The Authority of Jesus

(Matthew 7: 28-29)

Introduction.

And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

(Matthew 7: 28-29)

Jesus had ended his message, his sermon, and Matthew closes this section by adding a sort of eyewitness comment on how the people received it sayings, that the people were astonished at his teaching for he taught them as one having authority and not as the other religious leaders of his day did. I want to close of the time we have spent together over the last 45 days in fact, studying the Sermon on the Mount by looking at these two final verses, because they are really pertinent to not only what’s being said about the wise and the foolish man, but to his whole message.

Notice that he says in verse 28, that it was after Jesus had finished saying these things. Now as we continue to work our way together through the Gospel of Matthew, we’re going to discover that there are a number of major speeches in the Gospel of Matthew and this expression is used several times usually to sign of a passage where Jesus has been speaking or teaching. So, “when Jesus had ended” these sayings are a formula employed by Matthew after each of five major discourses in his gospel account. It appears here, it occurred in chapter 1:11, it appears again in 13: 53 and 19: 1, and in 26: 1, and in each case, he’s just finished a major speech and then Matthew adds this little phrase as if to underline it and signal a new passage or a change of direction. When Jesus had ended these sayings that becomes one of the little markers that Matthew uses in recording the material that we call the Gospel of Matthew. But beyond that this message Jesus had just given were told right at the beginning of it that Jesus sat down to speak to his disciples but there was a multitude of people present. Then at the end he comes back and apparently he has also been addressing and impacting some of the lost people in that multitude that had gathered to listen.

Although the bulk of the sermon on the mount is addressed to disciples, the Lord does not forget the fact that there were unbelievers present, and it was apparently these unbelievers who were astonished at what he said. The word translated astonished means to be struck like a coin, “impacted is a good translation”, to be amazed to be astonished. They were astonished that this 30-year-old Carpenter from a small town who had not gone to one of the schools of the great rabbis and had never studied religious tradition was coming out with the things. What he was saying dumbfounded them, you might say they were awestruck as to what he was. But that statement raises the question, why were they so awestruck by not only what he said, but how he said it?

Well look again at verse 29.

For He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes

(Matthew 7: 29)

Who were the Scribes

You have to understand the role of the scribes and understand, what was so revolutionary was that the normal religious leaders called “scribes” well the clue is in their name, there job was to copy out the scriptures. It was not it was sort of a profession; they copied the Old Testament scriptures and the Talmudic writings onto parchment roles and distributed them amount the ever-widening community. That sort of gave them the position of being seen as the people who know the scriptures more than anybody else because they are the ones who copied them and then spoke about them.  They would say things like, well rabbi so and so says this, this passage means this, and rabbi so and so taught something different. This means this they were always taught by quoting somebody else and they never did otherwise.  As a matter of fact, some Bible experts that the words and phrase Jesus is using in the Sermon on the Mount are not that of a rabbi or a prophet, but that of a lawgiver or of a king.

Jesus did not speak in the name of somebody else he spoke as God himself, and that’s the point the rabbis never came out with, “thus sayeth the Lord”, like the Old Testament prophets. His job was to say, well one rabbi thinks this another rabbi thinks that, and Jesus didn’t do that, he didn’t even come along and say, “thus sayeth the Lord”,  which at the least would have put him in the same line as the Old Testament prophets, he came along and says, “I say to you you’ve heard it said, but I say unto you, in other words he is speaking out with the authority of God.

The point of verse 29 is this Jesus didn’t teach like anybody else ever, he was himself the authority, basically it like a working-class person standing before the whole human race and telling them that he is laying down principles of conduct or guidance for everyone. Jesus on that day stands before them and say this is the way to live a life that is righteous before God, and then tells them that if they neglect his precepts, it will be at their eternal peril. He stood before them as a legislator, not a commentator. He commanded, and he prohibited, he appealed, and he made promises and on his own word.

Jesus spoke using his own authority, and the point of these last verses is to say they people listening were astonished because he didn’t teach in any way like the scribes or the Pharisees he spoke of his own authority as the Son of God, but because of his incarnation, coming as God among men in clothed in humanity Jesus was in two ways an expert. He was an expert of course in the Old Testament scriptures. But he was also an expert in how we as humans should live our lives.  The idea being used by him here was the illustration of two houses with two different builders. But Jesus of course was also an expert in the things of everyday life, he was of course actually a carpenter, a Craftsman, who knew how to tell us how to build houses, our metaphorical houses. And when he spoke about the foundations of such things, he knew what he was talking about. This is not just the illustration of someone who had a deep. Scholarly scripture. Knowledge of the Old Testament writings. But he marries it together with the illustration for the most practical people. 

Jesus, in approaching it this way, demanded two things. 

Firstly, he demanded that we should listen. One of the great difficulties which faces people today is a simple fact that most people do not know what Jesus said or what even the Bible teaches. They don’t recognise that he has to be something that they need not pay any attention to. In truth, the very first step towards the Christian life is simply giving Jesus the opportunity to be heard. 

