Well, I need to give you some
greetings. I talked to Marcus. We were texting back and forth.
Marcus's nickname is Cornelius of the Italian band. He's a faithful
brother. But he wanted to say hello and
greet everyone. And Michelle also. Send the greeting to you. Today
we'll be in Mark chapter 11. Mark chapter 11. Mark chapter 11. The name of
the message is a question with the answer. Question with the
answer. Mark chapter 11, starting in
verse 27 and going to 33. And He came again to Jerusalem,
and as He was walking in the temple, There came to him the
chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Verse 28, And
say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? Who
gave thee this authority to do these things? Jesus answered
and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and
answer me. I will tell you by what authority
I do these things. The baptism of John, was it from
heaven? or of man, answer me. And they reasoned with themselves,
saying, if we shall say from heaven, he will say, why then
did ye not believe him? But if we shall say of man, they
feared the people, for all men counted John, that he was a prophet
indeed. And they answered and said unto
Jesus, we cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto
them, neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things." Oh, here before us, we have the
religious leaders of the day, right? The religious leaders
of the day. And they're coming, and they're
questioning the Lord of Glory, the King of Kings. By what authority does he have
to do these things? They are trying to ensnare our
great king by asking him this question. As I said, this is
none other than the Lord of Glory. He knows their thoughts. He knows
their intents. And they are asking the Lord
of Glory And think of this, they're asking him, they're questioning
him, where do you get this authority from? And I imagine they did
it with remnants probably. And he's not answerable to anyone. They're asking the question of
one who all men are answerable to. He's not answerable to them.
This is a challenge to our great king. They were the religious
leaders of the day, the who's who of the day. And they did not condone his
teaching. Since they did not condone or
endorse the teaching of Christ, they believed he didn't have
any business teaching. Because they were the authority,
so they thought. They believe that they have all
the authority and that they must give it to him or others in order
for them to be able to preach or teach. And nothing's changed today. Folks believe that a preacher
has to go to this seminary or that seminary in order to be
able to preach. Beloved God, we believe that
God raises up his preachers. He raises them up as he sees
fit. And it happens right amongst
the churches. The preacher's authority comes
from God when he calls him to preach the gospel. And equips him to do so. So these
religious hucksters come to our great king And they're challenging
his authority. They're challenging his authority.
They're challenging the fact that, why are you teaching? Who
gave you permission? Who gave you the authority to
do this? And like I said, they're nothing but hucksters. They're
nothing but religious, they're blind, leading the blind. Verse 27, and they came again
to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the
temple, there came to him the chief priests and the scribes
and the elders. These aren't just ordinary teachers. He said, these are the who's
who. But here, here before us, we
have the sworn enemies of the Lord. They hate him. They hate
Christ and his teachings. And they're confronting him in
a public place. Think of that too, they're confronting
him right in a public place. Look what they say in verse 28,
and they say unto him, by what authority doest thou these things? And who gave thee the authority
to do these things? They're so full of pride and
self-righteousness. One of the commentators mentioned
that perhaps they sought to silence Christ by confronting him in
public. They hoped that it would put
an end to his preaching. Oh, but beloved, no man can thwart
the Lord of glory. No man can thwart his divine
decrees. He had done many miracles. He
healed the blind. He cured the sick. And remember,
too, he'd also driven all them sellers from the temple, hadn't
he? And that probably made them madder than a wet horn. They
were probably ticked right off. Because I imagine they got gain from
that, right? They probably made money from
that, a little bit on the side probably. And no doubt, no doubt he was
walking in the temple with his disciples and probably other
folks with him and teaching them. Because during this time it was
normal for a teacher to have his students or his disciples
close by. And he would teach while they
were walking. That's how they did it in those days. He taught
as he walked. And so our Lord was going about
teaching and preaching to his disciples. And these men questioned
him as he's entering into the temple. Look at verse 28 again. And saying to him, by what authority
doest thou these things? And who gave thee this authority
to do these things? Like I said, it's just direct
self-righteousness. They're questioning the Lord.
