Prepared to Win

Matt. 21:23-32

How do we prepare for a challenge?

Photo by Jorge Fernández Salas on Unsplash

When he 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. - Matt. 21:23-32

Jesus has a unique way of answering a question with a question and getting away with it.

By shifting the conversation to John the Baptist, he diverts their focus from him, which was a wise thing to do. At this point John was far more popular than Jesus.

Jesus knew that the people listening to him were John's people, those outcasts who could not be seen in the Temple. So, Jesus assumes that the popularity of John extends to the congregation's members as well.

We know this is true because we read that many came to John from all walks of life.

We can learn a great deal from Jesus about dealing with those who would like to trick us and trap us into saying what will convict us.

First, he was honest in his reply. He wasn't going to get caught in a lie. That would be an indication that he is not who he professes to be.

Second, he takes the lead. When confronted, he proposed an alternate topic of conversation to prove his point and answer the question without convicting himself. This takes preparation. We could not do this effectively unless we anticipated many possible attacks.

Third, he turns the conversation into a lesson. In this encounter, he tells the chief priests and elders that they will be entering the kingdom behind the people they view as unclean. What a slap in the face, but Jesus gets away with it because he was ready for them.

If we learn anything from this story, it should be that we need to be prepared to be harassed, bullied, and attacked in this world.

When we are ill-prepared, we try to win an argument by being louder and more forceful, but that doesn't work. How often does the one challenging you walk away feeling defeated and broken?

It is rare for us humans. We are emotional animals. We don't take the time to assess the situation and develop an exit strategy that puts us on top, or at least, takes us out of harm's way.

So, even if one doesn't believe in the divinity of Jesus, they can learn from him. He was and is quite an amazing guy.

More to come...

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