Sovereign Grace Baptist Church

Date: 1-24-99

Luke #131

Text: Luke 20:1-8

"The Cost of denying the Truth"

(Luke 20:1-8 NASB) And it came about on one of the days while He was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes with the elders confronted Him, {2} and they spoke, saying to Him, "Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?" {3} And He answered and said to them, "I shall also ask you a question, and you tell Me: {4} "Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?" {5} And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why did you not believe him?' {6} "But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet." {7} And they answered that they did not know where it came from. {8} And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

It never ceases to amaze me that Christ's greatest enemies, when He lived here on earth, were those who claimed to act and speak for God. The religious leaders consistently took a stand against our Lord and at last saw to His crucifixion. The devil is behind the scenes in the spirit world while the leaders of the Chosen Nation are Christ's visible enemies. Is the church and its officials still standing in opposition to Christ and His Father today? In many instances I believe it is. The church and its leaders often suppress truth because of some consequence they would experience if they stood for and proclaimed that same truth. The priests, scribes, and elders who stood in opposition to Christ are still with us today. But who were these men exactly?

William Hendricksen, who is always worth reading, writes; "Three groups are mentioned: the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. These are the component parts of the Sanhedrin. The chief priests constituted a group or order consisting of the present ruling high priest, those who had formerly occupied this high office, and other dignitaries from whose ranks the high priest was generally selected. The custody of the temple had been entrusted to these people, mostly Sadducees. It is not strange that the scribes, mostly Pharisees, are also mentioned, for these were the men who studied, interpreted, and taught the law. Their teaching was done in both temple and synagogue. The elders, too, were present. In ancient Israel an elder was the head of a tribe or of a tribal division. In fact, every city or town of any importance soon had its ruling elders. With the establishment of the Sanhedrin the more prominent local elders became members of this powerful and respected governing body. We might call them the Sanhedrin's lay members." (End Quote, slightly modified for clarity)

The Sanhedrin was the chief religious and political governing body among the Jews. They were the watchdogs, governors, protectors, and teachers of the people. Sadly, this is the body that ordered the death of Stephen, the persecution of the Apostles, and at last the murder of our Savior. Everything the Sanhedrin did was in the name of God with, supposedly, the authority of the scriptures behind them.

This is the group of men that demanded, "By what authority do you do these things?"

But what "things" were they referring to? Taking the content of the three Gospels together we find that a number of things took place. Jesus had cursed a barren fig tree which promptly died. Then He cast out the buyers and the sellers from the temple on the Sabbath. Some of these men might very well have been involved in that episode. Now He is back in the temple teaching and preaching the Gospel. But what about Christ's teaching and the Gospel bothered these men? The list could be very long indeed.

A brief look at what Christ taught about Himself will help us understand what enraged these men so. Lets begin our investigation in Isaiah 61:1-2 NASB. Here the prophet Isaiah is used by God to speak the following words which looked forward to the coming Messiah. The words are set forth as if the promised Messiah is speaking them. "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives, And freedom to prisoners; {2} To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn."

Now we move hundreds of years into the future. Jesus has just been baptized by John and has endured the temptation of the devil for forty days. Listen to what happened then. (Luke 4:13-21 NASB) And when the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. {14} And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit; and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. {15} And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all. {16} And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. {17} AND THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH WAS HANDED TO HIM. And He opened the book, and found the place where it was written, {18} "THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE DOWNTRODDEN, {19} TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD." {20} And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon Him. {21} And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

Jesus claimed Isaiah's words as His own and in so doing declared that He was the promised Messiah come to save His people from their sin. This is what He taught the people both in the temple and the synagogue. This is what enraged the members of the Sanhedrin. For they did not believe He was the Messiah. Or at least they did not want to admit it nor did they want anyone else too. Nevertheless Jesus continued to teach this truth.

Jesus went beyond teaching the truth about who He was to preach the "Gospel" to the poor, blind, downtrodden sinners that gathered to hear Him. But what was it about the Gospel that could possibly offend these men who claimed to be worshipers of God? "Everything!" Jesus preached the Gospel that you are familiar with. He spoke of sin, the devil, and of the judgement to come. He spoke of the necessity of faith in "Himself" for salvation. He offered forgiveness of sins to the vilest of sinners. It was a gracious offer which had nothing to do with who the person was, what they had done, were doing, or would do in the future. The good news was that any and every sinner who came to "Him" by faith would be saved from the wrath to come. This is all contrary to the teaching of Judaism. The Gospel according to Jesus says you don't have to be a Jew. You don't have to be circumcised. You don't have to go to God through a priest. Rather, sinners of every nationality, however sinful, could find acceptance with God and forgiveness of sins by trusting in "Jesus" as the promised Savior and Messiah. These are the things that offended and frightened the leaders of the Jews. Let's listen to some of our Lord's teaching.

