Jesus' Authority: bible study

We have entered Jesus’ last week before his death. In this period there is a lot of confrontation with the religious leaders of the time. Jesus is a threat to them. He wants them to recognise him but also wants to help the disciples and others to recognise that they are not the ones to listen to when it comes to deciding who God is speaking/acting through.

Question 1 Background

Read Zechariah 10:3-4. The idea of shepherds who were supposed to look after God’s people is continued today with the terms “pastor” and “pastoral care”. The Old Testament says that God is our shepherd (eg Psalm 23) but he appoints sub shepherds. What is Zechariah saying about the shepherds of his time? How does he describe their replacement?

Read Psalm 118:22-23. The writer of this psalm has been oppressed greatly but is confident in the Lord’s enduring love. He believes that God will come to save him (Psalm 118:25-27). How does he describe the one who achieves God’s salvation? (verse 22). What is he the cornerstone of?

Read Isaiah 5:1-7. Who does the vineyard represent? Has the vineyard been faithful to its creator?

Note three metaphors

  • Shepherds – who are the shepherds in Jesus’ day? Who are they now?

  • Vineyard – What was God’s vineyard in Jesus’ day? What is it now?

  • Cornerstone – Who is the cornerstone? What is he the cornerstone of?

Question 2 The question of being authorised. Mark 11:27-28

What did the chief priests, scribes and elders ask Jesus in Mark 11:28? Is it a legitimate question? What sort of answer would they have accepted? If Jesus had said “God”, would that have finished the argument? It has always been difficult to determine if a messenger/prophet is from God or not. (See Deuteronomy 18:19-22). What truths cannot be denied if a person is speaking God’s word? (see 1 Corinthians 12:1-3)?

Did Jesus say “this is what the Lord says…” (eg Jeremiah 7:1;2 Joel 1:1 etc. etc.) or claim his own authority? (see Matthew 7:28-29; Mark 1:21-22)

Who authorises shepherds nowadays?

  • Bishops?

  • Rectors?

  • Parish Counsellors?

  • The Holy Spirit?

  • The congregation or group to whom they minister?

Question 3 Jesus’ response to his interrogators Mark 11:29-33

How does Jesus answer the question about his authority? Is he avoiding the question or playing the game “I will give an answer if you give an answer”?

Jesus knew that his interrogators would be in a no-win situation. Was he also in a no-win situation if he gave an answer? If so why? He had been prepared to claim authority publicly before. See

  • Mark 2:28 so the Son of man is lord even of the sabbath.

  • Mark 2:5,10 “my son, your sins are forgiven” But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins”

Jesus stopped saying such things publicly. Why? Mark 3:6

Question 4 Condemnation of his interrogators Mark 12:1-11

This parable is using imagery that everyone hearing it would be familiar with (see Question 1). Retell the parable in plain statements rather than using imagery. How clearly does it parallel what happened in the Old Testament with God’s messengers to Israel and what would happen to Jesus in the hands of the contemporary leaders?

Is telling this parable a good way of restoring relationships with the religious leaders? What is the reaction of the religious leaders? (Mark 12:12)

Why does Jesus condemn the religious leaders so vigorously? (see Mark 8:15 in Mark 8:14-21)) Mark’s readers were living when Christianity was seen as a subgroup within Judaism. The danger they experienced was the same one the disciples were experiencing in Jesus’ day. How could they pick which authority to follow? Consider Galatians 5:1

Question 5 The Cornerstone

Jesus quotes Psalm 118:22 (“The stone the builders rejected, has become the cornerstone”) at the end of the parable. Clearly Jesus is the rejected stone that becomes the cornerstone. But what is he the cornerstone of? It is in Zion (Jerusalem). It is the cornerstone of the new temple. If the vineyard and its tenants are ejected, there is to be a new temple with a cornerstone that had been rejected. See 1 Peter 2:4-10. Compare 1 Peter 2:9 and Exodus 19:6 (a promise from God just before the 10 commandments were given.)

Question 6 What about us – the “living stones”?

How would you list the priorities of the church’s leaders?

  • Evangelism?

  • Maintaining orthodoxy?

  • Equipping people for ministry?

  • Enabling Christians to stay the course?

  • Disciplining the disobedient?

  • Caring for the needy?

  • Other

What are your priorities?

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