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By What
Authority?
Matthew 21:23-27 & parallels
Text
is from the New Revised Standard Version
©1989, Division of Christian
Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA.
In all three
synoptic gospels, the following exchange between Jesus and the religious
authorities in the Temple is told. In every one, a version of his
turning over the tables of the money-changers, and scattering their
animals, in the outer courts (Matthew
21:12-13, Mark
11:13-19, Luke19:45-48)
precedes this account. In Luke's format, it comes immediately before. In
Mark's gospel, between the "temple cleansing" episode
and Jesus' encounter with authority, is the second part of a story about
a "withered" fig tree (11:20-26).
Earlier in the day Jesus, being hungry, came upon this then-healthy
plant and found it without fruit. "May no one ever eat fruit from
you again," he said (11:14).
When the disciples next see this tree - after Jesus drove out the
"den of thieves" - it is now "withered," and
they recall his earlier words. Jesus connects the withering of this fig
tree "at its roots" with the withering of faith. The
implication by its placement is that the roots represented by the chief
priests, scribes, and elders of Israel who here question Jesus'
authority, are withering, faith-wise.
Matthew's gospel records the fig tree episode in the same place, but
pulls it together as one complete unit, with the withering of the plant
happening instantaneously upon Jesus' curse (21:18-22).
Jesus' entry into
Jerusalem to the acclaim of the "hosanna" shouting masses (see "Blessed is the king who comes
in the name of the Lord!"), has drawn anew the
attention - and wrath - of the religious elite, who then witness his
cleansing of the temple, and wonder "by what authority" he
operates.
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Matthew 21:23-27 |
Mark 11:27-33 |
Luke 20:1-8 |
{23}
When he entered
the temple,
the chief priests
and
the elders of the people
came to him as he was teaching,
and said,
"By what authority
are you doing these things,
and who gave you
this authority?"
{24}
Jesus said to them,
"I will also ask you one question;
if you tell me the answer,
then I will also tell you
by what authority
I do these things.
{25} Did the baptism of John
come from heaven,
or
was it of human origin?"
And they argued
with one another,
"If we say, 'From
heaven,'
he will say to us,
'Why then did you not believe him?'
{26} But if we say,
'Of human origin,'
we
are afraid of the crowd;
for all regard
John as a prophet."
{27} So they answered Jesus,
"We do
not know."
And he said to them,
"Neither will I tell you
by what authority
I am doing these things. |
{27} Again they came to
Jerusalem.
As he was walking
in the temple,
the chief priests,
the scribes,
and the elders
came to him
{28}
and said,
"By what authority
are
you doing these things?
Who gave you
this authority to do them?"
{29} Jesus said to
them,
"I will ask you one question;
answer me,
and I will tell you
by what authority
I do these things.
{30} Did the baptism of John
come from heaven,
or
was it of human origin?
Answer me."
{31} They argued
with one another,
"If we say, 'From
heaven,'
he will say,
'Why then did you not believe him?'
{32} But shall we say,
'Of human origin'?" -
- they were afraid of the crowd,
for all regarded
John as truly a prophet.
{33} So they answered Jesus,
"We do
not know."
And Jesus said to them,
"Neither will I tell you
by what authority
I am doing these things." |
{1} One day,
as he was
teaching the people
in the temple
and telling the good news,
the chief priests
and the scribes
came with the elders
{2}
and said to him,
"Tell us, by what authority
are you doing these things?
Who is it who gave you
this authority?"
{3}
He answered them,
"I will also ask you a question,
and you tell me:
{4} Did the baptism of John
come from heaven,
or
was it of human origin?"
{5} They discussed it
with one another, saying,
"If we say, 'From
heaven,'
he will say,
'Why did you not believe him?'
{6} But if we say,
'Of human origin,'
all the people will stone us;
for
they are convinced
that John was a prophet."
{7} So they answered
that
they did not know
where it came from.
{8} Then Jesus said to them,
"Neither will I tell you
by what authority
I am doing these things." |
Matthew's gospel continues the conversation, with
Jesus telling the following parable.
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Matthew 21:28-32 |
{28}
"What do you think?
A man had two sons; he went to the first and said,
'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.'
{29}
He answered,
'I will not'; but later he changed his mind and went.
{30}
The father went to the second and said the same;
and he answered,
'I go, sir'; but he did not go.
{31}
Which of the two did the will of his father?"
They said, "The first."
Jesus said to them,
"Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes
are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.
{32}
For John came to you in the way of righteousness
and you did not believe him,
but the tax collectors and the
prostitutes believed him;
and even after you saw it,
you did not change your minds and believe him.
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Following a few manuscripts, some translations (NEB,
NASB), reverse the order - wherein it is
the first son asked who initially says "yes" but does
not go, instead of the second. "The change in order may
have been motivated by the order of salvation history, wherein
the Jews first refuse the kingdom while the Gentiles later
receive it." (Hagner,
p. 612) |
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(for more on Matthew 21:23-32
see "The
Text this Week",
lectionary sequence: Year A - Proper
21 (26) or Pentecost 19.
