Introduction:

Existence of conflicting authorities raises a number of important questions. How far does any particular authority extend? Is it purely an authority of prestige and persuasion, or does it include the power of punishment for disobedience? And when different authorities are in opposition to one another, which one will prevail - in time and in eternity?

Human authorities come and go, rise and fall, succeed and fail. In our own country in recent years we have witnessed a fatuous overextension of authority in theory and a chronic breakdown of authority in practice. The highest authority is still the authority of God, not only because He is infinitely wiser and more powerful than any other, but also because His authority is eternal and unchanging.

Two passages of scripture in this lesson, Mark 11:27-33 and Mark 12:13-17, may be outlined as follows:

1. Authority from Heaven, 11:27-33
  a. Abuse of authority, 27, 28
  b. Answer of authority, 29, 30
  c. Avoidance of authority, 31, 32
  d. Account to authority, 33
2. Authority on Earth, 12:13-17
  a. Attack on authority, 13,14
  b. Actual authority, 15
  c. Apparent authority, 16
  d. Acknowledged authority, 17

Notes on the Printed Text:
Authority from Heaven, 11:27-33.

Heaven is the throne of God (Acts 7: 49); therefore, authority from heaven is the authority of God. We are safe in saying that heavenly authority is as far above earthly authority as heaven is high above the earth.

Abuse of Authority, 27, 28.

On the previous day, Jesus had driven the money changers out of the temple. Now He had returned to Jerusalem with His disciples and was walking in the temple when challenged by "the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders." Sad days have come upon a nation when officials who are supposed to uphold authority so abuse their position and power as in effect to destroy the constitution they have sworn to defend. These religious leaders of the Jews were supposed to preserve and teach the commandments of God, but in utter abuse of their divinely given authority they had set aside or perverted the teaching of God's word in order to establish and enforce their own ideas. Now they had the gall to question the authority of the Son of God.

Abuse or misuse of authority, when it is subject to higher authority, generally results in loss of authority. The Jewish leaders had proved themselves unfit to continue in authority and were already rushing toward the commitment of the worst legalized crime in history. But by what authority did Jesus act? Who gave Him this authority? Such were their questions. But these people who despised the fundamental law they were appointed to uphold - how could they understand true authority?

Answer of Authority, 29, 30.

Why should the Son of God give any answer at all to these creatures that owed their very existence to Him? Certainly He was under no obligation to answer them. Yet it pleases God to declare His truth to all who will hear. And so Jesus proposed a quite reasonable question in return. Since these religious leaders professed to be so concerned about authority, let them show their sincerity by answering "one question," and then Jesus would answer theirs. But first, "The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?" asked Jesus.

"Answer me," said Jesus. He had infinitely more right to demand an answer than they had.

Avoidance of Authority, 31, 32.

Habits of a lifetime, habits of generations lived in avoidance of the authority of God, immediately showed themselves in these religious leaders. The only authority they respected was the authority of self-interest. What would be the effect upon themselves of either answer they might choose? They were caught in a dilemma: rather than lose the argument they would drop the subject

Account to Authority, 33.

For the time being, it looked like a draw. The Jews would not answer Jesus for fear of the truth; and He would, not answer them except with His own words, in His own way, and at His own time. But when authorities clash, sooner or later one or the other will prevail. Before the end of that week it seemed that the Jews, with the help of the Romans, had defeated the "King of the Jews"; but His glorious resurrection, the history of nearly two thousand years, and the prophecies of judgment to come proclaim the eventual triumph of the King of kings. We may avoid the issue for a time, but in the end "every one of us shall give account of himself to God." (Romans 14:12.)

Authority on Earth, 12:13-17.

There is a sense in which all authority, like everything else, has come from God; but some of it has come a long way from Him. In a sense the political and religious authorities of this world are ordained of God. Even those that have become exceedingly wicked originally derived their authority from God, and the punishment of their wickedness will be the greater according to the privileges and responsibilities of authority.

Attack on Authority, 13, 14.

Unable to face Jesus in honest argument, His enemies attacked His authority with tricky questions, hoping to catch Him in some words that they might use against Him. Throw Him off guard with flattery and then lead Him to say something against Caesar - that looked like a good trick!

Actual Authority, 15.

Authority inhered in Jesus: He needed no earthly office to obtain it. His authority was the authority of Truth, the authority of Life, the authority of God. He knew the hypocrisy of His tempters; He scorned their tempting. He knew how to put them into their place. Their pretensions did not impress Him. No wonder they hated Him! But - "Bring me a penny," He said, "and they brought it."

Apparent Authority, 16.

Much as the Jews disliked to pay taxes to Rome, every "penny" they handled (this penny was a small silver coin) showed the authority of the Roman Caesar. His image and name appeared on every coin. Caesar's authority over money was quite apparent.

Acknowledged Authority, 17.

Jesus offered as little encouragement to any who would defraud Caesar as to any who would rob God. Acknowledging the authority of God demands that we acknowledge also the proper authority of human government. Even when that government is corrupt and wicked, it is still a necessary evil appointed of God to be endured and supported. On the whole, people fare better in this world even under bad government than under no government at all.

Key Verse:

"Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." - Mark 12:17.

Of course, Caesar existed by divine arrangement, and God remained the highest Authority. It is by divine commandment that we must obey human government. Only when human authorities give commands directly and unmistakably opposed to the commands of God can we rightly say with the apostles, "We ought to obey God rather than men." (Acts 5:29.)
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[From Ashland Avenue Baptist paper, March 14, 1968, p. 2. pp. 2-3. Scanned and formatted by Jim Duvall.]

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