Traps, Countertraps, and the Good People

Matthew 21:23-32

When Jesus entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?" Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?" And they argued with one another, "If we say, `From heaven,' he will say to us, `Why then did you not believe him?' But if we say, `Of human origin,' we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet." So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

"What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, `Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' He answered, `I will not'; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, `I go, sir'; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him."

As you can see, there are two parts to this week's gospel. In the first, we have a confrontation between Jesus and the chief priests and the scribes. In the second, he uses an extended parable to explain himself. Let's take a look at the first part.

If we were to diagram the first part, it might look something like this:

A) Chief priests & elders (CP&E) ask a question.
B) Jesus grees to answer if they first answer his question.
A) Chief priests & elders refuse to give an honest answer to Jesus's question.
B) Jesus therefore does not answer the earlier question.

Another way to look at this interaction is to include the interesting requirements both have for each other. We might look at them like this:

CP&E ask:

1. By what authority are you doing these things?
2. And who gave you that authority?

Jesus responds:

1. Did the baptism of John come from heaven?
2. Or did it come from humanity?

CP&E:

1. If we say "heaven" we'll look like hypocrites.
2. If we say "humanity" then we'll be unpopular.
3. So they lie and say "We don't know".

Jesus:

1. If you won't be honest with me
2. I don't need to answer you.

In some ways, Jesus is coming off as being pretty tough on these church leaders, doesn't he? They weren't being as rude to him as he is to them, right? Well...not exactly.

They start by trying to trick him with their original question. Jesus then turns it around by laying his own trap. If they both speak the truth, then they could get into legal trouble: as they are doing God's work. But if either of them appealed to human authority, they would be alienating themselves from their followers.

What is further interesting is that Jesus not only recognizes the trap set for him and therefore sets an identical trap for them, but he also knows that they will be forced into a third option: not to answer. This does get Jesus off the hook, and is important for that, but there is something else, isn't there? These are the chief priests and elders: the highest and most respected people in the Jewish church. Jesus has not only set a verbal trap for them, but forces them to feign ignorance--to pretend that they don't know and don't understand. In some ways, this is actually more damaging for them than if they had answered Jesus's question. These are the people that are supposed to know this stuff and what do they say? "We do not know." Jesus's trap is sprung by their avoidance of his trap. They look like idiots or liars--equally damaging options.

Then Jesus actually piles it on, by using an illustration that is pretty interesting: A man has two sons that make statments and do something different. The first says he won't work in the field and then does while the second says and does the opposite. They then highlight that the former son is preferred by God. Jesus then says that prostitutes and tax collectors will go to heaven before them (still the chief priests and elders) because they don't claim to be perfect, but they are trying to do God's work, while these churchfolk are claiming to be perfect while misunderstanding God's work.

The beauty of what Jesus promises us is that God's grace is available when we are doing the right thing, regardless of how we think or feel about ourselves. In fact, when we feel the best about ourselves, when we get the most self-righteous, God is less interested in us. This isn't to say that God abandons us, but that God's first priority is to those that aren't perfect, that aren't always getting things right, and aren't in a position of authority to tell others what to do. God is there for those that represent imperfection.

In the first part of the gospel, Jesus sets a countertrap for the chief priests and elders.
How does this effect the way you see Jesus?
Does he seem any different?
Does Jesus as tricky say something about the way we should be?

The countertrap is sprung when the chief priests and elders claim to not know the answer to Jesus's question.
If you were one of the people watching this exchange, what would you be thinking about?
How would you see this stranger (Jesus) and the authorities (chief priests and elders)?
Is Jesus cool, a rebel? Or is he a vagrant who goes too far?

Lastly, when Jesus highlights who gets to be first in line (a familiar theme in this gospel), who does he refer to? He refers to prostitutes and tax collectors. These two represent those with low social standing--those with bad reputations. This doesn't necessarily mean economic poverty, since tax collectors were often quite wealthy. In both cases, however, the Jewish society shuns them. Prostitutes are ritually impure because of their sex practices while tax collectors were ritually impure for both the handling of money and for their place in supporting the Roman Empire. In this society, these people both represent the bad people, while the chief priests and elders were the epitome of good.
How does it feel to know that you don't need to be one of the "good people" as long as you are doing right by God?
When do you feel like one of those "good people" and when do you feel like one of the "bad" ones?
Do you ever feel like both?