True Authority

It is super good to be with you guys this week. If you have your Bibles, we are going to be in Matthew 17. If you happen to be a guest with us, I know you have been welcomed already, but I just want to welcome you again myself. My name is Brad. I am one of the elders here and the lead pastor. I have been hanging out at this place from the very, very beginning, and I am still really encouraged to be able to open the Word of God and just handle a portion of the text.

It is sort of the MO of this church to pick a book of the Bible—we happen to be in the Gospel of Matthew—and grind through. We are in chapter 17. Obviously, there are 28 chapters in the book, so we are going to be in this one for a while. What we do is take bite-sized pieces. We are going to cover just a few verses this week, and then next week we will continue on. By God’s grace, our conviction is that because the Word of God is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training, if you hang out around this place long enough, you are going to understand the whole counsel of God. We are going to keep learning one week at a time, one message at a time.

Now, if you came just to be encouraged, you need to know the Bible sometimes is a mixed bag. Sometimes you read a chapter and you go, “Oh man, that’s awesome!” And then sometimes you read a chapter and through tears, you’re like, “Oh man, I am terrible.” Welcome to the journey of fallen you and I walking with a holy God. The hope would be that as we pursue God, we learn to walk more intimately with Jesus and cling to the truths of the text.

I want to make a quick connection to what happened last week. Mike Sladen, one of our teaching pastors whom I have known since he was a college student, spoke last week. I watched the message, and I have to admit I was a little upset because he threw me under the bus for talking him into going skydiving. I want you to know he was fully complicit in that, all right? He whined like a baby a little bit, but we did jump out of a plane. I don’t know that we would ever do it again; that was kind of a one-and-done.

He did a great job handling the text. I was teaching at Hume Lake last week, so I didn’t get to hear it live, but I watched it on our podcast. What an incredible reminder that it is not about the amount of faith we have, but whom our faith is placed in. He made a great observation: when we go up on the mountaintop to see the transfigured Christ, as good and comfortable as it would be to stay there, ministry is not up on the mountaintop. It is down below. We cannot hide, retreat, or become reclusive followers of Jesus up on the mountain away from the world. The world needs to see the gospel.

This week, we are going to cover three separate sections of the text—three separate pericopes—but there is one common thread that weaves its way through all of them. What we want to do is handle them one at a time, and then see if we can find that golden thread.

The Authority to Lay Down His Life

We will start in verse 22 of chapter 17, a section mentioned in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

Matthew 17:22-23 (NASB)

And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.’ And they were deeply grieved.

We have talked about this in weeks past, but the disciples had a set expectation of who they thought Jesus should be and what the Messiah should do. Then Jesus starts throwing stuff like this at them: “Hey, by the way, I’m going to be handed over and killed.” And they are like, “Wait, what?” It didn’t fit their paradigm.

In Luke’s account, it goes even further. Luke tells us that they did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it.

Luke 9:45 (NASB)

But they did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.

We have to be careful—and I am chief on the list, because I love poking fun at these guys. “How did you not see it? That was pretty clear!” But there is something going on behind the scenes where the Lord is veiling their eyes from fully understanding the implications of what Jesus is about to do.

If you remember the disciples on the road to Emmaus, as Jesus was walking with them, their eyes were eventually opened and they recognized Him, and then He vanished from their sight. Even though Jesus had spoken plainly—in the Gospel of Matthew, three times plainly in just two short chapters—their eyes were veiled from fully understanding all the implications of His first coming.

In chapter 16, verse 21, you see one of the first mentions of His death:

Matthew 16:21 (NASB)

From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.

Then in chapter 17, verse 12, He says it a second time:

Matthew 17:12 (NASB)

but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.’

And then we read our passage this week in verse 22. They just could not quite see the cross. But what I want us to understand theologically is that the cross was always the plan. It was the play. It wasn’t Plan B. It wasn’t a Hail Mary, no pun intended. It wasn’t some last-ditch effort to try to redeem mankind. It was the plan from the very beginning.

Colossians 1 speaks of Jesus as the agent of creation, which throws all kinds of bad theology out of whack. I had a knock on the door the other day, and this sweet woman and her associate wanted to talk to me about who Jehovah was. I had a nice conversation with them about the fact that Jesus is not a lesser god; He is not merely a created son. He is very God of very God. While Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” Colossians 1, John 1, and Hebrews 1 all state clearly that Jesus is the agent of creation.

Hebrews 1:2-3 (NASB)

in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

The author of Hebrews is saying all of the world was made through Jesus, who is God. The cross was always the play. There was no other option. Jesus was born to die.

Make no mistake about it: John gives us insight in John 10 that Jesus was not ambushed. I used to think Jesus just needed better lookouts in the Garden of Gethsemane—if He had just posted someone who didn’t fall asleep, they would have seen the guards coming and snuck out the back door! But the reality is, Jesus said nobody takes His life from Him. He said, “I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.”

