By What Authority?
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
Matthew 21:23-27
Mark 1:21-28
The captain on the bridge of a large naval vessel saw a light ahead on a collision course. He signaled, “Alter your course 10 degrees south.” The reply came back, “Alter your course 10 degrees north.” The captain then signaled, “Alter your course 10 degrees south. I am a captain.” The reply: “Alter your course 10 degrees north. I am a seaman third-class.” Furious, the captain signaled again, “Alter your course 10 degrees south. I am a battleship.” The reply: “Alter your course 10 degrees north. I am a lighthouse.”
The voice of authority… We know it when we hear it. But there are many voices of authority in our world that seem to inevitably contradict each other. And so we must choose between the ones that we will obey and the ones that we will not. We must live under some authority even if it is our own. The two questions become, by what authority are we most guided in our daily lives? And once we answer that question, the second question comes into play, by whose authority do we tend to speak and act?
These are essentially the same questions the chief priests and elders posed to Jesus, “By what authority do you do these things? And who gave You this authority? Indeed, by what authority do we do the things that we do? “By What Authority?” Let us pray… (See the rest of this sermon by clicking on the title above)