Think of this, too. They're questioning the Lord
of the temple as He's going into the temple. They're questioning
the Lord of the temple as He's entering into it. And they're
questioning by what authority He has to teach and preach. What
does this teach us? This teaches us that unless Christ
reveals Himself to man, they won't even know Him. They have
no idea who He is. They think he's just a good teacher,
but actually they hate him. They don't even think he's a
good teacher, they hate him. They despise him. But unless Christ reveals himself
to a man, no one will know him. And think of this, these men
were masters of Israel. These men were the teachers of
Israel. The blind leading the blind.
The blind leading the blind. And they're questioning the One
who has all authority, and who has all dominion. And He answers
to no one, but they're questioning Him. Turn, if you would, to John chapter
5. He has all authority, beloved, in the church and in the kingdom
of God, He is a king majestic, and He rules. He is the mighty
God. And they don't know Him, and
they hate Him. John chapter 5, verse 24 to 27, Verily, verily,
I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him
that sent me, hath everlasting life. He that heareth my word, and
believeth on him, Do you believe on Christ? Hath everlasting life, and shall
not come into condemnation. Oh, Christ paid all that God
demanded for his people, and they shall not come into condemnation.
but is passed from death into life. Verily, verily, I say unto
you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear
the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live.
Oh, the dead spiritually shall hear the voice of the Son of
God. And they that hear, they that
are given ears to hear, shall, shall hear, shall live. For as
the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to
have life in himself. Look at verse 27. And hath given
him authority. There's where Christ's authority
came from. To execute judgment also, because he is the Son of
Man. So these religious hucksters
believed that they had the authority to authorize someone to speak
for God. That if they didn't authorize it, then you can't
speak for God. Well, they sound like a church of today
where billions attend. And this harlot church claims
that she has the authority to pardon sins and to might out
forgiveness. The Catholic Church has deceived
many. And still does today. Still does today. I know, I came
out of that. Praise be to God, He's saving
from that. It's deceiving many and leading
her followers straight to hell. Love and salvation and forgiveness
of sins are only found in Christ and Him alone. And we are redeemed
by His precious blood. not by silver and gold. But continue thou in the things
which thou hast heard and hast been assured of, knowing of whom
thou hast learned them. And that from a child thou hast
known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto
salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. Salvation's
not in the church. It's in Christ, in him alone. Brother Roy told me about a Catholic
author who was raising up two million dollars to supposedly
get souls out of purgatory. So I looked it up. And this is
what it said. She says the best way to get
someone out of punishment is to have a Gregorian mass said. The next best thing is a rosary.
She also recommends the Stations of the Cross because you get
indulgences when you practice this devotion. This is, ugh. When asked what happens if you
keep heaven masses set and the person's already out of purgatory,
she responded, the common answer is that God will apply those
masses to other souls in purgatory, or to most in need souls in your
family. When asked why, to have masses
for the dead, she answered, because God's justice demands expiation
of their sins. Christ told, sent, I can't even
pronounce this saint's name, it's not a saint, it's just some,
that his mercy did not want to send the soul to purgatory, but
his justice demands it, end quote. Works, works, works, works, works. What fallacy, what lies. You see, the same thing is being
promoted. They supposedly have the authority. Nowhere in this
precious word, nowhere in this precious word is the imaginary
place of purgatory even mentioned. It was a way for the Catholic
Church to grab more money from people during the dark ages.
And it hasn't changed today, they're still doing it. The Catholic Church has not ever
changed. It still steals money from folks
even today, promoting this imaginary false place called purgatory.