John 10:18 (NASB)

‘No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.’

Jesus knew exactly what was happening. In Matthew, He meanders through Galilee, goes up to the Decapolis, travels to Tyre and Sidon, and then suddenly sets His face toward Jerusalem. There is a resolute focus. Jesus was born to die, and the cross was the play.

So what is the takeaway from this first section? Jesus, though possessing all authority as fully God, was willing to lay down His authority and His life for the sins of the world. Matthew 20 will tell us that the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.

Matthew 20:28 (NASB)

just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.’

The Authority to Lay Down His Rights

Then we come to verse 24. This second section talks about the temple tax. It is only recorded in Matthew; Mark and Luke do not include it. They arrive in Capernaum, which was the ministry hub of Jesus in the northern Galilean region.

Matthew 17:24 (NASB)

When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma [tax] came to Peter and said, ‘Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma [tax]?’

This is fascinating. The tax collectors don’t go directly to Jesus. They sneak up on Peter and ask if Jesus pays the two-drachma temple tax. Two drachmas was the equivalent of about two days’ wages, so it was not a small sum. They get this idea of the temple tax from Exodus 30.

Exodus 30:13 (NASB)

’This is what everyone who is numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a contribution to the LORD.

In order to support the ongoing work of the sanctuary, much like people tithe in a New Testament context, the Old Testament mandated a contribution from everyone numbered among the people. The tax collectors are asking, “Is this half-shekel tax something Jesus pays?”

In verse 25, Peter does something I would not recommend anyone do: he answers on behalf of Jesus. He just says, “Yes.” You want to say, “Okay, buddy, are you sure? Do you want to pause for a moment and check with the Man before you answer for the Man?”

Sure enough, Peter comes into the house, and before he can even speak, Jesus addresses it.

Matthew 17:25-26 (NASB)

He said, ‘Yes.’ And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, ‘What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?’ When Peter said, ‘From strangers,’ Jesus said to him, ’Then the sons are exempt.

Take note of that: whenever Peter is called “Simon” in your Bible, it is usually not good. Every time Jesus calls Peter Simon, He is about to whoop him with something. Jesus asks, “From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll tax—from their sons or from strangers?” Peter answers, “From strangers.” Jesus says, “Then the sons are exempt.”

If those temple tax collectors had come directly to Jesus and asked, “Are you going to pay the tax?” what did Jesus have the right to say? “No.” He is not a stranger; He is not a foreigner. He is not just a son—He is the Son. Jesus had the absolute authority to say no. But Peter had already volunteered Him.

Jesus is exempt by His very nature as God. His disciples, as sons of the kingdom, could be argued to be exempt as well. But watch how Jesus responds in verse 27:

Matthew 17:27 (NASB)

‘However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.’

This is awesome. Is Jesus exempt? Yes. But He says, “So that we do not offend them, go throw in a hook, pull out a fish, open its mouth, take the shekel, and give it to them for you and for me.”

What is Jesus showing? He is the Son, and therefore He is exempt, yet He willingly lays down His rights and participates. How does He pay it? He doesn’t reach into His wallet. Miraculously, as the Lord of all creation, He does something so divine that anyone watching would say, “Who in the world can do that?”

What is the lesson here? Jesus, though possessing full authority as the Son of God, willingly laid down His rights for the sake of others.

By the way, who are the two people who pay the tax? Jesus and Peter. A half-shekel for each equals the full shekel found in the fish’s mouth. In Exodus 30:14, the law stated that everyone twenty years old and older must pay the contribution. Some scholars have pointed to this passage to argue for the youth of the other disciples—that they may have been under twenty, essentially high school age. We don’t know for certain, but it is worth noting that only two paid. The disciples were probably young men, not necessarily the long-bearded senior statesmen we often picture.

The Upside-Down Kingdom

That brings us to our final section regarding rank in the kingdom.

Matthew 18:1 (NASB)

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’

This sounds relatively docile: “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” But Mark and Luke give us the rest of the story.

Mark 9:33-35 (NASB)

They came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He [began] to question them, ‘What were you discussing on the way?’ But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which [of them was] the greatest. Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, ‘If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.’

This wasn’t a polite theological question about who makes the Kingdom Hall of Fame. On the road to Capernaum, the disciples were having an ongoing argument about which one of them was the greatest! Luke adds that a heated debate started among them. They are squabbling like fifth graders fighting over chocolate milk: “I’m the best!” “No, I’m the best!” “He loves me more!”

Jesus sits down and gives them a divine scolding: “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

This debate showed that these men did not understand the kingdom of God. Following Jesus is not about earthly power, prestige, or authority. It is an upside-down kingdom. Throughout His ministry, Jesus turns worldly logic on its head: If you wish to find your life, you must lose it. If you lose your life for His sake, you find it. The first will be last, and the last will be first. The greatest among you must be the least. If you exalt yourself, you will be humbled, but if you humble yourself, you will be exalted.