(John 6:30-41 NASB) They (a great multitude of people) said therefore to Him, "What then do You do for a sign, that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? {31} "Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'HE GAVE THEM BREAD OUT OF HEAVEN TO EAT.'" {32} Jesus therefore said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father (identifying Himself as the Son of God) who gives you the true bread out of heaven. {33} "For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world." {34} They said therefore to Him, "Lord, evermore give us this bread." {35} Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. {36} "But I said to you, that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. {37} "All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, (look to, believe in, trust in) and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. {38} "For I HAVE COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN, (a blasphemous claim according to the Sanhedrin) not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. {39} "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. (The word "it" refers to the elect from every nation. These would be saved and raised on the last day.) {40} "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son (Me, Jesus, the Messiah) and believes in Him, may have ETERNAL LIFE; and I MYSELF will raise him up on the last day." {41} The Jews therefore were grumbling about Him, because He said, "I am the bread that came down out of heaven." Jesus clearly claims to be the Son of the God of Abraham, Isaac and of Jacob. He is the source of eternal life. This is why the scribes, priests, and elders hated Him and want to do Him in. If the people ever believed His claims they will surely be out of business.

Consider the following words from Matthew 11:25-30 NASB. At that time Jesus answered and said, "I praise Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, (Again He claims to be the Son of God.) that Thou didst hide these things from the wise and intelligent and didst reveal them to babes. {26} "Yes, Father, for thus it was well-pleasing in Thy sight. {27} "All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; (Jesus claims to have divine authority and privilege and power. In short He claims divinity.) and no one knows the Son, except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. (Jesus says that no one can know God unless He, Jesus, decides to reveal God to them. This did not make the Jewish leaders happy.){28} "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. {29} "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and YOU SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. {30} "For My yoke is easy, and My load is light." This is nothing short of a promise of salvation to all who will believe in Jesus as the Son of God.

These are some of the "Good News teachings" of Jesus. All sinners who come to Him by faith will be saved from the wrath to come. He was and is the Messiah and said so in many different ways. This challenged the teachings of the Jewish leadership. They did not teach a salvation of grace through faith in the Messiah. Rather, they taught a salvation of works through keeping the law. Their whole world was being challenged by this man and they hated Him. They had to do something to get rid of Him or to discredit Him before the people. The later is the one they go with in our text. So they marched into the temple, interrupted Christ's teaching, and demanded, "By what authority do you do these things?" They had not given him permission to teach in the temple or synagogue, so who had? "By what authority do you do these things?"

If Jesus said He had their permission they would catch Him in a lie and He would be exposed before the people. If He were to say that His authority was from God they would accuse Him of blasphemy and still come out on top. But Christ has a surprise for them. He answers a question with a question. {3} And He answered and said to them, "I shall also ask you a question, and you tell Me: {4} "Was the baptism of John from heaven (God) or from men?" Was his authority from men or from God Himself?

Why did Jesus do this? He did this to disarm His enemies by reminding them of what John had said about Him. What John had said about Jesus was critical. For not only had the people recognized John as a prophet sent by God, so had the leadership. The proof of this if found in (Matthew 3:4-7 NASB) Now John himself had a garment of camel's hair, and a leather belt about his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. {5} Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea, and all the district around the Jordan; {6} and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins. {7} But when he saw many of the PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES COMING FOR BAPTISM, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" Folks both the people and the leadership believed that John was a real prophet sent from God who spoke only the truth.

This posed a big problem for the enemies of Jesus. For John had identified Him as the Messiah, the Lamb of God, come to take away the sins of Jew and Gentile alike. If this was true Jesus' authority was from God and He did not need the permission of the Sanhedrin to teach, or heal, or preach, or raise the dead.

