Messianic Musings ~ A Question of Authority

There are a few things in my life that remain constant. One of those things is reading. There is not a time when I am not deep into a book. As I have gotten older and my walk with Jesus has deepened I have become a more discerning reader.  There are so many books, so many authors, so many interests I want to read about. How is one to choose? Ten years ago it would have meant perusing the aisles of Barnes & Noble. These days it is more like following links on Amazon.

Often times I come upon a book that the author is unfamiliar to me.  I can read the title and look at the description but how do I really judge if the book lines up with biblical principles? One of the things I do is to look at who is endorsing the book and who wrote the forward. If these are written by authors I know and respect I can trust then, that the book I am considering would be a solid read.  This is not so different than what happened when the rabbis taught in Israel.

For the last few weeks we have been studying the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5 - 7. These chapters contain the teachings of Jesus, from His own mouth. Jesus was a rabbi, which means teacher. In those days rabbis would go from place to place, teaching publicly.  It was common for the rabbi who was teaching to reference other rabbis to give authority to the message he was teaching.  The rabbi would be teaching "in the name" of these other rabbis, even if they were no longer living.

This sheds some light on to the very last verse in Matthew 7: "When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at His teaching, because He taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law"  (Matt. 7:28-29).

Much of what Jesus had taught was not new to those listening. (This is not to say that Jesus did not give deeper spiritual insight and application to what they already knew.) They would have been familiar with the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) and the oral law. Those listening were amazed not so much about what He taught, but how He taught. Unlike other rabbis, Jesus did not have to quote rabbinic authorities to validate His words. Jesus was the authority. He was God. 

This distinction was not lost on his disciples. How about with us? There is so much teaching available to us. Some biblically solid, some not so much. Sometimes it may be hard to discern the difference. But what we can count on and trust implicitly is the Word of God. Jesus is the Word. He is the final authority. He is truth. It is the standard to which everything else must be measured.

"This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!" (Matt. 17:5b).