Authority

Matthew 7v28-29

6^th June 2025

We conclude our study of Matthew Chapter 7 with these words:

Matthew 7v28-29
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.

Some people believe that the sermon on the Mount wasn't just one sermon. They think Matthew put various sayings of Jesus, spoken at different times, together as if they were one sermon as a sort of literary device. However, Matthew 5v1-2 says that, "when he saw the crowds, he [Jesus] went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him and he began to teach them..." And now in Matthew 6v28 Matthew tells us, When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching. The same crowds who heard the beginning of the sermon were still there at the end. It was one sermon.

A second demonstration that this was one sermon is the wonderful way it holds together: how each point flows from the previous one, how beautifully it is structured, how comprehensively it shows the human need of God, the blessed state of those who acknowledge their need and seek God, and the nature of Christian discipleship.

The crowds who had been privileged to hear Jesus preach the Sermon on the Mount were amazed by it. Surely every true Christian from that time one must be amazed by it. Jesus's words are radical, powerful, challenging and envisioning. We're amazed at the beauty of Jesus words. We're amazed at His wisdom. We're amazed at His clarity. We're amazed at the way He explains not only the letter of God's Law but the spirit of the Law. We learn so much about God, so much about man, so much about ethics, so much about our absolute need of God, His mercy and His grace.

If we take the Sermon on the Mount seriously, surely we must confess that we don't live up to its ethical standards. A mature Christian is just as aware as ever he was that he needs God's forgiveness and help. The crowds that day, and we today, are amazed when we find or are reminded of God's standards. This drives an honest person to his knees, imploring God for mercy, and that asking the Holy Spirit would strengthen him, lead him and assist him. After reading the Sermon on the Mount we will pray "Your kingdom come, your will be done... forgive us our sins, do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil" (Matthew 6v9-13).

Most of all, perhaps, we're amazed, as the crowds were, that Jesus taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law. Jesus taught with authority because He is God. He has all authority. Jesus taught with authority about the Law because He wrote the Law. Jesus taught with authority about ethics because as God, He is the determiner of all ethics. There was no "Well, this theologian believes this but that theologian believes that" with Jesus. He taught as if He knew the truth because He did know the truth. Indeed, He is the truth (John 14v6) Six times in this sermon, Jesus said, "You have heard... but I tell you" or "It has been said.... but I tell you", claiming the right and the ability to correct the false (or, at least, incomplete) teaching the scribes and Pharisees had been giving.

And Jesus taught with authority in that He taught about Himself. In the course of this single sermon, He said:

• Blessed are you when people assault you, persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you because of me", declaring Himself to be the foundation of godly religion.
• "I have not come to abolish [the Law and the prophets] but to fulfil them", declaring Himself uniquely to be able to fufil the Law.
• "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven", declaring that even the lost will acknowledge Him as the Lord God.
• "Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" declaring Himself to be the Judge of all the earth.

And, at the end of the sermon, He gave us the parable of the two builders, saying, "Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man..."

That is, Jesus taught with authority, and He taught that He has all authority and all wisdom.

It remains for us individually to decide if we will accept Jesus as Lord, submit to His Law and His Holy Spirit, and live in righteousness and holiness to the praise of His glory. We should make that decision every day.