Neither Mark 11:27-33 nor Luke 20:1-8 are used in the lectionary) |
Mark
and Luke omit the above parable, but join in with Matthew at this point
with another. The religious leaders fade a bit into the background, and
we become aware that the crowds have been surrounding this
confrontation, listening. It is no quiet encounter.
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Matthew 21:33-46 |
Mark 12:1-12 |
Luke 20:9-19 |
{33} "Listen to another parable.
There
was a landowner
who planted a vineyard,
put a fence around it,
dug a wine press in it,
and built a watchtower.
Then he leased it to tenants
and went to another country.
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{1} Then he began
to speak to them in parables.
"A man planted a vineyard,
put a fence around it,
dug a pit for the wine press,
and built a watchtower;
then he leased it to tenants
and went to another country.
|
{9} He began
to tell the people this parable:
"A man planted a vineyard,
and leased it to tenants,
and went to another country
for a long time. |
{34} When the harvest time
had come,
he sent his slaves to the tenants
to collect his produce.
{35} But the tenants seized his slaves
and beat one,
killed another,
and stoned another. |
{2} When the season came,
he sent a slave to the tenants
to collect from them
his share of the produce
of the vineyard.
{3} But they seized him,
and beat him,
and sent him away
empty-handed. |
{10} When the season came,
he sent a slave to the tenants
in order that they might give him
his share of the produce
of the vineyard;
but the tenants
beat him
and sent him away
empty-handed. |
{36} Again he sent
other slaves,
more than the first;
and they treated them
in the same way.
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{4} And again he sent
another slave to them;
this one they beat over the head
and insulted.
{5} Then he sent another,
and that one they killed.
And so it was with many others;
some they beat,
and others they killed. |
{11} Next he sent
another slave;
that one also they beat
and insulted
and sent away empty-handed.
{12} And he sent still a third;
this one also they wounded
and threw out.
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{37} Finally he sent his son to them,
saying,
'They will respect my son.'
{38} But when the tenants
saw the son,
they said to themselves,
'This is the heir;
come, let us kill him
and get his inheritance."
{39} So they seized him,
threw him out of the vineyard,
and killed him. |
{6} He had still one other,
a beloved son.
Finally he sent him to them,
saying,
'They will respect my son.'
{7} But those tenants
said to one another,
'This is the heir;
come, let us kill him,
and the inheritance will be ours.'
{8} So they seized him, killed him,
and threw him out of the vineyard.
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{13}
Then
the owner of the vineyard said,
'What shall I do?
I will send my beloved son;
perhaps they will respect him.'
{14} But when the tenants
saw him,
they discussed it among themselves
and said,
'This is the heir;
let us kill him
so that the inheritance may be ours.'
{15} So they
threw him out of the vineyard
and killed him. |
{40} Now when the owner
of the vineyard comes,
what will he do to those tenants?" {41}
They said to him,
"He will put those wretches
to a miserable death,
and lease the vineyard
to other tenants
who will give him
the produce at the harvest time." |
{9} What then will the owner
of the vineyard do?
He will come
and destroy the tenants
and give the vineyard to
others.
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What then will the owner
of the vineyard do to them?
{16} He will come
and destroy those tenants
and give the vineyard to others."
When they heard this, they said,
"Heaven forbid!" |
{42} Jesus said to them,
"Have you never read
in the scriptures:
'The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord's doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes'? |
{10} Have you not read
this scripture:
'The stone that the builders rejected
has become the
cornerstone;
{11}
this was the Lord's doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes'?" |
{17} But he looked at them and said,
"What then does this text mean:
'The stone that the builders rejected
has become the
cornerstone'?
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{43} Therefore I tell you,
the kingdom of God
will be taken away from you
and given to a people
that produces
the fruits of the kingdom. |
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{44} The one who falls on this stone
will be broken to pieces;
and it will crush anyone
on whom it falls." |
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{18} Everyone who falls on that stone
will be broken to pieces;
and it will crush anyone
on whom it falls." |
{45} When the chief priests
and the Pharisees
heard his parables,
they realized that
he was speaking about them.
{46} They wanted to arrest him,
but they feared the crowds,
because they regarded him
as a prophet.
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{12} When they realized that he had
told this parable against them,
they wanted to arrest him,
but they feared the crowd.
So they left him and went away. |
{19} When the scribes
and chief priests
realized that he had told this parable
against them,
they wanted to lay hands on him
at that very hour,
but they feared the people.
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More resources on Matthew
21:33-46
can be found at
"The
Text this Week."
lectionary sequence: Year A -
Proper
22 (27) or Pentecost 20) |
Mark 12:1-12 is not used
in the lectionary cycle. |
More resources on Luke 20:9-19
can be found at
"The
Text this Week."
lectionary sequence: Year C - Lent 5, (Episcopal only) |
comments ©2002 Peter
L. Haynes
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