Secondly, he demanded that people should get to know, and that knowledge only becomes relevant when it is translated into action. It is quite possible for an individual to pass an examination and Christian ethics with the highest possible mark and yet not be a Christian. Knowledge. Biblical knowledge must become action. 

Theory must become practise. Theology must become the living of a Christian life. Little point in going to a doctor unless you're prepared to do things that they that he or she tells us to do.  There is little point going to an expert unless we are prepared to act upon their advice. And yet there are thousands of people who listened to the teachings of Jesus every Sunday. And have a very good knowledge of what Jesus taught. And yet make little or no deliberate attempt to put it into practise.  As followers of Jesus, we must hear and do. You may struggle to think of a single word which combines the idea of hearing and doing in one but let me tell you there is such the word, and that word is obedience, and the word for not hearing and then doing what he says, that word is disobedience.  

Jesus’ demand from us is our implicit and explicit obedience. To learn to obey him in all things and this becomes particularly important for us where we must do it in the most important things in life and that is in the handling of trials and difficulties. It is this type of obedience that Jesus demands on. It is Jesus claim that obedience to him is the only sure foundation with which to build a life, and his promise is that the life which is founded on such a foundation will keep us  safe in him no matter what storms may come. 

Our Reaction to Jesus.

We today are called to react to this man called Jesus and what he said. Do you think he was just a man who said some cleaver things or was he more than that, was he someone who you could build you life upon. Someone who you can trust to follow and build your life on so that when the storms come you will remain safe and secure. Is this is just some mere moral teaching this then maybe you should at least give it a lot of attention, but if you consider that he is the son of God, if the person teaching us is God in the flesh then all of a sudden maybe we should listen to what he has to say and do it. Obey him.

If he’s our maker, maybe we should read the manual because who knows better how to operate this thing called life than the one who created all life. If so, you can believe in this and you can build your life on what Jesus Christ taught. On the other hand, you can go your way and do what feels good to you and well please yourself, it’s your choice, but the issue is when the storm comes what’s going to happen then. I think the sum of what Jesus is teaching here is very important because those who build their life on his teachings will weather the storms of life and those who don’t will have to rely on their own resources and good luck with that.

Let me point out a couple of consequences relating to that choice. The choice is between not between building or not building a life, you are building a life based upon some set of principle, some sort of foundation because everyone of us is building our lives as we live it. That’s not the issue, the issue is upon what are you building. That’s the real issue. Do you want to build something that’s gonna be able to withstand the storms of life or are you going to risk thinking I can live a life that is based on something that will last forever and not rust like precious metals or rot and decay.

A couple of quotes from the book of proverbs.

“When the whirlwind passes by the wicked is no more but the righteous has an everlasting foundation”.

(Proverbs 10:25)

“The wicked are overthrown and are no more but the House of the righteous will stand”.

(Proverbs 12: 7)

When an architect builds a house, he has to follow the building regulations, he has to follow what is sometime referred to as the building code.   We too must build our lives on something, shouldn’t we build are lives on the building code taught by Jesus. So that we will not be swept away by the storms and hurricanes of life. Many Bible experts point out that the language used by Jesus talks about the temptations we face in live as coming like a tempest. So, building our life upon Jesus will not only protect you from storm of suffering, but it will also protect you from the toxic temptations of lofe that will come your way. They will not be able to sweep us off a solid foundation of faith and obedience. Adversity may come yet because we have built according to the code of the unshakeable rock Jesus Christ we can emerge with our character and strength and faith intact. However, there is a warning here, someone once put it like this, when the sun is shining and when skies are blue building our lives on something other than the guidelines of God's word can be tempting. But someday, somewhere there will be a price to be paid for our disobedience. Building your life on obedience to the revealed will and ways of God is definitely in our best interest, because God made us, and he knows what is best for us.

When we think that we can ignore his will in our lives we are in great danger to succumbing to the false promise of sin. If we disregard God’s will and try and do it our way, we eventually discover that whatever happiness we thought we had will be short lived and the disobedience will be costly. Heartache, regret and will become our unwanted companions and the Love joy and peace we hoped for will pass us by. It can’t be otherwise as those things are a gift of the Holy Spirit and are the results of obedience not disobedience.

In Summary.

Let me ask you are you building your life on something which is immediate and passing or are you building a life on obedience and love of God. Sometimes when people tell me of the great moral code they are choosing to live by I sometimes just ask, “how’s that working for you” How’s it working for is, there love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness goodness, humility self-control and faith in your life. Isn’t that the real issue you’ve gone through a storm to look back and see that the house is still standing. Is my life still holding together or have I fallen apart. 

I’m here to tell you very simply you need to decide who are you going to follow and obey. Will your anchor hold in the storm of life, will you foundations hold you up during the earthquakes that might come your way. Live it by the words of Jesus, do it “by the book” so to speak, this book.