Does the Bible ever mention a place where souls are purified before
they can enter into His glory? No. Not at all. There's no middle
ground or purification station. All sinners are saved by the
grace of God in Christ. They either go to heaven. All
saved sinners by the grace of Christ go to heaven, and all
unsaved sinners go to hell. That's the bottom line. That's
what happens, beloved. We are only saved by the grace
of God in Christ. We who have believed. Luke, chapter 23. Verses 42 and
43. Turn with me, if you would, there. There's no in-between place,
is there? No in-between place at all? I
was talking to someone who's a Catholic this week. Someone
very dear to me. And he told me, Wayne, oh, I
hope when I get to heaven that God won't send me out. This was my mom. And I said,
Mom, she goes, because I'm such a, I'm such a, I'm horrible.
I said, Mom, there's only salvation in Christ and Him alone. Nowhere
else. And He won't cast any out who
are in Him. And her response again was, well,
looking to herself, well, I hope I'm good enough. I said, there's
none of us are good. That's why we need a savior.
We need Christ. But see, this church has deceived so many people.
Beloved, if you're saved and you die, you go to heaven. Look what it says here about
the dying thief, right? And he said unto Jesus, Luke
23, 42 and 43. And he said unto Jesus, Lord,
remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. Just remember
me. Just remember me. He's not saying,
well, I hope that you'll let me in. He knows what he is. He knows
he's a sinner. He said, we're here justly, but
not this man. Jesus said, in the very liberty
I send to thee, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. Today. Oh, it's marvelous. To be absent
from the body is to be present with the Lord. Salvation is in Christ Jesus
and Him alone. If you're ever saved, it's all
God. If you're lost, it's all you. But salvation is in Christ and
Him alone. God, heaven, mercy upon sinners
in Christ. What wondrous love this is! What
wondrous love! So we see before us these self-righteous
leaders questioning our Lord about who he has received the
authority from to preach and teach. The Lord does not answer their
question. He asks them a question back. Now, think of this. In religion,
it's often spoken that the Lord is Oh, he's
trying to save folks. He's doing his best. I read some
guy, I threw the book away. I read, I read, it said, it said,
it said, it said, at the cross, God did his best and man did
his worst. Goodbye. I don't even want to
read any more of that one. Come on. God did it all. Christ did it all, and he accomplished
it. It is finished. It's finished. But in religion, they represent
that the Lord of glory is bending over backward, trying to accommodate
man in every possible way. Oh, he just wants to save you.
Oh, if you let him. If you're saved, give him all
the glory and honor and praise, because you never would have
come to him on your own. We are in the dust. Lord, thy
God, you saved me. Oh, you make God seem like he's
anxious. He's not anxious. He's the Lord
of glory. He's in full control. So does he answer their question?
Well, here in our text, he does not evade the question, but he
asks the question back. Look at verse 29. He will answer
their question if they answer His question. And Jesus answered
and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question and answer
me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.
He's turned the tables right around on them. Think of this too. The King of
glory, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, condescended
and became a man, fully man and fully God. And they're before
Him right here, asking Him by what authority He has to preach
and teach. The question is, again, is the
Lord Jesus Christ answerable to any man? No! We are answerable
to Him. Turn, if you would, to Matthew
chapter 9. Matthew chapter 9. He is in no way answerable to
man. He came to call sinners to repentance, not the self-righteous
one like these scribes and Pharisees who come before him and these
teachers who come before him. They're just plumbed full of
self-righteousness. Look what Matthew 9, 11 says
to 13. And when the Pharisees saw it,
they said unto his disciples, why eat your master with publicans
and sinners? Ah, I could just hear them saying
that. I'm thankful our Lord eats. and
drinks with publicans and sinners, because I'm a sinner. But when
Jesus heard that, he said unto them, they that behold need not
a physician. See, if you think that you're
okay, I don't have anything for you. And I've heard preachers
say this too many times, we don't have anything for you. But if
you're a sinner, and you're in desperate need of Christ, oh,
this gospel is wonderful, wonderful. They that behold need not a physician,
but they that are sick. Are you a soul sick sinner? I am. I need Christ desperately. I desperately need him. They that behold need not a physician,
but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that
meaneth. They didn't have a clue. Look
at, I will have mercy and not sacrifice for I am not come to
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. He didn't come
to call the self-righteous, those who think they don't need Him,
but sinners. Oh, may God show you that you're
a sinner. May the Holy Ghost reveal to you that you're a sinner
and that you desperately need Christ. That's what He's done
for every one of us who are saved. And we're still sinners to our
shame, but we're saved sinners. So here again in our text, the
religious leaders come and question our great king. But he does not
answer their question. He turns it around on them by
asking them one question. Let's look to our text again.
