Obedience is the evidence of Christ's authority

Obedience as Evidence: What It Means to Carry God's Authority

Authority is something we all deal with every day, whether we realize it or not. But as followers of Christ, there is a deeper question worth asking: have we been faithful with the authority God has entrusted to us? This passage from Matthew 21 challenges us to examine not just what we believe, but how we live it out.

What Does the Bible Say About Jesus and Authority?

In Matthew 21:23-32, the chief priests and elders confront Jesus while He is teaching in the temple. Their question is pointed: "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?"

This challenge comes right after Jesus cleansed the temple, driving out merchants and overturning tables. The religious leaders were not simply questioning His credentials as a teacher. They were questioning His right to disrupt the entire system they had built.

Rather than answering directly, Jesus responds with a question of His own about the baptism of John. Was it from heaven or from human origin? The leaders refuse to answer because either response would expose them. And so Jesus declines to answer their question as well.

Where Did Jesus Get His Authority?

Jesus did not claim authority for Himself in a self-serving way. He received it through submission. When He came to John to be baptized, He was not demanding His rightful place. He was humbling Himself and, through that act of obedience, the Heavenly Father affirmed and authorized His ministry.

This is a pattern worth noticing. Jesus consistently pointed back to the Father as the source of everything He did. He healed, taught, cast out spirits, and spoke with power, not because He seized authority, but because He received it through faithful obedience to the One who sent Him.

The Parable of the Two Sons: Who Actually Obeys?

Jesus follows His response with a short but striking parable. A Father asks two sons to go work in the vineyard. The first says no but later changes his mind and goes. The second says yes but never follows through.

Jesus asks which son did the will of the Father. The answer is obvious. Then He delivers a statement that would have shocked His audience: tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of the religious leaders.

Why? Because those considered the most sinful in society were the ones actually responding to John's message and turning their lives around. The religious leaders, who had every advantage of heritage and knowledge, said the right things but did not follow through with obedience.

The Big Idea: Obedience Is the Evidence That Jesus Has Authority in Our Lives

This is the central truth of the passage. It is not enough to say we belong to God. The evidence of His authority in our lives is shown through how we live, how we treat others, and whether we follow through on what He calls us to do.

The religious leaders had received a great inheritance as the people of God. But they had not been faithful stewards of it. They used their position to protect their own interests rather than to carry out the will of the Father.

What Does It Mean That the Church's Authority Is Borrowed?

As Christians, we bear the name of Christ. We are, in a sense, His representatives in the world while He is not physically present. The authority we carry is not our own. It was given to us.

We see this throughout Scripture. After the resurrection, Jesus repeatedly hands over authority to His followers. He breathes peace and the Spirit on the disciples in the upper room. He restores Peter by the sea and gives him a mission. And in Acts 1:8, He tells them to wait for the power of the Holy Spirit before going out to be His witnesses.

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." - Acts 1:8

The early followers of Jesus were sometimes called Nazarenes. As a Church of the Nazarene, we carry that name not because of geography, but because we are tied to the authority of Jesus of Nazareth. That is a serious responsibility.

What Does "Taking the Lord's Name in Vain" Really Mean?

We often think of this commandment as being about language, about not using God's name as a curse word. But there is a deeper meaning worth considering.

If we bear the name of Christ but do not live under His authority, if we call ourselves Christians but do not obey what He calls us to do, we are taking His name in vain in a much more significant way. How we live, how we treat people, and whether we are faithful with the authority He has given us is the real test of whether we honor His name.

Whose Image Do You Bear?

When the religious leaders tried to trap Jesus with a question about paying taxes, He asked them to show Him a coin. He then asked whose image was on it. When they said Caesar's, He replied:

"Give back to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." - Matthew 22:21

The deeper point is not simply about taxes. It is about image. We are made in the image of God. We have been remade in that image through following Christ. So the question becomes: what do we give back to God? Everything. All the authority we have received, all the gifts, all the opportunities to represent Him, we hold them for a season and we are called to be faithful with them.

What Happens When We Fail to Use God's Authority Well?

The parable of the wicked tenants, which follows in the same chapter, carries a sobering warning. The tenants were given everything they needed to tend the vineyard. But when the master sent servants to collect what was due, they were mistreated and killed. When the master sent his own son, they killed him too.

The warning is clear. If we do not use the authority of God faithfully, He may entrust it to others who will. This is not meant to create fear, but to stir us toward faithfulness. The kingdom work will go forward. The question is whether we will be part of it.

How Do We Carry God's Authority Into Everyday Life?

This is not only about overseas missions or dramatic moments of faith. It is about the person at school or work who is difficult to approach. It is about the neighbor whose branches hang over your fence. It is about the relationships in your life where God may be calling you to represent Him well.

There is someone in your life right now who needs to experience the presence of God through you. The authority you carry as a follower of Christ is not for your own benefit. It is meant to be given away in service to others and in obedience to the Father.

Life Application

This week, identify one specific area of your life where God has been calling you to obedience but you have been holding back. It might be a conversation you have been avoiding, a step of faith you have been delaying, or a habit or attitude you have been unwilling to surrender. Take that one step this week. Not because you have earned the right, but because you have received the authority of God and He is asking you to use it faithfully.

Ask yourself these questions as you reflect:

Obedience is not a burden. It is the evidence that Jesus truly has authority in our lives. And when we live that out, we bear His image well in a world that desperately needs to see it.