THE REAL JESUS (I)
JESUS: MAN OF AUTHORITY AND POWER
INTRODUCTION
A. If you were to ask people on the street today who they think Jesus is (or was), what kind of answers would you expect to get?
1. Of course, many would say, he was a good man who taught some good things. Some might go so far to say he was a prophet. In America, many would say he was the Lord.
2. But keep asking, and you’ll get at least as many different views as there are religions today. Even the most non-Christian of religions today want to include Jesus in their package in some way or another, remaking Jesus to fit their beliefs, desires, and practices. The Muslims claim him as a prophet, but not the son of God. Westerners involved in Hinduism via the New Age movement see him as a great guru or an example of someone who reached the divine potential in all of us. Cults of every kind claim him as one of their leaders--from Mormons, to Jehovah’s Witnesses, to Hare Krishna, you name it. Even Scientology uses Jesus, claiming he is about 2/3rds up the way of their chart of psychic development.
3. And it’s not just religious people who want to fit Jesus into their belief system. Amazingly, even Atheists now claim Jesus
a) Richard Dawkins, the famous Oxford biologist who is one of the most ardent atheist scholars and debaters today, and who recently published “The God Delusion” in which he spews his hatred for religion and especially for the God of the Bible, peddles his own t-shirts stamped “Atheists for Jesus” and wrote an article of same title on his website (RichardDawkins.com). He claims to be a “cultural Christian” because Jesus, in Dawkins’ words, was “a charismatic young preacher who advocated generous forgiveness” and one of the great ethical innovators of all time.” He sees Jesus as one of those unique “super-nice” people, and “super-nice is a trait he thinks should be encouraged, so Dawkins is all for Jesus (though rabidly against Jesus’ theism).
4. All this illustrates how nearly everyone wants to claim Jesus, but only if they can remake him to fit their worldview or their desired lifestyle.
a) From the super-nice, milk-toast Jesus who would never use violence or capital punishment, or be involved in a war, to the Jesus who is always stern and serious (if not harsh), never smiling, never laughing, not very joyful, there are so many different views of Jesus today that it is hard to believe they are all speaking of the same person.
B. But varied opinions are nothing new – Mt 16.13
1. Even in Jesus’ day, opinions varied. When he asked his disciples who people say he is, some said John the Baptist, some said Elijah, others Jeremiah or one of the prophets – vs.14
2. And though disciples themselves had a more accurate picture of who Jesus was, seeing him as the Christ, the Son of the living God even their understanding fell short of the truth, for Peter then proceeded to rebuke Jesus when Jesus said he would die. In that he failed not only to understand Jesus’ purpose for coming here, but Jesus’ deity, for who would be so bold as to rebuke God? – vs.15-17
C. Jesus’ question here is the very question I want to get at. In the weeks to come, I want to take a close look at Jesus in the Gospels, with some help from the rest of the NT, to see who Jesus is.
1. What we believe about Jesus matters -- Jn 8.24
2. Who was Jesus the person? What was he like? As we look at the various traits of Jesus, I’m going to combine them in contrasting two-lesson pairs, for no other reason than simply to see the multifaceted kind of person he was. In other words, this week we’ll look at one characteristic trait, while next week we’ll look at a contrasting or opposite sort of characteristic. Much of the confusion over who Jesus is a result of emphasizing one side of Jesus while ignoring another side.
D. Let’s begin with a characteristic that contrasts sharply with the view that many people have of Jesus today: Man of Authority and Power
I. TAUGHT WITH AUTHORITY
A. What about Richard Dawkins’ view of the Jesus who is super-nice? Does that match up with who Jesus was? Was he simply a “super-nice” person who taught everyone to just love everyone and get along?
