Jesus Starts to Display His Authority. Matthew 7:28-29
“28) When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; 29) for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.” Matthew 7:28-29
Jesus was very different from the scribes. He never shunned away from any subject, and He tackles them all with authority.
The scribes and many people pleasing pastors today avoid controversial issues. They want approval from people. They are willing to bend God’s Word and even condone sinful living so as not to offend people.
Jesus did just the opposite. He forced people to deal with truth and left the with the realization that they were sinful, lost and in need of a Savior. The Sermon on the Mountain set the tone for His whole ministry.
Jesus spoke the truth in love. He exposed sin and pointed the way to salvation. He came to seek and save the lost. Because of His identity, His teaching was the Word of God. Isaiah 66:1-2 punctuates this thought. It ends by saying; “2)… But to this one will I look, to him who is humble and contrite, and who trembles at my word.”
God’s Word is the standard of truth. It is the foundation of good and bad, right and wrong. It not politically correct, it is theologically correct! It points to the narrow gate and the narrow road. It leaves all people as sinful and lost and in need of a Savior.
But let’s not loose sight of the significance of these two verses. The people where amazed with Jesus Himself and not merely His teaching. He displayed absolute authority in His teaching, but in the next two chapters, His authority is going to extend too many area’s that mere mortals have no control or authority over.
Stay tuned, this is about to get very interesting. We are about to wrestle with the true identity of Jesus Christ.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global.
