By What Authority?

As he entered Caper′na-um, a centurion came forward to him, beseeching him and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion answered him, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard him, he marveled, and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; be it done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

Matthew 8:5-13

What does it mean to have “authority”?

According to Merriam-Webster, “authority” is defined as “power to influence or command thought, opinion, or behavior.” Broadly speaking, “authority” in the modern sense is the power to make things happen.

When the word appears in the New Testament, it is the English translation of the Greek “exosia”, which has a somewhat broader translation referencing various forms of power, suggesting both a capacity to make things happen and an expectation that things will happen—what we might apprehend today as a “right”.

The Roman centurion depicted in Matthew illustrates both aspects of “exosia”.

He confidently describes his authority over his troop of soldiers, and his firm belief that whatever he says to his men they will make happen. His apprehension of his own presumed authority leads him to an equally certain belief in Jesus’ authority, that whatever Jesus spoke would happen.

We see also in the centurion the expectation of things happening. He expects that his men will make happen whatever he tells them, and he expects that whatever Jesus says will be is what happens.

The centurion’s certainty is so complete that Jesus is moved by the centurion’s faith, and Jesus rewards that faith by doing as the centurion had asked.

Jesus said the centurion's servant would be healed, and healing happened.

Jesus makes plain His authority in much the same way when He heals the paralytic man: First, He forgives the man's sins, then, as a rebuke to the unbelieving Pharisees, He tells the man to get up and walk.

Jesus said the paralytic man should walk and he walked. It is no great leap to conclude that, as Jesus said the man was forgiven, the man was indeed forgiven.

There is no doubt that Jesus has authority!

When we look at the opening verses of Genesis, we see this same demonstration of God's authority: He says “let there be light,” and light happens. God speaks the whole of creation into existence—with a mere utterance from God, everything happens.

Just from this, there is no doubt that there can be no authority greater than God's!

Do any who presume to lead men here on earth have anything like God's authority? Clearly they do not. We have only to look at the chaos in the world to see that, contrary to what the centurion believed about his own authority, what men speak does not automatically happen.

What God says, is. What men say, may or may not be.

There is no refuting that men do not have authority of themselves. No man does—not Presidents, not politicians, not police officers, not even priests and pastors. There can be no expectation that what a man says either is or will be.

We see this made plain in Deuteronomy 17, where God places limitations on any authority a future king of Israel might seek to possess. God decreed that any king over Israel would only have that authority God granted—effectively delegated—to him.

We see this again twice in the First Book of Samuel, both when Saul is anointed King and again when Saul displeases God, losing the kingship to David.

Nor should we overlook the grievous errors of King Solomon, whose turning away from God at the end of his life prompted God to rend the Kingdom of Israel during the reign of his son Rehobo′am.

The teaching throughout the Old Testament is clear: Only when men reiterate what God has already commanded do they present some veneer of authority. Only when men have authority delegated to them by God do they have any pretense of authority.

But for God, men have no authority at all.

Think on that. The Apostle Paul was a man, yet his teachings make up the bulk of the New Testament.

Does Paul possess authority over Scripture? Can Paul declare anything that was not declared first by Jesus? I do not see how he can.

Consider as well the famous theologians down through the millennia—men like St Augustine, St Thomas Aquinas, and Justin Martyr, men whose thoughts helped shape the Christian church. For all their intellect and learning, who among them can claim actual spiritual authority? Who among them can declare any Truth not already declared by God?

For all their intellect and learning, these men, being men, have no authority of their own.

So it is with ministers, preachers, and pastors of churches large and small. No matter the size of their congregation, no matter their fame as ministers of the Word of God, there is not one today able to speak with genuine authority.

It follows that neither do I speak with any authority. No matter how one regards any of my sermons (and I have more than enough ego to hope that people regard them all very well), they are no substitute for God's Word. Any thought I might present here which does not derive from careful reading of Scripture is by definition not of God and cannot stand as a Godly teaching.

Should any man teach an idea contradicted by the Bible, the Bible must prevail.

Jesus Himself taught His disciples as much. He warned them against the leaven of the Pharisees. He warned them of false teachers and false prophets—those who Jesus described as wearing sheep’s clothing, but “inwardly are ravenous wolves.” Even during His ministry on earth, Jesus made plain there were those who would seek to pervert His teachings and distort God's Word. Jesus made plain that such men should not be followed, for they have no authority.

The world today is filled with those who confidently arrogate authority to themselves. We see politicians who spout ideology as if it were uncontestable truth. We see “experts” in every profession confidently proclaim their own opinions to be indisputable fact.

The world today is filled with those who blindly follow false gods and are seduced by false prophets. They are deceived into thinking this or that fictitious text is a sacred text, and represents the true word of God. They are misled into thinking mere men are somehow possessed of authority.

How does any man come to have even a pretense of authority? He must be acting under God’s authority, carrying out God’s sacred commission.

When Jesus commissioned His followers after the Resurrection, He reminded them that He had been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Through that authority He commanded His followers to carry His teachings to all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

All those who righteously seek to spread the Gospel do so under the auspices of Jesus’ authority. They are agents not of their own authority, but of Jesus’ authority, which is to say God’s authority.

The Apostle Paul reiterates this in Romans 13, when he points out that “there is no authority except from God.” Those who occupy positions in human government possess authority only so far as they are carrying out God’s Law, not just man’s laws. To them honors are due only to that extent to which they are righteously carrying out God’s Law.

Government officials who contradict and oppose God are due no honors and no deference of any kind.

Preachers who preach doctrine not found in Scripture are likewise due no honors and no deference of any kind.

Why does this matter?

It matters because above all we are always called to think for ourselves, to carefully apprehend God’s Law in every circumstance, and to choose for ourselves the right action.

This is made plain in the closing of verse of Judges: “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.”

Paul reiterates this as well in Romans 14, when he teaches that every man should be convinced in his own mind of the right path in every circumstance.

Understanding that no one has authority, and that no one can speak with authority, is fundamental to all our meditations upon God’s Law, and on what the right choice is in any situation. We have to choose right vs wrong for ourselves, and no man can dictate that choice to us (although there are a great many who will dare attempt to do so).

Men may speak with confidence. Some men speak with arrogance. No man speaks with authority. Authority belongs to God and God alone.

My prayer this day is that I will always possess the judgement and the wisdom to recognize when men falsely claim authority for themselves. My prayer this day is that I will always possess the judgement and the wisdom to see for myself where God makes His authority plain. My prayer this day is that I will always possess the judgement and the wisdom to speak not of my own authority, but only through that authority given by Jesus to all who would follow Him.

My prayer for you this day is that you also will always possess the judgement and the wisdom to recognize when men falsely claim authority for themselves. My prayer for you this day is that you also will always possess the judgement and the wisdom to see for yourself where God makes His authority plain. My prayer for you this day is that you also will always possess the judgement and the wisdom to speak not of your own authority, but only through that authority given by Jesus to all who would follow Him.

Men may speak with confidence. Some men speak with arrogance. No man speaks with genuine authority. Authority belongs to God and God alone.

When any man speaks, therefore, always pause to consider by what authority he is speaking. Consider and judge for yourself whether he is speaking rightly or not.