I used to carry a company VISA card with my name on it. It was a card I used for tools and software I needed to do my job, or to cover travel expenses if I needed to be on the road. I had been granted authority to use that card, but that authority had limits. You see, there was another name on that card just below my name—the name of my employer.
A spending cap applied to the card limited the amount I could charge to at any one time. And even those charges that did not violate the spending cap were subject to approval on an expense report. It never happened, but it was possible for those expense submissions to be vetoed by my supervisor. So, I did have authority where that card was concerned, but my supervisor had authority that superseded my own authority.
Authority
The word “authority” is evocative, particularly for today’s soft society that requires laws and safe spaces to protect us from dangerous words and micro-aggressions. The word “authority” elicits a reaction from within, be that reaction ever so subtle.
Authority is a word of force, power, and control. It is something to be subjected to, or to rebel against. Authority is exercised, or wielded, by the one who owns it. No less than Benjamin Franklin is reputed to have expressed a mistrust of authority, saying, “It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority.”
Authority can be a tool of intimidation. Sometimes that intimidation is both intentional and strategic. I recall an incident from my freshman year in college wherein an overly-zealous police officer in Hutchinson, Kansas pointed a shotgun in my face while yelling instructions at me. Without question, I was intimidated. I did exactly what he instructed me to do. Despite my resentment toward his actions, he was in authority. His shotgun made that authority inarguably clear to me. And it made my resentment of him and his actions completely irrelevant.
One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.”
– Luke 20:1-2, ESV
Here we see Jesus teaching in the temple, and something about his teaching has upset the guardians of orthodoxy. It wasn’t the teaching itself. Dozens of people were teaching. The temple covered roughly thirty-six acres, and over that acreage there was a lot of teaching going on. But something about Jesus’ teaching was different. It caused concern.
The Scribes
To understand what offended the chief priests, scribes, and elders, we need to take a look at these scribes. The scribes are fascinating characters, and it seems that Jesus was constantly sparring with these guys.
A scribe is simply “one who writes.” Consider the English terms scribble or inscribe. Scribe is derived from the term γραμματεύς (grammateus). This is where we get the English term “grammar.” Originally, it was nothing more than a word, but it became a title, and a title of some distinction.
The scribe’s ability to read and write was not widespread in ancient Israel. Having this skill gave the scribe an assurance of employment. There were any number of documents that needed to be produced and reproduced. There was no printing press, so all written materials had to be hand-copied if they were going to be distributed. Scribes worked on legal documents, military documents, political documents, and personal or family documents.
Originally, the title of Scribe carried no inherent religious connotation. However, with the 539 BC decree of Cyrus II, a decree that allowed Israel to return from Babylonian captivity, the role of the scribe entered an entirely new reality. Now, the scribes were tasked with making hyper-accurate copies of the Hebrew scriptures.
All day long the scribe would dip his quill and write, hour upon hour. Dipping and writing, dipping and writing. Every row written resulted in a specific mathematical calculation. As each papyrus was completed, it was handed to someone who would execute the calculation and approve or reject the papyrus on that basis. If the calculation was off by even the slightest amount, the work was discarded and the entire page had to be written again.
This intense focus on accurately reading and copying the holy texts gave the scribes an unparalleled expertise in what those scriptures said. Over time, given their unrivalled expertise in the Law of Moses, the scribes evolved from being mere copiers of that Law to being teachers of it. These are the guys you read about in gospel accounts when it speaks of “the lawyers.” It is not talking about attorneys, but rather these scribes who became teachers of the Law.
By about two hundred years prior to the birth of Jesus, the scribes had grown in power and influence such that they were identified as their own societal class. When anyone mentioned “the scribes,” everyone was clear who was being talked about. Scribes were helping negotiate treaties with foreign nations, participating as members of the Sanhedrin, the supreme council for the nation of Israel. They became closely linked with the party of the Pharisees. Note how many times read that phrase, “the scribes and the Pharisees did this,” or “the scribes and the Pharisees did that.”
I know I’m spending a lot of time on this, but I want you to understand, these guys were powerful!
The Quirky Practice
Despite their power and influence, the scribes had a specific practice that, to me, seems incongruous with their status and power. As teachers of the Law, the scribes tended to lend credence to their teachings and proclamations by appealing to varied authority figures. They were namedropping just as people today namedrop, and for the very same reason. Today, we might hear something like, “I was speaking with [authority figure name] the other day and [another authority] came up and joined us, and . . . well they both agree with me that [insert opinion or issue here].”
The expectation from this practice is that the namedropping will make my point more valid or impactful. The scribes littered their discourses with such a vast number of appeals to one authority or another that the teaching was devoid of any authority that could be credited to the scribe himself. And the disturbing reality getting under their skin was the fact that Jesus didn’t do that!
Where the scribe was little more than a funnel through which the teachings of others was passed on, Jesus taught his own ideas and he did so as his own, ultimate authority. To whom can Jesus appeal for lending credence to his message? Jesus is God! There is no higher authority! Even the inspired prophets of the Old Testament, though they spoke with divine authority, repeatedly prefaced their proclamations with, “Thus says the LORD.”
