Thomas J Parlette
“Who Gave You the Right”
Matt. 21: 23-32
9/27/26
There is an old dinner party game, perhaps you know it – where you consider who you would want to invite to a dinner party. Can be anyone you want – anyone from history, living or dead. Who would you invite?
Every time I’ve played this game, one guest in particular comes up. Lots of people say they would like to invite Jesus to dinner. It’s an intriguing possibility. I’m sure it would be interesting to invite the Son of God to share a meal and swap stories over roast beef and red wine.
But then I think about all those times in scripture when Jesus engaged with the people – whether over a meal or in the town square, or here, in the Temple in Jerusalem. These encounters almost never go as expected. Jesus has this way of turning your questions around, confusing the issue and of course, answering a question with another question. And then, there are the stories. Jesus as a story for every occasion.
Today is no different. It’s important to know the context of today’s passage. This encounters comes right on the heels of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem during Holy Week. After riding into town on a donkey, being serenaded with hosannas – Jesus goes straight to the Temple and causes an uproar by overturning the tables of the moneychangers and driving the merchants out into the streets. Quite the scene.
The next day, Jesus is back at the scene of the crime. How he got onto the Temple grounds after the riot he caused, we don’t know. But the chief priests and the elders of the people were on the lookout for him. They see him arrive, and while he was teaching, they approach, asking “By what authority are you doing these things, who gave you the authority.” They are essentially saying, “Look, Jesus, you are on our turf – we have been given authority over the Temple, not you. Who gave you the right to come in here and start flipping tables?”
And as he usually does, Jesus confounds his interrogators by asking them a question about the baptism of John.
What follows is a comical scene as the chief priests and the elders retreat to a corner of the room to have a quick huddle and review their options.
“If we say from heaven, he’s going to say – well why didn’t you believe?”
“If we say of human origin, we’re afraid of the crowd – they are big supporters of John.” What do we say? And they all shrug in unison.
Finally, they elect a spokesperson, they go back to Jesus. They spokesman takes a deep breath, and says – “We don’t know.” You can almost hear they chuckles from the crowd – “They don’t know – they claim they know everything, this they can’t answer??”
Then Jesus tells them a story. It seems to be an answer to their question about authority – but not a direct answer. A direct answer was going to land Jesus in hot water with somebody, so he skillfully gives an answer without giving an answer.
What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He goes to the first and asks him to go work in the field. The son says, “No. I’m not going to do that.” But later, he changes his mind and goes to work. The father goes to the second son and makes the same request. This son says, “Sure, I’ll get right on that,” but he doesn’t go. Which of these two sons did the will of the Father?
The answer is obvious – the first son. Then Jesus drives his point home. “The tax collectors and the sinner are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. You say the right things, you give the right answers – but you don’t follow through, you don’t do the right things. The sinners, they say they don’t believe, they live in sin – but they listened to John, they repented, they did the right thing. SAYING the right thing means nothing – DOING the right thing is what counts.”
That’s why Jesus would ruin any dinner party he got invited to – pointing out hypocrisy doesn’t win you many friends, or dinner invitations.
History is filled with people who have said all the right things, but they didn’t do the right things. Our own Christian history is not immune. You only need to look at the story of The Crusades to find some striking examples.
In his book Saladin: The Sultan Who Vanquished the Crusaders and Built an Islamic Empire, John Mann describes how, during the First Crusade, from 1095 – 1099, the Christian knights who sought to free the Holy Land from the infidels did not act particularly Christ-like. On July 15th, 1099, the months-long siege of Jerusalem ended with the Crusaders, led by Godfrey of Bouillon, breached the defenses. Once they were in the city, the men who bore the cross, the sign of Christ on their chests, mercilessly slaughtered all the inhabitants – men, women and children, Muslims and Jews. Eyewitness accounts tell of the street running with the blood of the dead. Even at a time when war was unimaginably brutal, the atrocities committed by the Crusaders drew criticism.
Now fast forward 90 years. Saladin, the great Fatimid general, defeated the Crusaders in the Battle of Hattin in 1187. Saladin then moved on to take Jerusalem and, after a short siege, entered the city. The Christian inhabitants of Jerusalem were terrified; they remembered what the Crusaders had done in 1099 and thought Saladin would take revenge.
However, Saladin was merciful. He granted amnesty to the Christians and set a low ransom price, which enabled the residents to leave the city. For those who were too poor to pay, Saladin forgave the ransom or paid it himself, much to his advisors’ chagrin. The Jews, who had been banished by the Christians, were invited to return to Jerusalem. Saladin did not even destroy the Crusader churches; instead, he repurposed them. Anyone who has stood under the medieval arches of the Church of St. Anne in Jerusalem has witnessed the work of Saladin.
Though largely forgotten in the Muslim world until the 20th century, Saladin was hailed as the epitome of chivalry in medieval Europe and celebrated for his bravery, his wisdom and his generosity.
So, what do you think? Which son of God did the will of the Father here? Godfrey of Bouillon or Saladin?
The Christian faith is more than a set of words or ideas; it is a way of acting in the world. What is more important – getting the words right or the work right? (1)
That’s what Jesus is getting at this morning. SAYING the right things means nothing. DOING the right things is what counts.
Jesus may not be the best guest for a congenial dinner party. He says challenging things. He flips our expectations upside down. He turns our questions back on us, and has no time for hypocrisy. When the religious people of the day asked – “Who gave you the right?”, Jesus responded with a story highlighting that saying the right things was not enough, you have to do the right things – that’s what counts. And when you look at Jesus life – his ministry, his teaching, his healing – he is doing all the right things. He doesn’t just talk a good game, he backs it up with his actions. Who gave him the right to do these things? The Spirit of God, embodied in God’s Son, that’s who gave him the right.
Let those with ears to hear – Listen!
May God be praised. Amen.
1. Shawnthea Monroe, Connections, Year A, Vol. 3, Westminster John Knox Press, 2020, p 351.
