Proper 21 A
Who Do You Think You Are?
St. Matthew 21:23-32
28 September 2014 – Redeemer
Who do you think you are?” that is the real question the chief priests and elders were asking Jesus. He had made a mess of the temple the day before. With a whip and righteous anger He overturned tables, scattered coins, and chased out the money changers and declared, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you make it a den of robbers.”
Jesus upset their economic apple cart. The temple was a great money maker for the religious leaders. People came from all over the country with different coins to buy animals for their sacrifices. It was like buying a sweatshirt at a professional football game or buying camera batteries at Disney World – bad for you, good for business. The Chief Priests loved to carry their money bags down to the Jerusalem branch of Wells Fargo, but not today. The money changers were gone and they were ticked, “Jesus, who do you think you are? By what authority do you upset the temple business?”
It is easy to hear sermons against the Jewish leaders. They are the villains of the Gospel – Chief Priests – boo. Elders – hiss. Pharisees – hypocrites. Scribes – worse than hypocrites – lawyers. Jesus messes up their little monopoly and they get angry and we think, “serves them right.”
But how do you react when Jesus messes up your monopoly, the monopoly of me? How do you react when Jesus intrudes into your life? Suppose He stops in at your workplace. Have you been a hardworking employee? Do you give your boss more than he asks? Then He mucks around your marriage. Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church. Jesus died for His bride, how are you dying for your bride, gentlemen? Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. Wives, are you encouraging and supporting your husband as the head of the household? What if Jesus breaches your billfold or examines your checkbook register? Are you spending more on your pleasures than in support of the priceless treasure of the Gospel? Are you giving the same now as you did 10 years ago when you were unemployed? Jesus leaves no table unturned. Why do you think there is tension between you and your children when they depart from His way? Why are there some topics like the sixth commandment that you cannot talk about at family reunions? It is because when Jesus intrudes into your life He leaves no part of your life outside the Kingdom.
The Kingdom of God is Jesus and Jesus doesn’t work like we work. He teaches that to the chief priests, the elders, and us, with the brief little parable of the two boys, “What do you think? A man had two son. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward changed his mind and went. And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?”
Both boys are sinners. Son one sins by refusal. Son two sins by lying, however son one changed. Something happened after his refusal. He thought about his father. He thought of all his father did for him, how dad worked that vineyard, how that vineyard was life for the family. The boy thought, “My father has given me life, fed me, clothed me, and now he simply asks that I be his son by working in the vineyard as he has worked. What a fool I’ve been! How could I not do the work my father has given me to do? He changed his mind. He repented. He went.
To be sure this son number one had other plans – he was going to play the new PS4 game. His friends were going to Buffalo Wild Wings for happy hour. A new Captain America movie was showing at the theater. He had plans so initially he said, “No, father,” but then repented and went away to the vineyard. His father’s love turned him away from the monopoly of me.
Jesus tells us who the first son is, when He tells the Chief Priests, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.” The first son is you. You’ve said, “No,” whenever you have not done what your Father in heaven has given you to do. The tax collectors stole. The prostitutes sold their bodies. You know what you have done, but you also, like son one, know your Father.
You know your Father sent your brother Jesus, true son number one, the only-begotten of the Father. Your Father in heaven gave His Son for you. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost – that’s you. He came to find those who wandered away and are so tangled up in sin they cannot free themselves – that’s you. Jesus came to carry the guilt of the tax collector, prostitute, gossip, pervert, thief, adulterer, and miser – that’s you, but ultimately that’s Him – that’s Jesus. He comes to be you, your substitute. This is what you know about your Father – He loves you so much He gives up His only begotten Son, sends Him to death, hell, and judgment that He can welcome you to life, heaven, and salvation.
The economy of God’s Kingdom, the way it works, is driven by the authority of Jesus, who He is. When the Chief Priests ask Jesus, “Who do you think you are?” Jesus answers by Word and Deed. I am the Father’s Son. I am God in the flesh. I am your brother. I am your Savior. I am your sin, your death, your hell, your forgiveness, your life, your resurrection, your hope, your favor before my Father, your justification. If you believe that, if you confess that, you repent. You’re a changed son like that son in the parable. What you previously refused you now do. Before you said, “No. I’m not going to listen to God. I’m not going to do what He says.” But now you listen to the Word of your Father and you go where He sends you. If you believe in Jesus then He likely has messed up some parts of your life because now you no longer live in the monopoly of me. On the other hand, if you don’t believe Jesus you will be like the Chief Priests and carry on business as usual. By the end of the week they killed Jesus. They kept Jesus out of their lives so the banking system in the temple wouldn’t be upset but unfortunately keeping Jesus out of your life means death.
Today I will make the last of my three stewardship requests in this onth of September.. I asked you out to lunch in my first sermon (it’s not too late to accept that invite, please come we’ve prepared extra food). Last week I asked you to try to have family or personal devotions. Today I’m inviting you to come to Bible Study once a month. Once a month I will have a designated Bible Study on stewardship, on the economy of God’s Kingdom and I’m inviting you to join us. Our first study will be next week. If we overflow the fellowship hall great – we might meet in here or down the basement. I hope we have that problem.
The great gift of Bible Study is that we get to study in depth the way God’s Kingdom works. We could probably call Bible Study God’s Economics because we learn His way of working – we’ve talked about marriage, about end of life decisions, about Christianity compared to other religions like Mormonism and Islam. We studied the Psalms, the book of Philippians and Revelation. We learn how the work of the Church is different than the work of the State. Right now we’re learning how to listen to a sermon, because a sermon isn’t the same thing as a speech. God would have His pastors tell us what we hear nowhere else – your sins are forgiven, God is not angry with you, Christ Jesus has won your place in heaven by His death and resurrection. Keep your eyes on the bulletin for those Stewardship studies and join us to hear, mark, learn and rejoice in the economy of God, where our salvation is worked out in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Pr. Bruce Timm
27 September 2014 anno Domini