Teaching with Authority
“And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.”
Matthew 7:28-29
We have come to the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount that began in chapter 5. This is the most sublime and profound sermon recorded in the Bible or in the history of humanity. In ancient rhetoric persuasive public speaking involved three aspects: ethos – an appeal to ethics, pathos – an appeal to emotions, and logos – an appeal to logic and reason. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus exemplifies these characteristics in superlative terms.
Matthew tells us the crowds were astounded because Jesus taught them as one who had authority, not like the scribes. Jesus has inherent authority because he is fully God. When he spoke, he did so inerrantly and perfectly. He had both the right to speak and the power to teach the people. Further, he has come to reveal the Father both in his character as well as in his teaching. “For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. (John 12:49)”
Because God is the sovereign King of heaven and earth, everything he says carries absolute authority. In fact, there is no legitimate authority than that which comes from God. Only God has inherent authority, all other authority is derived authority. In other words, God gives authority and nothing or no one else has any true authority in himself apart from God. Government is God’s agent appointed to approve that which is good and to punish evil on God’s behalf. When they are functioning in alignment with God’s will they have authority to enforce the law. But when they go outside of God’s will and enforce or promote that which is contrary to God’s word, their authority is illegitimate and do not have real authority. This is why Peter stated, “But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29).
Whenever a person is not standing on God’s word and speaking in alignment with God’s will, he or she is not speaking with authority. If a person tells you to do something that is immoral, illegal, or unbiblical you have no responsibility to obey that individual. In fact, to obey an immoral command is to disobey your Heavenly Father. This is why the scribes did not teach with authority. They were not teaching God’s word but instead their own novel ideas. Quoting Isaiah, Jesus confronts these empty prophets, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men. (Mark 7:6b-9)”
This holds true today. No pastor/elder, no government, nor self-proclaimed prophet has inherent authority. These scribes had abandoned the truth of God’s word and were teaching their own man-made ideas. This is why every idea, every teaching, every desire, or every command must be weighed in light of God’s word. God’s word enlightened by God’s Spirit is the only source of authority that God has given to his Church.
