The Gospel of Mark – Part 41

Authority and Accountability – Mark 11:27-12:12

Mosaic Rockford – Dave Spooner – July 5th, 2020

Intro:

Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey at the start of the Passover week celebration (which was a Sunday). That night, Jesus looks over the temple and then stays with His disciples overnight in the nearby town of Bethany. On Monday, Jesus and His disciples head back into the city of Jerusalem. On the way, Jesus cursed a fruitless fig tree and then cleansed the temple and proclaimed, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers” (Mark 11:17-18 ESV).  On Tuesday morning, they headed back to Jerusalem and the temple. Along the way, they noticed the tree that Jesus had cursed had “withered away to its roots” and Jesus taught them about the power and purpose of prayer. 

Mark 11:27-33 ESV

And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28 and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or 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 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” 31 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was 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 do these things.” 

Those who were given the responsibility to watch over and produce the fruit of God’s house were furious over what Jesus had done in cleansing the temple. They wanted to know, by “whose authority” did he do these things – what right did he have to do what he did? They saw themselves as the authority or the owners of the temple, whereas the truth is that they were just the stewards of the temple and they were under the authority of the real owner and His word.  God and His word is the final authority, and the church must function under and according to His word and authority. Jesus did not answer their question outright but asked them a question in return, and if they had answered His question, then He would answer theirs. He knew that they saw themselves as the authority and they did not recognize any other authority other than their own, so in asking them a question in return, Jesus was getting to their hearts and exposing what was there. They loved their authority and position of power and they did not want to lose it. They thought they were there because the people wished it so, verses that God called them to their position to steward the word and work of the Lord.  Because of the perfection of God, He always works in making us more like Him. This is His goal and He will give us what we truly need, not what we ask. God asks us questions for our good, and He is just, loving, and wise when He asks us these things. God is under no obligation to answer our questions but uses them to reveal our hearts. Jesus next told a parable that described the hope, kindness, severity, and ultimate triumph of God when it comes to His will being done.  In it we understand the heart of God and from this story, it is best if we deeply understand the authority and accountability of God. 

The hope of God 

Mark 12:1 ESV

And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower and leased it to tenants and went into another country. 

The “man” who planted this vineyard was God. The vineyard is the people of Israel, the people of God (Isaiah 5:1-7). God put a “fence around it”– He gave them His word and He gave the law, and it was to be a protection