The Clash with Religious Authority

IN MATTHEW 7:29 we read that Jesus taught the people “as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” Jesus did teach with authority—the authority of the Holy Spirit, that Spirit of anointing which came upon him at the time of his baptism. One of his first public appearances after he began his ministry was in the synagogue at Nazareth, and there, after reading from the opening verses of Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the anointing of the Holy Spirit empowering him to speak in God’s name, he said, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”—Luke 4:21

The assurance which this anointing gave the Master, and the certain knowledge that he possessed the truth, gave him confidence to speak boldly and with authority. When asked by Pilate, for example, concerning his kingship, Jesus replied, “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth.” (John 18:37) There was no hesitancy in this reply, no uncertainty. He knew where he stood with respect to his relationship to the plan of God, and he did not hesitate to declare it.

With the exception of the apostles, the followers of Jesus are not inspired by the Holy Spirit in the same sense that he was, yet their knowledge of the truth should enable them to speak with a calm assurance, so that the sincere listener who is seeking the truth will realize that there is authority back of the message—the authority of the Word of God. In nearly all circles today, inside and outside of the nominal churches, much that is spoken is admitted to be mere theory and guess work. One listens to a “forum” and is given no lead as to what the right answer may be to the subject discussed. We might suppose that a scientist would speak with authority, but he does not, for he admits that much of what he believes today may be discarded as error tomorrow.

So it must have been refreshing to those who were seeking the truth in Jesus’ day, to hear him speak with authority. It is refreshing today to hear an ambassador of Christ proclaim present truth with assurance, and not make apologies for it. Those who are firm in their convictions, and speak with the definiteness of those who know where they stand, are often decried as bigots and sectarians. However, we should not be disturbed when this false charge is leveled against us, but should rather continue on earnestly contending for the faith once delivered unto the saints, proclaiming the glorious message of truth in patience and in love.

MARK 11:27-33—The incident recorded in this passage seems to have occurred the next day after Jesus rode into the city of Jerusalem on an ass, and then cleansed the temple of its money-changers. Jesus and his disciples had left the city for the night. As they were returning the next morning he cursed a fig tree, and later gave his disciples a lesson on faith, using the illustration of moving a mountain simply through the power of prayer, thus emphasizing that seemingly impossible things can be accomplished through faith and prayer, if in harmony with the Heavenly Father’s will.

When they reached Jerusalem, Jesus again entered the temple, and there the elders and chief priests and scribes engaged him in conversation asking, “By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things?” Jesus could have given them a direct answer to this question, telling them that he was carrying on his ministry by the authority of the Holy Spirit of God, but they would not have accepted this, and would have discredited the Master in the eyes of others.

Instead of answering his enemies directly, Jesus asked them a question concerning the baptism of John, whether it was from heaven, or of men. These religious rulers knew that they were trapped, for if they admitted that John’s baptism was from heaven, that is, authorized by God, they would have to explain why they did not believe him; and if they said it was of men they would encounter trouble, for John was rather widely accepted as a prophet in Israel.

Perhaps they didn’t think of it, but if they had answered that John’s baptism was from heaven, Jesus could have reminded them that he had been baptized by John, and that John had borne testimony concerning his having received the Holy Spirit. However, when they admitted that they could not answer, Jesus simply told them that since they could not answer him, he felt under no obligation to answer them; since, too, they were not sincere in raising the questions.

The matter of religious authority has always been an important one in so-called orthodox circles. We have a scribes-and-Pharisees class in the world today who question the authority of anyone to preach who does not graduate from some theological seminary and is humanly “ordained.” But the true follower of the Master does not need to be concerned with this criticism, for he knows that he receives his ordination through the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

MARK 12:28-34—In this part of the lesson we are told of another encounter between one of the scribes and Jesus, one that turned out somewhat differently from what such episodes usually did, for this scribe gave evidence of possessing some measure of sincerity in the question he asked. Jesus seemed pleased, and said to him, “Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.”

Just previously Jesus had been questioned by the Sadducees, a sect of the Jews which did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. They placed a hypothetical case before the Master concerning a woman who had had seven husbands, asking whose wife she should be in the resurrection. Jesus explained that in the resurrection people would neither marry nor be given in marriage. Then Jesus buttressed his reply by quoting a statement made by God to Moses out of the burning bush, that he was not the God of the dead but of the living. God was then speaking of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying that he was their God; therefore, Jesus reasoned, since God is not a God of the dead but of the living, it means that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, are to be raised from the dead.

It was a sound, and logical, and scriptural answer to a question which the clever Sadducees thought would confound Jesus. Perhaps they had put that same question to the scribes and Pharisees before. Perhaps the very scribe who heard them present the matter to Jesus, and who heard how well he answered it, had himself been unable to answer it. In any case, the account states, “One of the scribes … perceiving that he [Jesus] had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?”

This scribe had been impressed, and quite possibly the question he put to Jesus might have been one of controversy among this group, and this, he might have thought, would be an excellent chance to get a good answer. Jesus did give him a good answer. The “first” commandment evidently meant the greatest commandment, and for his answer Jesus quoted from Moses, an authority which any scribe would find embarrassing to dispute.—Deut. 6:4,5; Lev. 19:18

The evidence of the scribe’s sincerity is in the fact that he agreed with the Master, admitting that he had given a truthful and good answer. The scribe could see that to worship God supremely with all one’s heart, soul, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves, are indeed the two most important obligations of all who profess to be the people of God. This is much more important, the scribe observed, than the matter of burnt offerings, or perhaps some special manner of presenting them. It was these non-essentials that the scribes and Pharisees were accustomed to argue about, and this scribe recognized the wisdom of Jesus’ approach to the question, and complimented him for it.

It was in reply to this that Jesus said to him, “Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.” Recognizing the wise answer Jesus had given to the Sadducees, and how the scribe had been influenced by the way Jesus answered his question, no one else on that occasion had the courage to ask further questions. The truth had prevailed.

QUESTIONS

What enabled Jesus to speak with authority?

Should Christians today speak with authority?

Explain the reasoning of the scribes and Pharisees with respect to the baptism of John.

What did Jesus mean by his statement to the scribe, “Thou art not far from the kingdom of God”?

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