“by what authority?”
“By what authority are you doing these things?”
Matthew 21:23
It’s not a question of curiosity.
It’s a challenge. A line drawn in the sand.
A demand to justify your presence in a space someone else thinks they own.
And the unspoken words beneath it:
Who let you in?
Who gave you the right to change things?
The temple leaders weren’t simply trying to understand Jesus — they were defending their grip. On tradition. On control. On the way things had always been. They were the architects of the system, the protectors of its patterns. But they were also defending something bigger than rules or rituals:
They were defending a way of seeing the world that kept them at the centre,
kept the scales tipped in their favour — where they were the ones who got to speak, decide, lead, benefit, and belong.
And here comes Jesus —
whose authority to teach came not from title, but from truth;
whose power to heal came not from permission, but from God;
overturning not just tables,
but the assumptions that propped the whole system up.
But he doesn’t give them the control they’re asking for. He doesn’t answer their question. Instead, he tells a story — about rejected messengers, about tenants who mistook stewardship for ownership, about a stone the builders cast aside — too misshapen, too unorthodox — that became the one holding everything together.
It’s a warning.
And it’s a hope.
Because sometimes we are the builders.
Sometimes we confuse faithfulness with familiarity.
Sometimes we say no to the new thing God is doing — not out of malice, but out of fear, or habit, or love for something that once worked so well.
But the Kingdom of God is not a fortress.
It lives in fruitfulness. In movement.
It does not cling to the phrase: “We’ve always done it this way.”
It is not unchangeable stone. We find it in our willingness to be reshaped.
And yet — Jesus was not careless with tradition.
He observed the festivals. He prayed in the temple.
He drew from the deep wells of scripture and law.
Ritual, when rightly held, roots us in something larger than ourselves. It connects us across generations, and gives us a structure on which to build a living relationship with God.
“Every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven
is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.” Matthew 13:52
We are not called to throw everything out. We are called to discern. To carry what still gives life — and let go of what only guards power that is not given by God.
We are always journeying home to God — again and again. The Church must remain open to transformation, continually reshaped to reflect the Spirit alive in the world.
Art Journaling Exercise: Letting go of control.
What needs to be surrendered to find grace?
Choose an everyday object (a mug, a plant - something ordinary)
On an empty sheet of paper with a pencil draw it without looking at your page - just let your hand move with your eyes fixed on the object. Don’t look, or go back to try to fix anything.
When you are done, look at what you created. Accept it, let it be strange.
Then reflect:
What was it like to create something without control?
How did you find not being able to interrupt, correct or make it “right”?
Where in your spiritual life are you still trying to keep everything neat, controlled or perfect? Where are you resisting grace by clinging to control?
Study Questions:
What assumptions about power and authority are being challenged in this passage?
How does Jesus redefine what makes someone “legitimate” in a faith community?
How do we discern when a tradition is serving a holy purpose, when is it ordained by God — and when is it just serving our comfort?
What does it mean to be the “cornerstone” of something new?
Journal Notes:
The challenge of authority:
In Matthew 21:23, Jesus is confronted by the chief priests and elders. Their question, “By what authority are you doing these things?”, reveals a defensive stance — Jesus has disrupted the temple’s economy, healed the marginalised, and claimed space. The leaders want proof, credentials, permission. But Jesus is the authority — his truthfulness, his prophetic actions, and the fruit of his ministry.
The Parable of the Tenants (v. 33–46):
Jesus tells a story of tenants who reject the landowner’s servants and eventually kill his son. This is a clear allusion to the long tradition of rejected prophets — and a foreshadowing of Jesus’ own death. But it's also a critique of the assumption of ownership. The leaders act as if the vineyard is theirs to control. Jesus challenges this. The kingdom belongs to those who bear fruit.
The rejected cornerstone:
Quoting Psalm 118, Jesus identifies himself as the stone the builders rejected. What is thrown out, overlooked, unrecognised becomes foundational. Theologically, this turns human judgement on its head. Those rejected by human standards (Jesus included) may be central to God’s purposes.
This is the gate of God; the righteous will enter into it.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me,
and have become my salvation.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone. (Psalm 118)
