Words or Deeds?
September 27, 2026 HMC
Craig Atwood
Matthew 21:23-32 (New English Translation)
Now after Jesusentered the temple courts the chief priests and elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”Jesus answered them, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Where did John’s baptism come from? From heaven or from people?”
They discussed this among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From people,’ we fear the crowd, for they all consider John to be a prophet.” Sothey answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” Then he said to them, “Neither will I tell youby what authorityI am doing these things.
“What do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ The boy answered, ‘I will not.’ But later he had a change of heartand went. The father went to the other son and said the same thing. This boy answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.”
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, tax collectorsand prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God! For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe. Althoughyou saw this, you did not later change your mindsand believe him
INTRODUCTION
Last week Russ preached about Jesus’ parable of the owner of a vineyard who paid all his day laborers the same amount, and Russ acknowledged that the parable remains unsettling and has the potential to confront an unjust economic system. Our lesson for this week takes place a few days later. Jesus has come to Jerusalem during the Passover season and was teaching in the outer courtyards of the Temple. He has already caused an uproar by riding into the city on a donkey while the crowds shouted Hosana. Then he symbolically cleansed the Temple of money changers, which did not make him popular in certain circles. After all that drama, Jesus just sits in the Temple courtyard and teaches people.
THE CHIEF PRIESTS AND ELDERS
Our passage for today starts with the chief priests and Jewish elders confronting Jesus. It is helpful to know that the chief priests and elders were not just the folks in charge of the Temple. The Jewish council called the Sanhedrin was part of the political structure of Palestine. The priests and Sanhedrin worked closely with the Roman governor to enforce laws, collect taxes, and keep the peace.
The chief priests and elders confronted Jesus because he was disrupting commerce in the Temple and stirring up the crowds. They demanded that he tell them by what authority was he doing the things he was doing.
BY WHOSE AUTHORITY `
The chief priests, of course, had no trouble answering that question about themselves. They were members of the tribe of Levi and descendants of the first high priest Aaron who was the brother of Moses. Generation after generation the descendants of Aaron had overseen the Temple in Jerusalem. Even during the time of the Babylonian exile, the descendants of Aaron retained their status as religious authorities. Some of them helped assemble the sacred texts of the Torah.
When Babylon was conquered by Cyrus the Persian, many of the Jews returned to Jerusalem. Eventually Ezra was appointed by the Persian emperor Xerxes to be high priest. He worked closely with the emperor’s cup bearer Nehemiah and supervised the rebuilding of the Temple. Ezra interpreted the Torah for the people. In other words, the high priests of Jerusalem were religious and political figures who helped maintain order and enforced the laws.
The chief priests who confronted Jesus knew where their authority came from. They were what we could call “heritage Jews” because their families had been in the country for ages upon ages. They knew Jesus came from Galilee, so he wasn’t a real Jew. They knew how to appease the Romans and how to destroy their rivals.
Plus the priests controlled the two most important institution in the country: the Temple and the governing council, the Sanhedrin. Since they controlled the institutions that controlled the country, they were also the wealthiest people in the Palestine. They were never hungry, never thirsty, never unhoused. They were so wealthy their servants had servants.
The greatest symbol of the chief priests’ status was that only they could enter the holiest part of the Temple: the sanctum sanctorum. They also knew the Torah and the sacred rituals and holy days. They offered sacrifices to God – sacrifices that other They knew the secret name of God that no one was allowed to say out loud. They were confident of their righteousness and that they deserved all the blessings of God. Their only fear was that someone would upset the system they ruled. They were powerful, but they also lived in constant fear.
JESUS
But the chief priests and elders were afraid of Jesus because he didn’t fit into the system they cherished. They had many questions. Who was this wandering Galilean who healed blind beggars and lepers? Who was this unknown rabbi whose disciples smelled of fish? Who was the man from Nazareth who dared to teach that Samaritans are good, that women should be treated as human beings, and that children are loved by God? Who was this man who rode into town on a donkey and presumed to teach people the meaning of the Bible?
“By what authority are you doing these things?” They demanded. They weren’t looking for knowledge or truth by asking the question. The question wasn’t a question. It was intimidation. It was a way to undermine Jesus. They were trying to put Jesus back in his place and prove to the crowd that he was a nobody. They wanted to demonstrate that Jesus was a charlatan, a mountebank, a carnival act who had no authority, no power, no following, no future. Go back to Galilee, sonny boy, and let us run the Temple, the economy, and the country. By what authority are you doing these things?
