August 3, 2025

Luke 19:45-20:26

By What Authority?

Sunday Sermons

We live in a cultural moment that is deeply suspicious of authority. We’ve seen power corrupt, leaders fail, and institutions crumble. The solution many propose is to throw off all authority—to live ‘free,’ answerable to no one. But what if autonomy isn’t the answer? What if the real problem isn’t authority itself, but the wrong kind of authority?

In Luke 19 and 20, Jesus walks into the temple and claims authority like no one else—an authority that doesn’t exploit but heals; that doesn’t oppress but liberates. Join Pastor Jim as he shows us that the question this passage asks is not simply, ‘Do we believe in Jesus?’ but rather, ‘Will we trust Him as the only authority who can truly set us free and lead us into real life?

Speaker

Jim Thomas

Series

The Gospel According to Luke

Go to Series

Scripture

Luke 19:45-20:26

Topics
Community Life Growth & Discipleship

Sermon Notes

Luke 19:45-20:26

By What Authority?

Pastor Jim Thomas

Four Sections of Today’s Study:

  1. Confrontation over abuse of authority (vv. 19:45-48)
  2. Confrontation about the source of authority. (vv. 20:1-8)
  3. Parable about failed authority. (vv. 20:9-18)
  4. The freedom and security of living under God’s authority (vv. 20:19-26)

“When Jesus steps into the temple, He claims it as His own. This is not the act of a reformer from the outside, but the rightful King reclaiming His Father’s house.”
Sinclair Ferguson

Leaders Question Jesus’ Authority:

  1. By what authority are you doing these things?
  2. Who gave you this authority?
  3. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?

Jesus’ Four Counter‑Questions:

  1. Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?
  2. What will the owner of the vineyard do to the abusers?
  3. What then is this that is written?
  4. Whose head and inscription does this coin have?

“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”
Matthew 28:18

“The characteristic of Jesus that left the most lasting impression on His followers and caused the greatest offense to His opponents was His exousia, His sovereign freedom and magisterial authority.”
James R. Edwards

“The answer to bad authority is not no authority, but good authority. We mustn’t respond to abuse with abandonment. Good authority, properly exercised, is a gift to God’s people.”
Trevin Wax

“Good authority strengthens and grows. It authors and creates. It’s the teacher teaching, the coach coaching, the mother mothering. It’s the rules for a game, the lines on a road, a covenant for lovers, the lessons for a child, the chance to grow and expand and eventually take dominion ourselves. One of history’s greatest secrets . . . is that God means His authority to grow and expand us, not to shrink and snuff us out.”
Jonathan Leeman

“For behind every word that anybody utters stands the person who speaks it. It is the speaker himself (his character, knowledge and position) who determines how people regard his words. So God’s Word carries God’s authority. It is because of who He is that we should believe what He has said.”
John Stott

Discussion Questions

  • What comes to mind when you hear the word “authority”? Does it evoke positive or negative feelings? Why?

  • Does the portrayal of Jesus’ cleansing of the temple conflict with your preconceived notions about His demeanor? Has this passage ever rubbed you or a friend the wrong way? Why or why not?

  • Why might the temple cleansing have provoked this confrontation with the Pharisees?

  • What exactly are the religious leaders asking Jesus? What do they mean by “authority” in this context?

  • Have you engaged with people who seem skeptical or resistant to the gospel, perhaps not approaching it with openness? What kinds of responses have you found to be helpful—or unhelpful—in those conversations?
  • Have you encountered agnostics who, like the Pharisees, are not honest inquirers towards the gospel? What responses have you found that are helpful/unhelpful with these folks?
  • How does the leaders’ fear of the people shape their response? What does this reveal about their hearts?
  • How might we as a group guard against becoming like religious leaders, who are more concerned with position and reputation than with truth and humility?

Songs, Readings & Prayer

Songs

“How Great Thou Art“ by Stuart Wesley Keene Hine
“Lift High The Name“ by Ed Cash, Fionan DeBarra, Keith Getty, and Kristyn Getty
“Jesus Only Jesus“ by Christy Nockels, Nathan Nockels, Matt Redman, Kristian Stanfill, Chris…
“Come Unto Jesus“ by Jordan Kauflin, Keith & Kristyn Getty, and Laura Story
“There Is A Redeemer“ by Melody Green
“Doxology” by Thomas Ken and Louis Bourgeois
All songs are used by Permission. CCLI License #2003690

Call To Worship: Great is Your Faithfulness

LEADER: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
PEOPLE: Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the clouds.

LEADER: The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
PEOPLE: The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

LEADER: The Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations.
ALL: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; Great is your faithfulness.

Classic Prayer: Jerome, c. 347–420

Lord, You have given us Your Word For a light to shine upon our path; grant us so to meditate on that Word, and to follow its teaching, that we may find in it the light that shines more and more until the perfect day; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

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