1. True, he was “super-nice” and gentle in the sense that Jesus was kind and gentle to the broken.
a) Isaiah prophesied that “A battered reed he will not break off, and a smoldering wick he will not put out” -- Mt 12.15-21
b) Jesus himself said he was meek or gentle and humble in heart, and would give rest to our souls – Mt 11.28-30
c) True, he did teach that we should love even our enemies, and even go the extra mile for them.
d) But to characterize Jesus as purely super-nice, milk-toast, pacifist kind of person is to miss a big part of who Jesus is. Jesus was (and is) also a man of power and authority unlike anyone of his time.
2. Even from his birth, it was announced that Jesus would be characterized by something that contrasts greatly with the, easy Jesus so many people want – Lk 2.34-35
a) There was going to be something about this one that would cause the fall and rise of many, and would pierce our souls, revealing our true hearts. A big part of that would be fulfilled in the way Jesus taught.
B. He taught with authority -- – Mt 7.28; Mk 1.21-22
1. By his powerful, authoritative teaching, Jesus exposed the hearts of those he came in contact with, and he still does. For the rest of the lesson, I want to focus on what it means when it says that he taught with authority. What characterized Jesus’ teaching?
II. HIS TEACHING WAS BOLD
A. Even as a young boy of 12 he showed incredible boldness – Lk 2.41-52
1. I wonder what those questions were that he was asking the religious scholars and authorities. I wonder if he wasn’t testing them, like he so often did later with the Pharisees and lawyers. I wonder who was teaching who? Of course, later, when he grew up, there was no question. His boldness was in how he taught was a large part of why the people were amazed at and drawn to his teaching.
B. For example, Jesus appealed to his own authority -- Mt 5 – “You have heard, but I say to you”
1. Keep in mind, Jesus was no rabbi educated at their rabbinical schools. He had no credentials per se. He was a simple carpenter. And here he is correcting the scholars’ understanding of the Law, appealing to nothing more than his own personal authority.
C. His boldness was astonishing -- Jn 7.15
1. Jesus is once again teaching in the temple. That would be like a man with only a high school education walking into an Ivy-league university such as Harvard or Princeton, and walking down in front of one of their largest classes and beginning to teach, say on Physics or Chemistry. People would be astonished first at his boldness.
a) Ever see the movie Clue? Albert Einstein and his colleagues pass off a local garage mechanic as some surprise genius, coaching him so that he can give lectures on physics to gatherings of scholars (it was all a match-making scheme to get him hooked up with Einstein’s niece). Of course, it was so astonishing that it made the papers, and things kind of got out of hand.
2. Jesus teaching in the temple was no less astonishing. This untrained carpenter lectures the scholars on the most important topic in Israel: Religion and the Law. But his teaching wasn’t just bold…
III. HIS TEACHING WAS DOGMATIC – JN 8.32,45; 14.6
A. Jesus claimed to be teaching absolute truth – Jn 8.31-32,45
1. “Truly, I say to you” – 30x in Matthew’s Gospel alone. It’s the word “amen” in the Greek. It is an affirmation of the truth and reliability of what he was saying.
2. Today we live in an age when the very idea of truth is rejected, when no one can affirm that they are right in the area of morality or religion without incurring the wrath of our all-tolerant society. Jesus’ strong stance on truth, his dogmatic assertions, would not be accepted even in most churches today. He would be considered intolerant, arrogant, and narrow-minded. “Super-nice” people don’t do that today. “Super-nice” people would say something like, “You have heard the ancients were told, and what they said was true, but I’d like to offer a different perspective—not that theirs was wrong and mine right, just different.”
a) Or, “That was their truth, and if it was true for them, it was true. I have a different truth. Let us all just agree to disagree and get along.”
3. But Jesus didn’t teach that way. On the contrary, he was an absolutist. He would not compromise his message for the sake of peace or tolerance.
