Real Life Selkirk
**MAY 10** What Authority Does Jesus Demand? (Matthew 12:38-50)
  • Plans
  • I Choose To Worship
  • Hymn Of Heaven
  • How Great Is Your Name

  • Sermon

    Key Passage

    Matthew 12:38–50 NIV
    Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here. “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.” While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

    Vision/Mission/Celebration

    Vision-
    We exist to reach the world for Jesus, one person at a time.
    This is a statement about authority. Heaven and hell are dependent upon the authority we surrender to.
    There are only two ways to miss the Gospel: Rebellion and Religion.
    Rebellion is outright rejecting Gods authority
    Religion is the means of trying to earn God’s favor by my own authority.

    Introduction

    Today we are going to answer one simple question:
    “What authority does Jesus demand?”
    As I bring up the word authority this morning, it is a word we are all familiar with.
    When I was a kid, authority was something that was valued.
    People may not have agreed with presidents, but largely they were honored. They have authority and we were willing to follow their lead.
    I remember as a kid getting ready to play sports. I would always hope I would get a good coach. A good coach meant that the season would be fun. A bad coach meant it would be miserable.
    Who remembers the show “Who’s the Boss” with Tony Danza?
    It was an entire show that was built on the tension of authority in the home in a changing culture.
    In our current times, authority has been on the front pages of our news.
    The phrase “Fake News” is a statement that you cannot trust the authority of the press
    “Not my President” highlights a cultural change that I will only submit to authority I agree with.
    Even in the social sphere a phrase like “My body, my choice” may be seen as a statement of perceived rights. However, it is a statement of authority.
    I have the authority to create and destroy life.
    This is only an authority given by God and for us to assume that authority to ourselves is the height of human arrogance and sin.
    Needless to say, our world has become confused about authority.
    We don’t trust authority.
    We don’t like authority. We are the land of the free. We don’t want authority
    It’s no wonder in 2026, as we look at these verses highlighting Jesus’ authority, our world steps back in skepticism.
    They don’t trust any authority. Jesus claims to be the ultimate authority.
    We can see the divide.
    Think about this: Why would Satan want us to be confused about the idea of authority?
    As we look at our culture’s sharp turn away from a Biblical view of authority, we tend to categorize it as: politics, social structures, or even a new and super annoying generation that hasn’t been paddled enough.
    But if we step back and realize that this whole world is set on a battlefield for the hearts and souls of every human being, we start to see the sinister activity of Satan.
    If we are confused about authority:
    Our hearts will never be fully surrendered to God
    His will is not going to be seen in this world
    We will not know His goodness, because we never give Him the opportunity to demonstrate His goodness
    We don’t see Jesus. We see a religious historical figure.
    I don’t seek to obey George Washington, Abraham Lincoln or Julius Caesar. Why should I seek to obey Jesus?
    We drift toward religion
    People go to hell
    Lordship is a demand of Jesus. If we are confused about authority, we are confused about Lordship. If we are confused about Lordship, then Salvation is something that we will not be able to wrap our heads around.
    We hold our salvation in our own hands because we will not allow the authority of Jesus to reign from the cross and cover our sin.
    What we cover today is not just a series of passages that highlight the activities of Jesus.
    It is four dynamic demonstrations of Jesus’ authority and how it looks in our world today.

