September 27, 2026 · Rev. Dr. James Olson · Philippians 2:1-13; Matthew 21:23-32
When the chief priests demand to know by what authority Jesus acts, he turns the question back on them. Rev. Dr. James Olson asks us to see through the distractions of our own day just as sharply: to ask why people are hungry or homeless in the first place, and to keep stirring up good trouble.
Transcript
We have in this morning's lesson from the gospel, Jesus at the height of his teaching power. He is demonstrating mastery of rhetoric and any of you who. Anybody study actual rhetoric in college or high school. It's a it's a thing. They don't really teach much anymore. And there's all of these classical arguments about how to counteract a conversation, how to counteract an argument.
The chief priests and scribes, tried to trip Jesus up by asking him a question. By what authority did do you do these things? Healing, teaching. We're in the part of Matthew where Jesus is actually exercising his public ministry really quite a bit. He's teaching, he's healing, he's flipping tables over. He's just entered. He's just entered Jerusalem. We're in that time period in Scripture lesson this morning, just after Palm Sunday, but before the events of Good Friday.
And so they're trying to trip him up. They're trying to catch him in doing something illegal and trying to catch him, saying something blasphemous. So they ask him who gave you permission? Who gave you authority to heal, to go into the temple and cause a disruption to come into the city on a donkey as if you were a king, right? This was a big public fuss that messed up the traffic. And so Jesus, instead of getting defensive and, and, you know, returning, you know, trying to defend himself turns the question around. He says, who gave John the authority To do what John did.
Now the people all recognize John as a prophet, right? And as an important person, John was baptizing out in the wilderness, which was causing a big public stir. It's kind of kind of, you know, many of us had parents who, above all else, don't be a bother. And so John was out in the wilderness being a bother. Jesus was in the city being a bother. And so Jesus says to them, who? Who gave John permission to do what? What he was doing?
And being the educated, argumentative, law based types that they were rationed, rationalized out the argument. If we say that John's power was divine, then we give it credence. We give it credit. We we legitimize it. We don't want to do that. But if we say that he just took it on himself as a human being, then the people are going to get mad and riot because they all believe. They all believe that he's a he's a prophet. And so Jesus says, well, that's fine. Since you won't tell me who you think gives John his authority, then I'm not going to tell you who gives me my authority to do what I do.
And then he says, But I'm going to ask you a question. A man had two sons, and he sent them. He told them to go out into the fields to work. One said yes and then didn't, and one said no, changed his mind later and then went and did. Jesus asks, which one did the will of the father? Now neither one of them really got to it. The correct answer would have been the one son said yes and then went and did it, being the obedient child of the father.
This whole discussion in Matthew scholars think, was added to a little bit later than actually the original text of Matthew was written for the purpose of establishing that the people doubted. And Jesus answered, and he answered it in a way that made sense to the legalistic, Torah observant minds. He argued his way backwards into it. It's a really, frankly brilliant rhetorical device, and and not the only time that Jesus does this right. Anytime Jesus turns a question around, right, who do you say that I am? Who is your neighbor? All of these questions.
So we need to learn how to read the question, because what Jesus really is asking is not what he's actually asking. These ancient classical rhetorical devices that we see Jesus employ, and we hear Paul employ all the time because Paul was educated in the law and could argue very, very well. Right. Anybody who's been to law school, you spend a whole year, really all three years of law school learning how to argue and not unpleasantly, but how to make your point and make your point better than your opponent, right? That's how you win legal cases. Jesus never lost. Jesus never lost any of these arguments because he understood that turning the question around on the person that was trying to trip him up. Ended up making the person asking the question look like a fool.
We have a teacher in Jesus. We have a person. The Son of God who got his authority to do what it is that he does immediately from the father, from God. And we who are children of God also have that ability. Have that authority, have that permission to turn questions around that are designed to trip us up and to turn the question around on the questioner as a rhetorical device.
There's lots of things that get said these days by politicians, by sports stars, by clergy. Where the intent of the statement is to distract from what's actually being said or what is actually happening. It's it's rhetorical sleight of hand. Oh, look over here. Pay no attention to this crisis happening over here. Any of you know how to do magic? That's all what it's about. It's all to get people to be focusing on the thing here while you're counting cards with this hand.
And we. Are smarter than that because we have Jesus, who does this all the time and points out the distracting question, points out the. Evil intent. Who points out the thing that's happening isn't really the thing that we are supposed to be paying attention to. Then teaches us to ask good questions. To not take the red herring. To not take the obfuscation. To not take the distraction at face value. But to look beyond the surface of what's going on at what is really being said.
The chief priests and scribes were feeling threatened. Their power, their authority in the community was being questioned by John and by Jesus. And they didn't like it. They did not like someone questioning how and why they were exercising their power in the way that they were. And so in order to defend themselves about the power and the authority that they had, they attacked the questioner. It's another rhetorical trick. It's an ad hominem attack ad to the man, hominem to the man. And so Jesus again saw this. And just simply turned it around back on them.
When we as Christians stand up and say. They're not there should not be homeless people. There should not be hungry people. There should not be people who are destitute through no fault of their own, and that we as a society have the responsibility and the ability to help, because that's what Jesus taught us. Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the widow and the orphan. Care for those who need caring for. Welcome the stranger. Society is going to use all those rhetorical tricks to turn it back on us, to distract us from the work that Christ has set before us. And we need to take the example of Jesus and be smarter.
I realized that, Talking about these things sometimes gets a little close to that third rail. But I'm going to promise you always that whenever I get close to that third rail, it is because Jesus is already there. It's because we are called to ask the question. We are called to hold anyone in a position of authority, to responsibility, to honesty.
We are called as Christians to ask not why somebody is hungry now, but what system is in place upstream that is causing the hunger? When we see somebody who is homeless, yes, we're called to make sure they get shelter and clothes and all those things. But we also are called to ask, why is this person homeless in the first place? Why is there not a place for them to live? When people are unable to live on the pension and the social security that they are getting in their older years, we're called to help. But then we're also called to ask what what is going on that is making this condition so in the wealthiest country in America? I don't have answers. I'm not going to give you answers this morning. But what I'm going to point out to you is that when we encounter situations like that. We look to Jesus. We look to the way that Jesus handled the social issues of his day. And do the same.
Now I've just come from Southern New England annual conference. Met for a couple of days in Worcester. Saw some people I have not seen in a lot of years. Remember, I'm just back into the New England conference in ministry after a number of years away and a number of years out of ministry. And it was a good reminder to me that our denomination, the United Church of Christ, is often on the forefront of social justice issues, of making sure that the hungry are fed, that the naked are clothed, that the homeless are housed, that the widow and the orphan are taken care of, that anyone who our society deems less than are elevated. That our denomination is really good at turning the question around on the people causing the problem.
United Church of Christ has its own challenges and its own problems. We talk about those another time. Yesterday's meeting did not go as planned. But we have the privilege of belonging to a church that does not shy away from those questions. We have the privilege of belonging to a church that knows how to ask the tough questions. As we form a search committee, as we begin the process of thinking about who your next pastor will be, those questions about how this church faces those questions in society will be part of the discussion.
Remember then that Jesus always says. Come unto me, and I will give you rest. That our lives are a constant going out into the world, living the gospel, making changes, stirring up good trouble, and then coming back to rest and renew, and to sing hymns and to listen to music, and to meet together with like minded folks, and to have coffee and banana bread, and then to go back out into the world and stir up good trouble again and again and again and again. Thanks be to God for the privilege. Amen.