. You kept the John's ministry, even though it was obvious, it was from God. And now you're taking me even, it's obvious. They were scared of the people, why? Because the people have recognized, they may not have believed it. They not have been baptized, but they knew where John came from and they knew from which Jesus came. Jesus questioned, revealed their stubborn unbelief, unbelief even though the truth was obvious. If I drop a 20 pound ball from here, or let's say I drop a hundred pound ball from here and a one pound ball from here, which hits the floor first. Aristotle said, that's easy. Heavier objects fall faster than light objects. And he was brilliant. He was the best thinker of the ancient world. And so everyone said for 10 centuries, for 20 centuries, everyone said, okay, the heavier object falls faster than the light object. One day, this was like this until 1589. And one day, Galilee went to the top of the tower. And he had a 10 pound ball and he had a one pound ball. And he had gathered some of the learned men of his day around. Then he had said, which will fall faster? And they said that 10 pound ball. He dropped them and they hit the ground at the same time. They said, that's impossible. Then he dropped them again. And even though they could see it with their eyes, they denied their own eyesight. You see the problem? Was it not that they didn't see? They had eyes. They saw it. The problem with those religious leaders was not the problem they didn't see it. They saw it. What is so unusually striking about the lowly-born middle-class Atenor Rabbi? He is intrinsic, appointed, invisible.

And he'll never come to you without it really, really disturbs us. Somebody give up their authority.