    Preaching

    Matthew 12:38 NIV
    Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
    Jesus demands authority over us
    At first, this might seem like a reasonable question for us.
    If Jesus is claiming to be the ultimate authority, and if He is claiming to be God, we might want to see some evidence to support the claim.
    But this is not an honest question. It is a challenge
    Here is the irony: Jesus has demonstrated that He is the ultimate authority.
    These religious leaders are trying to demand that Jesus do something.
    It is not a good-faith question of Jesus to help them believe
    This is a symptom of a rebellious heart.
    Jesus goes on to talk about Jonah and we will address this, but I want to address the question first:
    They are demanding authority over Jesus.
    “Show us a sign”
    You are here for me. You are here to perform for me
    This is the Gospel many people are given by well meaning, but misguided people
    “Come to Jesus and he will fix your problems, answer your questions, and give you the desires of your heart.”
    Some of us even come to the place where it feels as if we are doing a favor for God by getting saved.
    We are guided to ask for things in prayer, but how much of our prayer is asking God to perform for us vs. what He is asking of us to do for Him?
    One posture before Jesus demonstrates His authority.
    One posture demonstrates our authority
    Here is how Jesus responded to the human heart that demanded authority over Him.
    Matthew 12:39 NIV
    He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
    Jesus makes the point of this whole passage here.
    I want to break this down because it will be the main point that we discover today.
    Start with the words that He gives:
    Wicked
    Adulterous
    These words are loaded. I want you to remember our context
    All of this conflict has come about because of the religious people saying that Jesus’ disciples are breaking the law (10 Commandments) by eating grain on the Sabbath.
    But Jesus is turning this back around on them:
    Wicked- Breaking God’s commands
    Wicked is sinful and contrary to what God desires
    They accused Jesus of breaking the law
    Jesus accused them of the same, but Jesus escalates that condemnation by pointing to the commandment they are breaking.
    Adulterous- Violating a covenant relationship
    We most often use this word in the context of a marriage.
    When a person is in a covenant relationship with their spouse, then they cheat on that spouse with another person, that is committing adultery.
    But Jesus is not talking about marriage. He is not accusing these religious people of cheating on their wives.
    He is pointing to another adultery
    They were in a covenant relationship with God
    God was their God, their salvation and they were committed to Him.
    However, they had replaced God with something else. Jesus was pointing this out.
    Religious people, going to church, following the law. But because they demanded authority, Jesus called them “wicked and adulterous”.
    Only the wicked and adulterous would ask for a sign.
    Asking for a sign with this rebellious heart was adulterous in Jesus’ eyes.
    He explains why by pointing to their history and a man named Jonah.
    Jesus says, “You will not be my authority. I will only listen to the Father. But, you will receive a sign. It will be the sign of Jonah.”
    Jesus then connects the story of Jonah to their current circumstance and uses it to reveal their hearts.
    Matthew 12:40 NIV
    For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
    Who was Jonah?
    OT Prophet
    Jonah and the Whale
    He was sent, didn’t want to go, God made him go.
    His story is found
    For more about the story of Jonah…read the book of Jonah
    Here is the first part of the sign of Jonah
    Jonah was swallowed by a big fish and sat in the big fish’s digestive tract for three days.
    Gross
    Have you ever cut open a fish? Just gross.
    But then, Jonah was barfed out after three days.
    Jesus says, “Here is your first sign. I will be in the heart of the earth for three days.”
    At that time, they probably had no idea what Jesus was talking about. But as we look at the Gospel story, we know that Jesus is talking about His crucifixion, burial and resurrection.
    The fact that Jesus would rise from the dead after three days would be similar to Jonah being barfed out after three days.
    The resurrection of Jesus shows His authority over us. We cannot resurrect from the dead.
    It doesn’t matter how smart you are, obedient you are, righteous you are, wealthy you are, or lucky you are. You cannot resurrect from the dead.
    Jesus resurrection is a demonstration of His authority over this human body’s death.
    What happens next is the point to the reference Jesus is giving.
    Matthew 12:41 NIV
    The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.
    After getting barfed out, Jonah went to Nineveh and preached a really simple message.
    Nineveh was an extraordinarily wicked place. It was a major city in the Assyrian empire.
    As a snapshot of the city of Nineveh, lets look at Nahum 3:1-3
    The whole city heard this message and they all repented.
    This group of pagan, non-God honoring people saw and heard Jonah’s testimony and they turned their hearts to God.
