authority

There’s a lot of great stuff in the Sermon on the Mount. If you go by the subheadings in my Bible, he had 19 points that outline how we related to each other, how we fulfill the law, and how we worship. And all of it was radically counter-cultural at that time, and in ours.

And in the end, this, as recorded in Matthew 7:28-29: “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.”

Isn’t that interesting? Their teachers of the law were quick to club them with the law; they used the law to denounce, and to deny entrance to the temple. They wielded a ton of authority in Jewish society by enforcing the law. And yet, compared to Jesus the people thought they didn’t have authority.

Here’s the difference, as I see it. Where the Jews tried to enforce their own authority, they quoted the laws of Moses, overlaid by a thick layer of their own interpretations. But Jesus, son of the God who gave Moses the law, had authority over the law itself. And he used his authority to free the people, not bind them.

Look how often in his sermon he said, “You have heard it said . . . but I say to you.” In effect, he tells the people, “As the one who made the law, let me tell you what it really means. Here’s how you satisfy God regarding this law.” And his clarification focused on tolerance and kindness and good relationships. 

No wonder the people responded. They could see what’s so obvious to us: our God doesn’t want to beat us into submission. He loves us and wants what’s good for us.

I’m inspired to reread the Sermon on the Mount and examine in particular what the Jewish leaders did with these laws and then what Jesus preached. I think the gaps are stark, but I think there’s an important reason to be interested. We who serve in God’s church today are easily tempted to use scripture the way the Pharisees used the law.

We do that sometimes, don’t we? We try to enforce dress codes and certain expectations for participation by quoting small snippets of scripture. We even sometimes use Bible verses to tell each other how to vote, where to buy coffee, or which sports are OK. 

When we do things like that, I hope people see that we’re speaking without authority. If we want to project authority, the only way is to let Jesus shine through us. Any other power is illegitimate.