Sermon Notes - What Will You Do With Jesus?

What Will You Do With Jesus?, Mark 11:27-12:12
J. Josh Smith, MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church, attended January 10, 2010

Generally, children question authority outwardly and overtly, as adults we do it inwardly and subtly most of the time.

In this text we see the leaders of the church challenging the authority of Jesus. We see them and are amazed that they are questioning Him. Don’t we do the same thing everyday? There is more of ourselves in them than we care to admit. We question His right to assert His authority over us and we fail to see the consequences.

As the creator and rightful owner of all things, He has ultimate authority over everything in our lives but we like to live with an illusion of authority. We don’t reject it outright all the time, we just ignore it.

Mark 11:27 – The Sanhedrin are representatives of the Jewish nation to the Roman emperor. They obviously feel their authority is absolute in the temple.

Mark 11:28 – Referring to the cleansing of the temple. Notice they aren’t questioning what He did but question His right to do it. It doesn’t make sense to them. They ooze with arrogance.

Mark 11:31-32 – An answer for John is an answer for Jesus.

Mark 11:33 – They don’t answer His question. They are nothing but a group of self righteous cowards controlled by fear and unwilling to commit. How foolish to walk in Jesus house and question His authority. We do the same thing. We have a false illusion of our authority. We fail to realize that our money, our marriage, our sex life, everything is His. (Colossians 1:16-17) As if we have the right to do what we will with our lives. We try to find a way to live without His authority, just like the Sanhedrin. It isn’t our money, or our marriage, or our sex life,… We want all the blessing without the submission.

He doesn’t respond to them because they don’t respond to Him, and so it is with us.

They not only questioned His authority but rejected it.

Mark 12:1-12 – This land doesn’t belong to them yet they killed the slaves that were sent. Why did the owner keep sending them? There was only one more to send. Mark 1:11 uses the same phrase – “beloved son”. Sending the son is just like sending the father himself.

This is a story of the leaders of the Israel. Israel is God’s vineyard. (Isaiah 5) The people are God’s people. (Exodus 19) He sends prophets and priests. (Jeremiah 7) The people keep rejecting them.

Why would God keep sending them? Jesus was thrown out of the vineyard which was rightfully His. This is a story of everyone who rejects Christ. You only exist because God wants you to exist. Time after time we reject His authority. This is similar to Luke 15 when the son wants to live outside the authority of his father’s house.

What are the consequences of living outside the authority of Jesus?

1. He will destroy the tenants – No one can blame Him for this. This is what will happen to all who reject Him and He has every right to do it.

2. He will give the vineyard to others – God created Israel to bless them so they may be the primary venue to save the nations. His people rejected Him however. Now His plan is through the church.

3. No one can stop His authority – He doesn’t lose. May question and reject but He is in authority. Mark 12:10-11.

The question remains as to what you will do? Will you question His authority or submit?