    Jesus says, “Now something greater than Jonah is here.”
    Jesus will come out of the earth showing that Jesus has authority over all of these things, including death!
    Will the Pharisees see this and fall to their knees in repentance? No. Their hearts were rebellious.
    Jesus says, “The men of Nineveh will stand up and condemn this generation.
    It isn’t that they will be the judge, but there is a Judgment Day that is coming and the men of Nineveh completely repented with less testimony.
    It’s as if God is going to call them to the witness stand and ask, “Should these religious leaders have repented?” The men of Nineveh will say, “Yes”
    Even the Ninevites figured it out.
    The men of Nineveh were wicked. Super wicked. But they repented. They turned their authority to God
    They received His grace. Did they deserve it? No! They had killed, raided, worshipped pagan gods, broken every one of God’s commands. It isn’t just that they were bad. There was literally no good in them.
    This is why we must surrender authority.
    If we hold to our own authority before Jesus, then we must justify ourselves.
    The men of Nineveh will speak to us as well. They were wicked and it wasn’t about changing their behavior or making a big enough sacrifice to cover our sins.
    It is about grace. The men of Nineveh understood this.
    Without surrender of authority in our lives, we will never know the grace of God.
    We aren’t any better than the sinners of our world. This passage is about grace. Undeserved grace. Unmerited favor before God through Jesus Christ.
    SIGNS WILL NOT SAVE YOU…SURRENDER OF AUTHORITY WILL SAVE YOU
    YOU CANNOT SAVE YOURSELF…ONLY JESUS CAN SAVE YOU
    Jesus again goes to their history and points to a different story:
    Matthew 12:42 NIV
    The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.
    Jesus demands authority over our knowledge and intellect
    I once fell into a trap of wanting to be a teacher of Biblical truth.
    You might look at me and think, “Well you are a teacher of Biblical truth”
    But it isn’t because of this story.
    I thought that the more I knew about the Bible, theology, church, and everything else, I was becoming more mature.
    The more I knew, the more useful I was to God.
    But the more I knew, the more divisive I got.
    The more I knew, the less people wanted to talk about Biblical truth with me.
    It actually worked against me.
    I thought wisdom and knowledge would give me some authority in the Kingdom of God.
    Instead, I actually worked against that.
    When I tried to pursue these things, it worked backwards.
    This is an interesting passage, but I don’t have time to go very deeply into it.
    Solomon was King David’s son. He asked God for wisdom to lead God’s people, and God supernaturally gave him extraordinary wisdom.
    There was a queen from the south that heard about this and came to see if it was true.
    For more about the Queen of the South & Solomon… read 1 Kings 10.
    There are two verses I want you to see here:
    1 Kings 10:1 NIV
    When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with hard questions.
    She heard of his fame. But she also heard of his relationship with God.
    She came and asked a million questions and this was her conclusion:
    1 Kings 10:9 NIV
    Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness.”
    Did she come to the conclusion that Solomon was a well educated and smart guy?
    Or did she recognize that all Solomon had gained, including his wisdom had come from God?
    She saw Solomon’s wisdom and saw God
    She didn’t see the intelligence, wisdom and wealth of Solomon.
    She saw the nature of God through Solomon.
    NO AMOUNT OF KNOWLEDGE WILL SAVE YOU
    “Something greater than Jonah is here”
    “Something greater than Solomon is here”
    Here is the conclusion of this passage:
    Nineveh had less and still surrendered their authority to God
    The queen had less and still surrendered her authority to God
    The Pharisees had more. They had God in their presence, but they resisted.
    It wasn’t about the sign. It wasn’t about the miracles.
    It was about their heart. They were resistant to God.
    And if this diagnosis of their heart feels harsh, Jesus doesn’t go softer.
    He exposes them even more.
    Matthew 12:43–45 NIV
    “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”
    Jesus demands authority over our sanctification
    As I begin this point, I want to clarify what the word “sanctification” means
    Sanctification is the process by which we become Christ-like in our living
    As a disciple of Jesus
    We read this initially and it leads us to think that Jesus is talking about demons and demon possession.
    In a way, he is using that to paint a picture. But the point is not demons, the point is a revelation of the heart.
    I want to give a really simple definition here. Christian preached about this a few weeks ago, so if you would like some deeper definition on this topic, I encourage you to go to that sermon or talk to him or I.
    But demon possession is real
    It is destructive in the lives of the people they possess
    Jesus gives a little backdrop to what that process looks like here.
    But the main point I want to highlight about demon possession is the point Jesus is making here.