We'll look at 29 and 30. And Jesus answered and said unto
them, I will also ask of you one question and answer me, and
I will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism
of John, was it from heaven or of man? Answer me. What wisdom, what wisdom is here
in our Lord's reply? Our Lord's question to them.
He points his enemies to John the Baptist. He points his enemies
to John the Baptist. And what we see, we'll see as
the text unfolds. And the question might be, why
did he do this? Well, we're going to see the
answer as the text unfolds before us. Those to whom he had been
preaching and teaching would have heard this question too.
They would have heard this question asked by the Lord's enemies. Now, these guys are in a pickle
now. They're going to get twisted right up. They're going to get
twisted right up before our eyes. If they admit that John's ministry
was of divine appointment, and therefore had divine authority,
then they would have to acknowledge Christ's authority. The reason this would be the
case is John's office and ministry pointed right to Christ. So now they're in a fix. Turn with me if you would to
John chapter 1. They're in a fix. John chapter 1. Verse 19 to 30. John's office and ministry pointed
right to Christ. John chapter 1 verse 19. And
this is the record of John when the Jews sent priests and Levitites
from Jerusalem to ask him, who art thou? And he confessed and
denied, but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him,
what then? Art thou Eliza? And he said,
I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he
answered, no. They unto him, who art thou,
that we may give an answer to them that sent us? What sayest
thou of thyself? He said, I'm a voice of one crying
in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the
Lord. They said the prophet Isaiah. And they which were sent of the
Pharisees. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. And
he asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou
be not the Christ, nor Isaiah, neither that prophet? John answered
them, saying, I baptize with water, but there standeth one
among you whom ye know not. Oh, you don't know him. Christ must reveal himself. He it is who cometh after me,
is preferred before me. who shoelaces that I am not worthy
to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara,
beyond Jordan, where John was baptized. The next day John seeth
Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which
taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, after
me cometh a man which is preferred before me, for he was before
me." John's ministry pointed right to Christ, and he just
declared that Christ was the Messiah in our text there. So now, these religious hucksters
couldn't deny John the Baptist's ministry, could they? But they couldn't condone it
either. So they're left speechless, and
then they go and reason amongst themselves. How can I conspire
a little bit here? Try to figure out what's, like
I said, they're in a pickle. They don't know what to do. And they knew that they couldn't
answer the question. Our Lord has imposed his authority
upon them, right before us. And look, after asking this question,
the Lord Jesus Christ puts the proper perspective on the whole
matter with two powerful words. Look in verse 30, the baptism
of John, was it from heaven or of man? Answer me. He is in no way answerable to
them or to us, but we are absolutely, and they were absolutely answerable
to him. We owe Christ an explanation
for our sin and treachery. He's a holy and just God. His
justice has a claim upon all sinners. All. Turn with me, if you would, to
Job chapter 40. God speaks to Job in a similar
language. Job chapter 40, verse 1 to 5. We'll see Job's answer in verse
4 as the answer of a sinner. Moreover, the Lord answered Job
and said, Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? Who's going to instruct the Almighty
God? No one. He that reproveth God, let him
answer it. Then Job answered the Lord and said, Behold, I
am vile. I'm vile. What shall I answer
thee? I will lay my hand upon my mouth, silenced. Once have I spoken, but I will
not answer yea, twice, but I will proceed no further. Look at verse 2 in light of,
look at verse 2 in Job in light of these these scribes and leaders
coming to Christ and asking Him, by what authority? Shall he that
contends with the Almighty instruct him? He that repudiate God, let him
answer it. The true sinner sees himself before God, and we have
nothing to say. We have no defense. We reply
like Job, I'm Baal. You and I stand before the Father
and He demands an answer from us. Our only hope is Christ.
