Jesus: Preaching with Authority
In his Gospel, Matthew gives an occasional summary statement about Jesus’ itinerary. “Jesus was going all over Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.”[1] This passage from Matthew 4:23 is practically repeated in Matthew 9:35 giving us a clue that this was typical on Jesus’ agenda. In the first instance, Matthew uses this description before going into perhaps the most famous sermon that has ever been preached: The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 – 7).
So, what is characteristic of Jesus in the Gospels? Preaching, teaching, and healing. Sometimes Christians get in debates about “the proclamation of the gospel” versus “the social gospel” as if these were competitors. When I read the Bible, I see the proclamation of the Good News and bringing healing to people and societies as going hand-in-hand, not juxtaposed as an either / or.
Most of the time we should not have to choose between the two, because there is no reason these should not co-exist. Christ has called his church to proclaim the good news of salvation, but also to demonstrate the love of Christ through deeds of mercy and compassion. Our words and our actions should correlate. Our actions authenticate the message. How can we proclaim a gospel of reconciliation to God and others, and yet betray racism by our actions? How can we say that God has good news for the poor, while we couldn’t care less about the impoverished?
Though Jesus did not seem ever to put his healings at odds with his preaching, there does appear to be at least one example where he tips his hat to which is the priority. After a day of healing the sick and those suffering from demonic oppression in Capernaum (see Mark 1:29-34), Jesus woke the next morning and went to a remote place to pray. The disciples were distraught because everyone was looking for Jesus. There were new folks who had arrived and needed healing. There were others suffering from demons who needed Jesus’ miraculous power to free them. Jesus’ response? “Let’s go on to the neighboring villages so that I may preach there too. This is why I have come.”[2]
When it came down to it, Jesus distilled his purpose into a single action: to preach the good news. Now, we know that ultimately, if we follow the story line, Jesus’ final purpose was to die for the sins of humanity, to be raised from the dead, and ascend back to the right hand of God. But even these events became the content of the good news that Jesus instructed his followers to share (see Luke 24:45-49).
Let’s go back to the Sermon on the Mount mentioned earlier. What do we see Jesus do in this remarkable teaching? Three things stand out to me. First, he internalizes and intensifies what God is calling His people to be and do. Second, Jesus makes himself the final authority on the law and the one who fulfills the law (see especially Matt. 5:17). Finally, when Jesus finished his sermon, the crowds were astonished at his teaching because he was teaching them like one who had incredible authority, not like their other teachers (see Matt. 7:28-29).
Jesus was not a preacher who put people to sleep. Those who heard him were amazed and astonished. Do you find Jesus’ words blasé or do they move you with an authority and power that is no less than divine? Take time to read and hear Jesus’ teachings, perhaps with new ears. How will you respond?
[1] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Version. (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2009), Mt 4:23.
[2] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Version. (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2009), Mk 1:38.