BAPTISM OF JOHN
But Jesus knew their game. He had been dealing with self-righteous arrogant people ever since he stood up in the synagogue in Nazareth and told the people there that it was time to proclaim good news to the poor and recovery of sight to the blind. Jesus decided to play a game with his opponents rather than acknowledge their superiority.
“Answer me one question first,” he said, “and then I’ll answer your question. You are the religious authorities, so tell us where did John get the authority to baptize people in the Jordan River? Was John a prophet or a pretender?”
The chief priests and elders had to huddle to discuss their answer. They were shrewd politicians, and they knew what was at stake. If they said that John’s authority to baptize came from God, then people would wonder why they hadn’t listen to him and let themselves be baptized. If John was doing God’s work, then why wasn’t he given respect and a voice on the council?
But if the priests said that John’s authority came from below, the people would know that the elite didn’t believe in John. That could lead to the riot they were trying to prevent.
AUTHORITY FROM THE PEOPLE?
We may push the elders’ dilemma a bit further. If they said that John’s authority came from the people, they would be opening the door to democracy, to the wild and wonderful notion that rulers must have the consent of the people to rule. Or as Abraham Lincoln said, that government should be of, for, and by the people. If John’s preaching was validated by the people, shouldn’t the priesthood also be validated by the people? Shouldn’t the priests’ authority come from the people their served?
Jesus had zeroed in on the priests’ biggest fear. It is the biggest fear of all tyrants, despots, oligarchs, potentates, and other corrupt leaders throughout history. The priests did not fear God, but they did fear the people. They feared the truth. They feared the day that people learn the truth and rise up and seize power.
The priests and elders couldn’t answer Jesus’ question because either answer would undermine their authority. And so, after much deliberation, the chief priests simply said “we do not know.” It is a refreshingly honest reply. Imagine being the high priest of Judea who can’t answer such an important question.
But here’s the funny thing. What if both answers are correct? What if authority from God is also authority from the people? What if John had both kinds of authority and the arrogant elites had neither?
KEEP DOING
When they said “we don’t know,” Jesus just smiled and replied, “Then, I’m not going to tell you where my authority comes from either.” Figure it out for yourselves. And while you’re thinking and debating and analyzing the problem, I’m just gonna keep doing what I do. While you’re figuring out how to maintain your power and wealth, I’m just gonna keep showing the unwashed rabble that they are beloved children of God.
While you geniuses confer with your advisors and PR people on how to look strong yet compassionate, I’m just gonna keep healing people, and casting out the demons of alienation, and restore them to community. While you keep repeating the pious words you learned from your ancestors, I’m gonna build the kingdom of God. I don’t need to justify my actions to you. Just watch what I do.
TWO SONS
Of course, Jesus didn’t say that directly. Instead, he told the chief priests and elders a parable. Unlike the parable that Russ preached on last week, this parable was easy to understand. It was so easy that even the well-educated chief priests understood it immediately. Which son obeyed his father? The one who said “Yes” or the one who did what needed to be done? The chief priests and elders have no trouble answering Jesus’ question. The one who acted was obedient, not the one who promised but failed. They knew the right answer, but not what it meant.
Jesus’ parable says that e should judge people by their deeds not just their words. This idea has been at the heart of Moravian teaching since the day that a handful of ordinary people without credentials, wealth, or political power formed a covenant community dedicated to doing what Christ asks his disciples to do. That small, peaceful, and quiet community of faith was so dangerous popes, emperors, and kings did all they could to annihilate it. We’ll talk about this history more in my webinar in October. People are still afraid when covenant communities proclaim good news and overcome the barriers that divide people.
CONCLUSION
There is one last detail in our Gospel lesson that we must look at. Jesus presses home his point by telling the self-righteous and arrogant religious elite that tax collectors and prostitutes, the most marginalized of the marginalized people in society, were entering the kingdom of God before the priests and elders. This is one of the most radical things that Jesus ever said, and he said it directly to the most powerful religious leaders.
Many churches today boldly say “All are Welcome,” but do they really welcome everyone that Jesus loves? Are we ready to welcome and care for those whom Jesus redeems? Jesus teaches us that the kingdom of God is not build on words, but on deeds. It is built on justice and forgiveness, on redemption and grace, on living into a vision of a new world.