It's Christ. We're clothed in the righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's look at the last few verses
in our text. Mark 11, verse 31 and 32. And they reasoned with themselves,
saying, if we shall say from heaven, he will say, why then
did you not believe? But if we shall say of man, they
feared the people, for all men counted John, that he was a prophet
indeed. As I said, they probably withdrew
a little ways away, talked amongst themselves, reasoned within their
own minds, and they're tied up in knots. They're tied up in knots, because
if they say from heaven, then they're saying that the
ministry of John and the baptism of John were by divine appointment. This would be condoning Christ's
ministry as well, because he spoke of Christ. Why then did you not believe
him? They knew that this would be the question. If they said John had divine
authority, why would you reject God's preacher
and God's Messiah? So if they said John had divine
authority, again, they would have to admit that Jesus was
the Messiah, who John bore witness to. this would be the answer to the
question, which they had asked, and it would be the end of it. But they didn't believe that
Christ was the Messiah. Look at verse 32 again. And this
is the very thing that our Lord had in view in asking the question, But if we say, if we shall say,
of men, they feared the people. For all men counted John, that
he was a prophet indeed. Now here they feared man more
than God. They feared that they would lose
their position, that they would lose their power.
I read today, God's preachers are not the fear
We are to preach and proclaim the truth of God, the truth of
salvation in Christ alone, and not fear any man. These teachers are put on the
spot. If they said John's authority
came from man, then the people would rise up against them. As the common people believe,
John was sent from God. Not from man. They believe that
he had authority from God. They believe that God had raised
him up. And had given him the authority and the commission
to preach and teach. And baptize. So these, they're
in a corner now. With no way of escaping. And
then they plead ignorance. They plead ignorance, which is
a lie and no defense. Look at verse 33. And our Lord will also answer
them in this verse. And they answered and said unto
Jesus, we cannot tell. And Jesus answered and saith
unto them, neither do I tell you by what authority I do these
things. These men show us their spiritual blindness and their hatred for Christ by
their answer. They answered and said unto Jesus,
we cannot tell. So our great King, having said
He would answer their question if they answered His. And remember, He's under no obligation
to answer them at all. But He shows us that His authority
did not come from man, but from God. These men had approached Christ
with a great show of supposed authority. They come to Him with a great
show of supposed authority, full of pride and self-righteousness. They came before Christ in a
crowd of people with Him. Some of them, no doubt, who had
looked to them in the past for religious guidance. And here
before them, they have to admit that they could not tell if someone
was sent from God or not. They're made to look utterly
flush. And how angry this must have
made them. They're showing that they're shams. They're devoid of the things
of Christ. They cannot answer this question.
They're devoid of spiritual understanding. They're masters of Israel. The blind leading the blind.
And they knew that by implication, Jesus' authority had been vindicated
in front of the crowd. All knew that he and John had
ministered alongside each other. And by his reply, the Lord Jesus
Christ was setting himself up as the higher authority, answerable only to God and not
answerable to any man. These questioners had shown that
they were unqualified of judging Christ or spiritual things. And the whole incident was reminding
the people of what John had said about Christ. It was a veiled
reminder that he was the coming one. Behold, the Lamb of God
taketh away the sin, takes all the sins of his people, puts
them away. The question with the answer. twisted up these worksmongers, they had no reply. The answer within the question,
our great King's authority came from God. He was God manifest
in the flesh, all power and dominion in His hand, the King of kings
and the Lord of lords. And this is the sinner's