    Jesus tells a story about an impure spirit
    It leaves a person
    The house gets cleaned up and put in order
    Everything looks better
    But the spirit returns and finds the house empty
    So the evil spirit brings with it 7 friends to reoccupy the house
    Jesus says:
    “The final condition is worse than the first”
    What is Jesus talking about here? I want to give you a clue…it isn’t demons.
    This is a story about the religious leaders, the Pharisees and teachers of the law.
    And to be honest, it is something for us to know and something for us to consider.
    It is possible to clean up your life…without ever surrendering your life.
    People fight to clean up their lives all the time.
    There are recovery programs, counseling, self-help groups, that lady on Netflix that tells how to get rid of all of your stuff.
    Outwardly things look better.
    More disciplined
    More religious
    More ordered
    Everyone says, “Wow, they are really making progress.”
    Your house is getting cleaned!
    But if your house remains empty, the final condition will be worst than the first.
    Inside the house is still empty
    No surrender
    No allegiance to God
    No Holy Spirit to occupy the house.
    When the house is empty, it does not stay neutral.
    If Jesus does not take up residence in your life, then your life will not be neutral.
    We will either be bringing honor and glory to God or we will be in opposition to His authority.
    The religious leaders were getting everyone to follow the law and clean up their lives.
    Their lives were becoming more sinless
    But unless God occupies the house, it will be worse off than even before trying to clean up the sin.
    We’ve seen the struggle for authority play out in this passage.
    It isn’t about signs
    It isn’t about exposure to the truth
    It isn’t about religious activity and following the rules
    What does it actually mean to belong to God?
    CLEANING UP YOUR LIFE WILL NOT SAVE YOU…SURRENDER TO JESUS’ AUTHORITY WILL SAVE YOU
    And in our last few verses, Jesus answers the question for us.
    Matthew 12:46–47 NIV
    While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”
    Someone says, “Hey Jesus, your family is here and they want to talk to you.”
    In that culture family was everything!
    Your identity was literally, “Jared the son of… the son of … the son of…”
    Your identity and role in society was determined by who you descended from
    Also, this was one of the 10 Commandments! Honor your father and mother!
    So Jesus’ response likely shocked everyone!
    Matthew 12:48–50 NIV
    He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
    Jesus demands authority over our family
    I want you to see that Jesus is not dishonoring his mother.
    This isn’t what this is.
    However, Jesus is fulfilling the will of the Father. Jesus is communicating and living out His authority.
    He is living out the first commandment: “You shall have no other God’s but me.”
    A similar situation happened when Jesus was a child.
    Mary and Joseph brought him to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.
    The crowd started to leave and Mary and Joseph left Jerusalem
    While they were a little ways off, they started looking around for Jesus and discovered that he was not with their traveling party.
    It was the original Home Alone situation.
    Mary and Joseph returned to Jerusalem searching for Jesus.
    They found him at the temple listening and asking questions.
    Mary and Joseph were upset, but Jesus said, “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”
    He was not dishonoring his parents. But His highest calling was to God the Father.
    This is Mother’s Day and I want to make this point.
    If your whole life is about your family and your family comes first, then your whole family will miss Jesus.
    We honor Mothers, but Mothers on this day we should be reminded that it is your job to honor Christ first and foremost.
    A mother who is devoted to the authority of Jesus is a mother who will lead her children to know Jesus.
    She will support her husband
    She will pray, pray, pray.
    I want to highlight this today, a call to mothers.
    Jesus demands surrender to His authority.
    When you live that out in your family, the family sees Jesus.
    For those of you who have a mother who follows Jesus, praise God for her.
    She has stood in the gap for your sinful backside more than once. She has done her part, and allowed God to do His part.
    For those of you who do not have a Godly mother, take the time to pray for them
    Back to the family…
    Jesus was there to do the will of the Father.
    There is no higher calling, not even family.
    We cannot let good become the enemy of great.
    Our families are where our children learn what a surrendered life looks like.
    Your kids know if you are fake, and your kids know if you are surrendered.
    I am not saying that you abandon your family for going to church
    I am saying that showing your children Jesus is much greater than a new boat, a nice vacation, a stupid video game or anything else that your kids seem to need.
    POURING INTO YOUR FAMILY WILL NOT SAVE YOU, NOR WILL IT SAVE THEM…SURRENDER TO JESUS’ AUTHORITY IS WHERE SALVATION COMES FROM