What exactly did John say about Jesus? Let's take a look. (John 1:19-36 NASB) And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" {20} And he confessed, and did not deny, and he confessed, "I am not the Christ." . . . {22} They said then to him, "Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?" {23} He said, "I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, 'MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,' as Isaiah the prophet said." {24} Now they had been sent FROM THE PHARISEES. {25} And they asked him, and said to him, "Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" {26} John answered them saying, "I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. {27} "It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie." {28} These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. {29} The next day he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! {30} "This is He on behalf of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.' . . . {32} And John bore witness saying, "I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. {33} "And I did not recognize Him, but He (God) who sent me to baptize in water said to me, 'He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.' {34} "And I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of God." {35} Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, {36} and he looked upon Jesus as He walked, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!"

This is the testimony of John about Jesus. It is straight forward, and cannot be misunderstood. The scribes, priests, and elders are between a rock and a hard place. They have admitted that John was a true prophet and dare not deny him before the people. What will they do?

{5} And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, (that John's ministry is . .) 'From heaven (commissioned and authorized by God) He (Jesus) will say, 'Why did you not believe him?' (That is, why do you not believe what he said about Me?) {6} "But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet."

In other words if they concede that John's ministry was from God then they must also concede that all he taught was true. That means that they would have to accept Jesus as the Messiah. They would have to believe in Him, and worship God through Him. They would have to turn their people toward Him, and away from themselves. It means that they would be out of business and out of power. On the other hand, if these men deny publically that John had been sent from God there would be an uprising. So what would they do? Here is their response. {7} "And they answered that they did not know where it came from."

They lied! They chose to lie because the consequences of telling and supporting the truth about Jesus were just too great. They did know and believe that John's ministry was from God. They knew that he spoke the truth. But they lied. These guardians and teachers of the scriptures were not concerned about truth, or the Messiah, or the best interests of the people. They were only concerned about their positions and lively hood. So they suppressed the truth and said they did not know who authorized John's ministry. Now for Jesus' reply. {8} And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

In essence Jesus says, "Because you choose to deny and suppress the truth you have been given I will communicate with you no further." They chose to continue in the way of sin and hypocrisy even though Jesus had reminded them of the truth. They chose the treasures of this life over eternal life. They chose religion over salvation. They chose earthly fame, power, and comfort over Jesus, the only mediator between God and man. And when they did Jesus cut them off. He would not wrangle with them. He would not continue to lay truth before them. He cut them off. These were the shepherds of Israel and they have rejected the Messiah. Hear with me what God says about such men as these.

(Ezekiel 34:2-31 NASB) "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? (What do God's people need to eat? What must the true shepherd feed the sheep of God? His truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth! But sadly these shepherds are only concerned with their own earthly profit.){3} "You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock. (That is you take their offerings for yourself but they get nothing in return.) {4} "Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them. . . {10} 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am against the shepherds, . ."

When God is for someone it means that no one can successfully come against them. Likewise, when God sets Himself against someone there is no one who can rescue them, they are doomed. Here we are told that God sets Himself against all shepherds, elders, pastors, who know the truth but refuse to teach it to the people and thereby comfort, feed, and rescue them. He sets Himself against all religious leaders who are in it for money, fame, or power. Who make themselves fat with the worlds goods while misleading and starving God's sheep. The men that confronted Jesus in the temple on the day in question were such shepherds.

There are many such men in churches today. God says to them, "I am against you!" A more frightening judgement cannot be imagined. The Bible says "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God." It is even more fearful for a would be teacher of truth to fall into the hands of an angry God. For the Bible tells us that there will be a greater punishment for teachers than for anyone else. Every pastor of every church must fear God more than he loves himself or the approval of the people. Every pastor must obey God and spend himself for the people of God making certain that he leads them into the finest pasture possible. Pastors and teachers beware.

This lesson must also be applied to the individual. What do you know of God's truth that you refuse to acknowledge and respond to? Are you running at full speed in the wrong direction while truth cries out in your mind? Do you know the word of God and yet refuse to conform to it? Then you are no different than the group of men we have read about today. I warn you, do not travel this path too long. For God often refuses to communicate grace and truth to such rebels. Just as Jesus stopped communicating with his enemies who knew truth but denied it so God will one day turn His face away from you. The man who hardens his heart to truth will soon find it hardened all the more by God Himself. When He finally lets you go your own way and stops dealing with your conscience you will have lost all hope for your never dying soul. Remember dear friend, now is always the right time to repent and believe in Jesus. Remember dear saint, now is always the right time to turn from your rebellion to walk in peace and truth with the God who saved you.

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