“Now when Jesus
had finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching…”
—
Matthew 7:28 (USC)
AUTHORITY is not
something we can just put on. There is a calling and a resolute belief in
authority. We trust authority. Sometimes, as a matter of retrospect, we shouldn’t.
But to obey God is to obey authority. And still, some authority is not of God.
There is a dichotomy right there — a tension we must hold.
Jesus teaches with
authority. The Holy Spirit convinces a believer by his authority. And God gives,
to those called, an authority to teach, to pastor, to prophesy, to evangelise,
to apostleship — with authority — according
to his will.
Those who listened
to Jesus when he actually spoke the words were “astonished” at the authority
with which he spoke. That’s what the synoptist, Matthew, is telling us.
They were also
astonished at what Jesus said.
Jesus spoke as one
having authority, but his words, of their own, were authoritative.
Jesus’ words were
transformative. The hearers were being transformed, challenged at their core,
inspired to overcome their biases, their conditioning, and their plight. They
were even to empathise with themselves, especially in light of the Beatitudes
(Matthew 5:3-12), because God is most especially with the poor, the needy, the mourning, the merciful, those
pure in heart, the oppressed, the meek, and the peacemaker.
Jesus taught with an
authority that was implicit in justice and love, producing hope and vision,
imbued by compassion and kindness.
***
Now to the present
tense. Jesus teaches with authority through the Holy Spirit given of the
Father. And we may well often be “astonished” when we read God’s Word.
Being astonished is a
fruit of the Spirit’s work in and through us toward wonder.
We are astonished by
the authority of God as it reframes our paradigms of life, transforming us by
the renewing of our minds. We are struck by the incisiveness of new knowledge;
a wisdom of God helping us live better. We are astonished how this new
knowledge can so arrest our awareness and convict us to act differently. Change
becomes us — a miracle.
The authority of
Jesus helps. It helps us know and trust God. Only when we trust Jesus’
authority can we trust in order to receive his salvation.
***
Know God by trusting him,
Open up and allow him in,
For only he can make us clean,
Only through him,
Whose authority is
seen.
***
QUESTIONS in REVIEW:
1. How do you see the authority of
Jesus’ teaching playing out in your life?
2. How does the Word of God reveal
its authority to you in ways to astonish you?
© 2015 S. J. Wickham.
Note: USC version is Under the Southern Cross, The New Testament in Australian English
(2014). This translation was painstakingly developed by Dr Richard Moore, a NT
Greek scholar, over nearly thirty years.
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