    Teaching

    This is where everything in Matthew 12 comes into focus
    The religious people were obsessed with the Sabbath.
    Commandment #4 had to be followed above all!
    They were meticulous about it. They had clear rules about it.
    But in holding to commandment #4, they forgot commandment #1
    “You shall have no other gods before me.
    God stood in front of them in that moment.
    As He did, they didn’t bow— They pushed back.
    It is actually a beautiful picture that we can see today on Mother’s Day.
    Every mom has rules.
    Clean your room. Make your bed. Do the dishes.
    You know the routine
    But doing all of these things does not mean that you have relationship with your mother.
    Mom wants to be loved, just because she is mom.
    One way of showing her love is by doing the dishes. hint, hint
    But the rules need to be the byproduct of the love we have for our mothers.
    Not the way to buy her love.
    This is how it is with God.
    He has given us His law.
    But we must remember that our first command is to see Him, know Him and allow Him to be God in our lives.
    We must ask ourselves the question:
    Is it possible:
    To be in church
    To be around what God is doing
    To know the Scriptures
    To consistently be in church
    To even clean up sin in our lives
    And still keep Jesus at a distance?
    According to Jesus, that line defines everything.

    Conclusion

    The Pharisees thought they were defending God.
    But when God stood in front of them, they resisted Him
    That is the warning for us.
    Jesus stands before us today
    We have the totality of the Scriptures here with us.
    He stands before us and says, “There is no amount of works or religion that you can do, or hold others to do that will gain favor with me.”
    In fact, I look at what Jesus asks:
    Follow me
    Surrender to Jesus as the authority
    He is God, we are not
    This is a huge tension
    This will be contrary to our culture
    Contrary to what the world thinks
    Contrary to what we want to think
    We listen to Jesus as Lord
    Be changed
    Love who He says to love
    Submit to who he says to submit to
    Believe what He says to believe
    Do what He says to do.
    Fishers of Men
    Now go show the love of Jesus and bring the lost to Him
    Susanna Wesley (1669–1742), often called the “Mother of Methodism.” She was the mother of John Wesley (founder of Methodism) and Charles Wesley (prolific hymn writer), and her life exemplified sacrificial dedication to raising her children in deep knowledge of God amid hardship. Susanna was born into a large, intellectually vibrant dissenting/ministerial family in England. She married Samuel Wesley, an Anglican rector, and had 19 children (only about 10 survived to adulthood). The family lived in relative poverty in rural Epworth. Samuel was often absent, focused on scholarship (including a lengthy project on the Book of Job), politically controversial (leading to parish hostility, including their home being set on fire twice), and not skilled with finances—he even spent time in debtors’ prison. Susanna managed the household, farm, and homeschooling largely on her own while facing losses (multiple children died in infancy) and community harassment. She made deliberate choices to prioritize spiritual formation over worldly ease or personal leisure: - **Rigorous education in faith and learning**: Susanna homeschooled all her children (boys and girls equally, which was rare) with a structured schedule emphasizing classical learning, the Bible, and Christian character. She created “bylaws” for the home school and insisted children learn to read well (using the Bible) before other tasks. Each child had a dedicated weekly hour of one-on-one time with her for conversation, prayer, and guidance. - **Personal discipline and prayer**: Early in life, she vowed not to spend more time on recreation than on private prayer and Bible study. In a chaotic home with many children, she famously pulled her apron over her head for two hours daily as a “tent of meeting” with God—her family knew not to disturb her unless it was an emergency. This practice sustained her and modeled devotion. - **Sacrifice of comfort**: She endured financial strain, physical hardships, grief, and isolation without seeking easier paths that might have diluted her focus on God. When local sermons lacked depth, she began Sunday afternoon Bible teaching at home that grew to 200+ attendees. Her example and teaching instilled a profound faith that shaped her sons’ ministries. John and Charles Wesley went on to spark a massive evangelical revival across Britain and beyond through preaching, hymns, social reform, and personal holiness—impacting millions. Susanna lived to see their early work and is credited with laying the spiritual and educational foundation for it. She viewed motherhood as a high calling to raise children who would know, love, and serve God above all. Her story is well-documented in her letters, biographies (such as those by her sons’ contemporaries), and Methodist histories. It highlights a Protestant mother who, through daily discipline, education, and self-denial in a difficult 18th-century context, chose eternal priorities over temporal comforts
    "I am content to fill a little space if God be glorified" —Susanna Wesley
    Gospel Presentation/
    Communion
    CONCLUSION IS WEAK…RESTATE THE INTRODUCTION

      • Matthew 12:38–50NIV2011

      • Matthew 12:38NIV2011

      • Matthew 12:39NIV2011

      • Matthew 12:40NIV2011

      • Matthew 12:41NIV2011

      • Nahum 3:1–3NIV2011

      • Matthew 12:42NIV2011

      • 1 Kings 10NIV2011

      • 1 Kings 10:1NIV2011

      • 1 Kings 10:9NIV2011

      • Matthew 12:43–45NIV2011

      • Matthew 12:46–47NIV2011

      • Matthew 12:48–50NIV2011

  • What He's Done
Real Life Selkirk
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