Jesus never appealed to Rabbi X or Rabbi Y to shore up his teaching, and his refusal to do so was terribly disquieting to the authority figures of his day. And to make matters worse, not only does Jesus not practice the namedropping technique, he goes out of his way to discredit it. Consider that recurring phrase from Matthew’s record of the sermon on the mount. “You have heard that it was said …” by Rabbi X or Rabbi Y … “but I say to you.” No name dropped.
Jesus is the Authority
Jesus recognizes no authority as being superior to his own, and neither can we. Jesus never deferred to the Sanhedrin. Jesus never quoted a well-reputed rabbi. Jesus said and did what he wanted to say and do whenever and wherever he wanted to say it and do it.
Because of this practice, Jesus was in constant conflict with the established and recognized authority figures of his day. It’s not that Jesus was teaching that was the problem for them. It’s that he taught with authority. Look at our target verse again:
One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.”
– Luke 20:1-2, ESV
This same objection is found all over the gospel texts. Here are just a few examples:
By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?
– Matthew 21:23, ESV
By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?
– Mark 11:28, ESV
What sign do you show us for doing these things?
– John 2:18, ESV
Hopefully, seeing these few examples, others will jump out at you as you read your gospel texts. For the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, they reasoned that Jesus must have been granted permission by somebody to say and do the things he said and did, because no respectable man would ever behave the way Jesus behaved without such permission.
Honor Challenges
Throughout his ministry, Jesus was in conflict with the power brokers who were attempting to dishonor him, to discredit him, to make him lose face and lose popularity. What we see in Jesus’ repeated confrontations with the religious folks is what the middle-eastern culture views as an “honor challenge.” We see such a challenge in our target text, but Jesus has an answer to their attempted take-down.
He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?”
– Luke 20:3-4, ESV
Jesus offered the perfect response. It was a checkmate question to which they had no answer, but they were obligated to answer. Jesus had honor-challenged the right back, and crowd was watching.
Here’s how it played out:
And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know where it came from. And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
– Luke 20:5-6, ESV
One could read that and come away seeing Jesus as a little passive aggressive. The apostle Peter tells us to always be ready to give an answer for the hope that lies within. Yet, Jesus answered nothing to these folks.
I have to conclude from Jesus’ approach to these leaders that we are not required to answer everybody. It’s okay to refuse to answer. There is a context in which some people are either not ready or are unwilling to hear. Answering them is wasted effort and, at times, it is counterproductive.
Obedience and Knowledge
There is another principle at work here that I’m believe few people understand, and that is that obedience precedes knowledge. Jesus said something in John 7 that I read over for years before I stopped to ponder what it means.
If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.
– John 7:17, ESV
This is just one little verse in a much larger context, and it is easy to read past it as I did for years. Obedience precedes knowledge.
Typical humanity comes at this from the opposite vantagepoint. We think, “Well, as soon as I understand it, I’ll obey.” And Jesus says, “No, you don’t understand then then obey. You obey, and then you will understand!”
When Jesus says something to us that we don’t fully understand, something like “Love your enemies,” or “Bless those who persecute you” and that doesn’t make sense to us, that doesn’t matter. Obey Jesus, and then you will know, then you will understand.
The chief priests, scribes, and elders refused to answer Jesus’ question, so Jesus refused to answer their question. They were unwilling to obey, so they would never have understood Jesus’ answer anyway, because obedience precedes knowledge.
Jesus was demonstrating an authority that was beyond their authority base, and even beyond them personally and as a societal class. Jesus was saying, “My authority is beyond your authority personally, and it is beyond any authority to which you might appeal that is not me.” They were demanding to see Jesus’ credentials, and Jesus was saying, “I AM my own credential.”
Jesus’ authority is ultimate, beyond all authority to which we might appeal.
- Authority Over Sin1
- Authority Over Demons and Illness2
- Authority Over Nature3
- Authority Over Distance4
- Authority Over Inclusion in the Family of God5
- Authority Over Eternal Life 6
- Authority Over Family Relationships7
- Authority Over Governmental Powers8
- Authority Over His Own Death and Resurrection 9
We have covered a lot of ground this week, and all of it was to establish one unquestionable truth:
Jesus is the authority.
Jesus is the final word.
Jesus is King.
I don’t have to understand everything Jesus is telling me. Rather I must yield my will to his. I must determine that I will be obedient to the king regardless, because obedience clears the way for understanding.
Blessings upon you, my friends.
Victoriously in Christ!
– damon
DamonJGray.org
X – @DamonJGray
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1. Matthew 9:1-8
2. Mark 1:21-33
3. Matthew 8:23-27
4. Matthew 8:5-13
5. John 1:12
6. John 17:1-2
7. Luke 9:57-62
8. Acts 4:19, 5:29
9. John 10:17-18
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