What Does It Mean That Jesus Taught With Authority?

The Authority and Infectious Love of Jesus

When Jesus had finished this sermon, the crowds were astonished at His teaching, because He was teaching them like one who had authority, and not like their scribes.  Matthew 7:29

Obviously, there were other good teachers during Jesus’s day.  But there was something different about Jesus’s teaching.  The Bible describes it as the fact that He taught them as one who had authority.  Jesus taught them as one having authority?  What does that mean?  It doesn’t mean that when He spoke, there was a thunderous echo in His voice.  It doesn’t mean that when He spoke, a heavenly dove descended over the crowd.  It doesn’t even mean that when He spoke, the people thought He was God.  What it does mean is that His life was the very embodiment of everything He taught.  It wasn’t just words from His mouth. He didn’t just read sentences off of a page.  He actually lived what He spoke and taught.  His life backed up everything that came out of His mouth.  He could talk with authority about loving others because He had touched a leper that nobody else would go near.  He could talk with authority about forgiveness because He forgave a sinful woman that the crowd wanted to stone to death.  He could talk with authority about loving your enemies because He allowed Judas Iscariot to walk with Him for three years.  He could talk with authority about giving life because He raised Lazarus, and at least a couple of other people, from the dead. Jesus Christ is the perfect example of time and time again loving others and meeting them at the point of their human need in order to get them to see how much God loved them and is the only One who could meet their spiritual need.  Here’s the kicker.  He didn’t soften His message or compromise Scripture.  His message was tough.  His way was difficult.  But His love was infectious.  Because it was, people followed Him and people still follow Him today.  This morning, I want to remind you that you are an important part of the body of Christ.  May your love be infectious and may people want to follow Jesus because of the way that you are following Him.  May they know His infectious love through you.