As One Who Has Authority:
Manifestations of Divine Authority of Jesus.
Every Prophet comes with a message from God to a target audience - intervening in human affairs to fulfill divine will and purposes. Invariably, God’s interventions occur within specific historical and cultural context. Culture, we know, shapes our beliefs. Our beliefs reflect the depth of our understanding of the world around us. They influence how we interpret events, and make decisions. Hence, peoples, nations, and groups have different worldviews and are driven to act and relate differently to life issues. This is why Christian churches and denominations interpret the Scripture variously, using culturally induced parameters. It is no wonder that the advent of Jesus and his message of God’s kingdom marked a radical departure from the long-held traditions of the religious leaders of his day.
As we continue with our study of Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, we seek to highlight his unique reinterpretation of the law and what it means to the body of Christ today. What became obvious so early in his ministry, was the ring of authority and depth of insight Jesus demonstrated in his teaching. It was such that those listening to him marveled that he taught “as one who has authority, and not as the teachers of the law” (Matthew 7:28-29).
The following are the seven-fold nuanced authority of Jesus demonstrated in his teachings.
His Authority As Teacher:
Jesus models the two qualities of a teacher of the gospel . He was tough and encouraging, teaching and commanding obedience to the Word. He was firm in his resolve to teach the truth and kept on teaching nothing but the truth of God’s word. Based on his knowledge of his Father’s will, Jesus spoke authoritatively about who, where, and how: Who will be great, who will be first and last, the way to life, and the way to destruction; Who will inherit the earth, and who will enter into the kingdom of God. He did not say “Thus says the Lord” like the prophets before him. Rather, he took ownership of God’s word and declared the Word. He was emphatic about what he taught: “Verily, verily, I say unto you” was his refrain.
Authority As the Christ — The Expected Messiah
Jesus was conscious of His mission and the purpose of his coming sequel to centuries of predictions and anticipation of the Messiah. He says, “The law and predictions of the prophets found fulfillment in me”. “I have not come to abolish the law and the prophets, but to fulfill them”. In other words, the kingdom of God - foreshadowed in the Old Testament is right here in your midst. In the synagogue at Nazareth, he stood up to read the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, and found,
The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind….” After that, he declared: “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4: 18-21).
Matthew 13: 16-17 records that Jesus said to his disciples,
"Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly I tell you many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
Jesus challenged the Pharisees’ corrupt interpretations of the law; rejected the perverted traditions of the elders, and gave his disciples the authentic interpretations. He dared to sweep away inherited traditions and replace them with authoritative laws of his own. He was so sure of his teaching that he pronounced as wise those who build their lives on His teaching.
Authority As the Lord:
The Lordship of Jesus is well documented in the Scriptures: The angelic hosts announcing his birth, called attention to his lordship:
“For there is born to you this day in the City of David a Savior, who is Christ, the Lord” (Luke 2:11). Acts 10: 36, describes him as “Jesus Christ who is Lord of all.” What is more, Romans 10: 9 says: “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord”, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Openly confessing that Jesus is Lord is integral to faith in his atoning work on the cross. Coupled with that is the heartfelt conviction that he rose from the dead, and is alive eternally. Jesus raised issues with those who said to him, ‘Lord’ but did not back up what they say with acts of obedience: “Why do you call me ‘Lord’, ‘Lord’ and do not the things that I say?” (Matt 7:21). He is saying, as the cliche goes, ‘Action speaks louder than voice.”
Jesus expected his followers who accept him as Lord, to show their heart-conviction by submitting their lives to his teaching and commands.
Authority As the Savior
Jesus was on a rescue mission to the earth - to save humanity from eternal separation from God, the source of life. A condemned criminal cannot stand for or set free another condemned criminal. Romans 3: 10-17 explains: “As it is written
“There is no one righteous, not even one, there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
The apostle John says, “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14).
As Savior, Jesus is the only one who can save humanity. He did what no man could do, and declared himself as the Way to the Father (John 14:6).
Authority As the Judge:
Jesus in his teachings and interactions left no one in doubt regarding his role as judge of the Earth. The Sermon on the Mount was delivered with the Day of Judgment in view. Jesus is seen to be at the center of the end time accounting for how people responded to God’s gift to the world. The destiny of people will depend on their relation to Christ. Only those who related to Jesus as Lord here will be allowed entry into the kingdom:
“On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” (Matt. 7: 21-23).
Jesus here draws a line between performance or the work of miracles and developing an intimate relationship with him. He says,
Your work of miracles will not take you there!
Authority As the Son of God:
Jesus portrays in the Sermon on the Mount the benevolence of God as the Creator; He is God of the universe who makes the sun rise on the evil and the good, sends rain on the just and the unjust, who feeds the birds of the air, and clothes the lilies of the field.
Jesus speaks of God as the Father in heaven and taught his disciples to regard God as their Father. He urges his followers to "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good work and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:15). He speaks of ‘my Father’ and ‘your Father’ (Matthew 6:6, 31,32; 7: 11,21). Then he says to them, “When you pray, say “Our Father who is in heaven…” etc, etc. His point is that all believers - white, black, pink or blue belong to one God, the Father of all.
Authority As God Himself:
The Gospel of John begins on the note that Jesus is God:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him, nothing was made…” (John 1: 1-3).
The apostle John, a witness of the incarnate God had this to say:
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched - this we proclaim…” (1 John 1: 1).
All the above characteristics of Christ are implicit in the Sermon on the Mount. Here is Jesus the righteous one preaching and teaching with the authority of God; He lays down the law in his name, expecting humankind to build their lives on the foundation of his teaching. He claims to fulfill the Old Testament laws; He is the Lord to be obeyed and the Savior who bestows blessing. He casts himself as the Judge and makes himself the central figure on Judgement Day. He speaks of God as his Father and finally implies that what he does, God does, and what men do to him, they do to God.
We cannot ignore the implications of all of these claims of Jesus. He said to his disciples in Jerusalem after his resurrection:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28: 16-20).
C.S. Lewis concludes an in-depth study of Jesus and his claims in these words:
“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would be either a lunatic - or else he would be the devil of hell. And you must make your choice. Either this was and is God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God.”
Though we have the right of choice, it’s only wise, given the preponderance of proof of Christ’s divine authority, as seen above, to fall at his feet and call him LORD and GOD.
