“By What Authority Do You Do These
Things?”
By Kyle Pope
When
Jesus finished the sermon on the mount Scripture tells us that the people were
amazed— “for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the
scribes.” (Matthew 7:29, NKJV). Joseph Henry Thayer in his Greek-English
Lexicon of the New Testament tells us that the word exousia translated
“authority” here, means—“the power of rule or government (the power of him
whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed)” (p. 225).
When Jesus taught He was giving commands that the people were to obey. This was
different from the approach which the scribes and pharisees used.
This demonstration
of authority was not always well received. Matthew, Mark and Luke all tell us
of an occasion when the chief priests, scribes and elders asked Jesus—“By
what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?” (Matthew
21:23, cf. Mark 11:28 & Luke 20:2). On this occasion, because of the
hardness of their hearts in rejecting John the Baptist, Jesus did not answer
their question directly. However, on other occasions, He directly addressed
this issue. John tells us in three passages how explicitly Jesus answered this
matter. In John 7:16 Jesus said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent
Me.” In John 12:49 He said, “For I have not spoken on My own
[authority]; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say
and what I should speak.” And finally, in John 14:24 He said, “the word
which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.” Jesus, shows us
with these words that He Himself, God the Son, was acting under the authority
of God the Father.
After Jesus’
resurrection, the extent of Jesus’ authority was broadened. As He gives His apostles
the charge to teach all the nations, He begins with the words, “All
authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” (Matthew 28:18).
This tells us that God the Father gave to Jesus the right to command all the
universe. As a result all of the universe is obligated to obey Jesus’ teachings
and submit themselves to His authority. This was promised in Deuteronomy
18:18-19, when God told Moses, “I will raise up for them a Prophet like you
from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall
speak to them all that I command Him. And it shall be [that] whoever will not
hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require [it] of him.”
When the
apostles went out to preach they acknowledged Divine authority, and held
themselves under such authority. In the first sermon which they preach, they
teach the Jews on the day of Pentecost to, “Repent, and let every one of you
be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 2:38). The apostle Paul
taught the Christians in Colosse, “And [whatever] you do in word or deed,
[do] all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through
Him.” (Colossians 3:17). To act “n the name” of Jesus is to act with and
under the authority of Jesus. This meant that the apostles’ message, like that
of Jesus, was not their own but from the One who sent them. Paul praised the
church in Thessalonica saying, “when you received the word of God which you
heard from us, you welcomed [it] not [as] the word of men, but as it is in
truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.” (I
Thessalonians 2:13). The writings of the apostles held the same authority. Paul
wrote to the Corinthians, “If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or
spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the
commandments of the Lord.” (I Corinthians 14:37).
Just as
God had promised to give authority to Jesus, Jesus had promised to give
authority to His apostles. Jesus encouraged His disciples saying, “when they
deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be
given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak,
but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” (Matthew 10:19-20). If
people rejected the message of the apostles, Jesus taught that it was the same
as rejecting Jesus, and rejecting God the Father. Luke tells us that Jesus told
His apostles, “He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and
he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.” (10:16).
When we
look to the Bible we have the written teachings of Jesus. Whether we look at
the Gospel accounts of Jesus' words while on the earth or the records of what
the apostles taught, we have before us the teachings (or doctrine) of Jesus.
This is the standard of authority that must be obeyed. This is the source from
which be must derive the authority for all that we say and do in service to
God.
How can we
establish from Scripture authority for what we do in service to God? First we
must understand what the Bible is. Quite simply, it is the written will of God.
It was given to the apostles and prophets of the first century in order to
communicate understandable information to ordinary human beings. When Paul
wrote to the Ephesians, he claimed that the things which he wrote explained the
plan of God which had previously been a mystery. He told them, “when you
read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, which in other
ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the
Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets” (Ephesians 3:4-5). When Paul
tells them, “when you read, you may understand” it shows us that Scripture is
not some dark enigma that can not be unraveled, but written communication that
can be understood just as we do any other type of written communication.
When we
read a letter, a story, an article or some type of instructional literature we
use the same basic methods to discern the meaning of the material. We consider
what the document states directly, what it describes and what it infers about
the subject in question. All of this information is taken into account in order
to ascertain the content of the piece. The Bible is no different. There are
direct statements that which explicitly command or direct some behavior. There
are descriptions of behavior that is approved or condemned. There are, in the
context of some broader discussion, details which are inferred which further
clarify meaning.
If we are
going to act under the authority of Jesus in what we do in service to God what
will determine whether or not we have authority for the things we do? There are
many direct statements that are in the Bible. Some are statements to specific
individuals and do not apply to anyone else (e.g. Abraham's charge to sacrifice
Isaac—Genesis 22:2). Other commands fall under under a distinct period of
jurisdiction, and do not apply to those under Christ (e.g. Animal Sacrifice
under the Law of Moses). If Jesus Christ now has all authority, and He gave His
instructions to His apostles, it would follow that the first source we should
look to in order to establish authority would be Jesus and the apostles direct
commands.
Next, we
look to the descriptions of things in the Bible. Again, if we are interested in
acting under the authority of Christ our pattern can not be drawn from
descriptions of behavior that was not subject to the authority of Christ (e.g.
Israel under the Law of Moses or Gentiles without God). That brings us to what
is described in the New Testament. Here we find descriptions of of things that
were approved and things that were not approved. If Jesus taught that rejection
of the apostles was rejection of Him (Luke 10:16), it would follow that those
descriptions which serve as binding examples to us today are the approved
examples of behavior carried out under Christ and the apostles.
Finally,
as a piece of written material, the Bible is filled with numerous topics and
discussions of issues. The inferences within these discourses to things which
have been commanded or described further clarify the application of what is
authorized under Christ. As with any literature, inferences are often more
subjective (i.e. subject to personal opinion and perspective) that direct
statements or descriptions. One person might draw an inference from some nuance
of wording which totally eludes another person. Or, there might be inferential
references to things that are incidental to the matter under consideration. As
a result, when we look to the inferences of Scripture we must look to those
necessary inferences that clarify approved examples or direct commands. When
such inferences offer inescapable conclusions about a matter under consideration,
they establish authority for action in service to God.
Many in
the world conduct themselves as if there is no need to establish divine
authority in religion. The question posed to Jesus remains particularly
applicable to such people today, “by what authority are you doing these
things?” Jesus and the apostles acted under divine authority. What about us?