4. Of course, he was God, so he had the right to be absolutely dogmatic. But that doesn’t change the absoluteness of what he taught.
a) What set Jesus and his teaching apart from all others is that his teaching had the authority of divine assurance behind it. All the Rabbis would do was quote other rabbis, ad infinitum. There was no authority behind it. No weight. No reason to believe it. Just opinions added on top of opinions.
b) But Jesus’ teaching has weight, it has substance, it was taught with confidence, boldness, and real authority. He spoke the truth with authority because he was the very embodiment of truth – Jn 14.6
5. That was refreshing to the masses, and in spite of our tolerance-worshipping society, I think it would be and as refreshing to many today. Here is someone who had something worth saying, something with real power to it, something you can depend on, something you can really trust, something on which you could base your life!
a) Remember the old TV commercial: “When E.F.Hutton talks…people listen”? Well, when Jesus speaks, people listen, because his message was worth listening to.
6. It is not that we ought to teach with the same dogmatic authority as Jesus, because we aren’t Jesus. We are flawed human beings. But we can point people to the authority of Jesus. And we can show the power of his teachings in our transformed lives.
7. Jesus’ teachings were not the sugar-coated, marshmellowy fluff you hear on TV today. He was no Joel Osteen or Robert Schuller trying to fill people with the power of positive thinking just so they would feel good about themselves. Jesus came with a power-filled message spoken with authority. And….
IV. HIS TEACHING CAME WITH DEMANDS – MT 7.24F
A. Such demands no not fit the “super-nice,” easy-Jesus that many people want
1. Philip Yancey asks: How would a “super-nice” person who just went around telling people to be nice to one another get a man crucified? What government would execute Mr. Rogers or Captain Kangaroo?
B. He was not the “easy Jesus” who is designed to fit around your schedule and your plans. Jesus never said “If you want to follow me, that’d be nice, if you have time.” He spoke in imperatives. He often used the word “must.” He didn’t make suggestions. “Demand” is not a word we cotton to, but it’s not too strong for what Jesus’ teachings include.
C. Jesus is the dividing line of our lives – Lk 9.23f; 14.25-33
1. He drew a line in the sand and said cross it. He asks, “Who and what are you going to stand for? Are you willing to give up all to follow me? Are you willing to risk everything? Are you willing to surrender yourself totally to me?” He will accept no less
V. HIS TEACHING WAS EXCLUSIVE – JN 14.6
A. No one can come to the Father except through him.
1. In our pluralistic age and culture, this is a foreign idea. Jesus didn’t say that he was a way, or that he had found the way, but that he was THE way, and the only way. No one could come to the Father but through him. That message doesn’t set well with people today, in which we constantly hear that there are many paths to God.
2. It may seem narrow-minded to most folks today, but Jesus said the way is narrow. So Jesus was narrow-minded. There was only one truth. All other “ways” are false, and will get you nowhere.
VI. HIS TEACHING WAS BACKED WITH POWER:
A. Because Jesus was God, and proved it – Jn 10.30-33,37-38
1. Therefore he could teach with authority, be bold, dogmatic, demanding, and exclusive. If Jesus were just a mere man and nothing more, then we might rightly be offended at the authoritative way in which he taught, certainly at the demands he made. Why should we listen to his word? Why should we be willing to submit our lives wholly to him? Why should we be willing to surrender ourselves wholly to Jesus? Why should we believe that what he says is absolute truth? Jesus said, “If you won’t believe me, believe my works.”
B. For example – Mk 2.5-11
1. Jesus was so authoritative in his teaching, that he claimed to forgive sins. Only God has the authority to forgive sins. So this is an extraordinary thing for a man to claim. Outrageous even. For only God has that kind of authority.
2. So it is understandable that the Jews were offended. So Jesus did something equally as difficult – healed a paralytic! Which is easier? I mean, even with all of our scientific and medical advances today, we can’t heal paralytics. Jesus did it immediately with just a word.
VII. CONCLUSION
A. Jesus was nice, of course, in the sense that he was kind and gentle to those who were hurting, broken, and honest. But words that might be more descriptive would be authoritative, bold, dogmatic absolutist and uncompromising, exclusive, and demanding.
B. And yet, while Jesus taught with such authority, he was not authoritarian. Next week we are going to look at a wholly different side of Jesus, that side of Jesus that would include such things as nice and gentle.