An arrogant Christian is an oxymoron. What do we have to boast about? We were totally depraved sinners, dead in our transgressions, and He made us alive in Christ. All we contributed was the sin that made redemption necessary. In the kingdom of God, when you are given authority, the godly response is to be a servant. That is what godly servant leadership is all about.

Watch what Jesus does next:

Matthew 18:2-4 (NASB)

And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, ’Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. ’Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus is a master of using what is within arm’s reach. He walks by a vineyard and says, “I am the vine, you are the branches.” Here, He calls over a little child and places the child in the midst of these arguing men.

He says, “Unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” I used to hate the word converted when I was a non-believer in college, because I thought it meant someone was trying to argue me into changing my mind. But the Greek word strepho means to turn around, to change one’s manner of life, to repent. Jesus is saying we must turn away from the self-absorbed pursuit of adult status and turn toward God like a child.

Adults have rules, responsibilities, pecking orders, and pretension. Kids are completely unconcerned with who is cool, who has the most money, or who drives the best car. A child just wants to know, “Can I have a snack? Are there Goldfish? Can we finish the movie?” They are unpretentious, genuine, and fully present.

In that culture, children had zero social status, power, or legal rights. Yet Jesus pulls this child onto His lap and essentially tells the Twelve, “You knuckleheads are arguing about which of you is the greatest, and I pick the kid. The child simply delights to be in My presence.”

Matthew 18:5-6 (NASB)

’And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Capernaum was known for its food processing industry, utilizing heavy, black basalt millstones to grind wheat and press olives. Standing on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, with the water lapping against the beach and millstones lying nearby, Jesus says that if anyone causes one of these little ones who believes in Him to stumble, it would be better to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck and be drowned in the depth of the sea. Childlike faith is deeply precious to God.

The takeaway from this third pericope is clear: the greatest in the kingdom is the one who lays down personal authority, rights, position, and power, and comes to God with the humility of a child.

The Golden Thread

Do you see the golden thread running through all three of these stories?

1. In verses 22–23, Jesus, possessing full authority as God, willingly lays down His life for the sins of the world.
2. In verses 24–27, Jesus, possessing full authority as the Son, willingly lays down His rights for the sake of others.
3. In chapter 18, verses 1–6, Jesus teaches that the greatest in His kingdom is the one who willingly lays down personal authority, position, and pride to come to God like a child.

From Matthew 14 through chapter 18, Jesus has been strategically investing in His disciples—coaching them, shaping them, and helping them understand what it means to walk intimately with Him. And this is perhaps the most important lesson He could ever teach them: real intimacy with God comes through humility.

I would love to tell you the disciples immediately understood it, but they struggled with this over and over. And we are no different. It was a hard message for Jesus to teach them, and it is a hard message for Him to teach us.

We may not openly argue about which one of us is the greatest, but we spend an awful lot of time trying to look like a big deal. We want to matter. We want influence. We want to be liked, followed, and recognized. We work hard to establish our status.

We understand the worldly code of greatness—the kind of watch you wear, the shoes on your feet, the car you drive, the neighborhood you live in, and where you go on vacation. But Jesus did not come to exalt man’s kingdom; He came to redeem it by turning it upside down. If you spend your life on the treadmill of worldly success, you will end up exhausted. When you breathe your last and stand before God, He is not going to say, “Congratulations, you made so much money.” We want to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

When we place our trust in Jesus Christ, our lives are fundamentally reordered.

Galatians 2:20 (NASB)

’I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the [life] which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

That is the heart of walking with Jesus: we decrease, and He increases. We submit to Him in all things, and He becomes Lord of all. Our greatest joy is the glory of God. Our greatest aim is the exaltation of Christ, so that people look at our lives and are not impressed with us, but are captivated by the God who redeemed us.

Are you there yet? I love Peter because no one in the New Testament writes more profoundly about suffering and humility than he does in his epistles. But Peter learned it the hard way.

1 Peter 5:5-6 (NASB)

You younger men, likewise, be subject to [your] elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,

My prayer is that we would be a church family not impressed with ourselves, our accolades, or our accomplishments, but a people gladly becoming nothing so that Christ may be everything. May we put the gospel on display for His glory and our good, with no concern for personal status. Joy in this life is found when we lose our lives for His sake.

Closing Prayer

Father in heaven, thank You for Your grace and for the work of the gospel in our lives. We are mindful, Lord, of how much time we spend grasping and striving. We remember that Jesus did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant. You call us to have that same attitude in ourselves.

God, make us people who humble ourselves. Help us not to strive for worldly power, prestige, or authority, but to lay our lives down gladly, knowing that is where true joy is found. Remind us that in Your upside-down kingdom, the first is last and the last is first; the greatest is the servant of all. Help us learn these lessons in humility rather than through painful pride. We thank You for Your grace, in Jesus’ name. Amen.