Follow the Authority

Fourth sunday after the epiphany

Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS)

Mark 1:21-28

²¹ They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. ²² The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. ²³ Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, ²⁴ “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” ²⁵ “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” ²⁶ The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. ²⁷ The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” ²⁸ News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee. (NIV)

Your cousin Stan, who recently had some car trouble similar to what you’re currently dealing with, may be willing to share with you all the little details of what was wrong with his car and where he took it to get it fixed.  But that doesn’t mean you’d necessarily consider him an expert mechanic.  Your co-worker shares with you that one of her girlfriends had been experiencing some symptoms that seem to sound a lot like yours, and she ended up having to see this doctor and have that treatment.  But I don’t know that you’d suddenly consider your co-worker a medical authority who would be qualified to diagnose and treat whatever symptoms you are experiencing.

Even with the world at our fingertips, having endless information available to us with simply a few keystrokes and a click or two, we still prefer reliable and respectable advice and guidance from experts whenever possible.  From our desktops, our laptops, or our smart phones, we can carry out extensive research in so many ways, from scouring academic papers and essays, to reading a post and the comments from the blog of a stay-at-home mom.  We can do all of this, and yet, when it comes to the really important stuff in life – the things that really matter – we seek expert advice.  We want to hear from authoritative sources on the serious and significant issues.

That’s exactly why they had gathered that day.  The synagogue was filled with eager listeners who were waiting to hear from the experts in the most important area of life they could imagine – their religion, their faith, their relationship with God.  They had heard from many respected rabbis.  Many a teacher of the law had come and read from the Scriptures and expounded on them, further clarifying how this law could be carried out, or how that rule could be kept.  These were, after all, the academics and trained professors of their day.  Who better to teach authoritatively on matters of such importance as the realm of things spiritual?  Surely they would have the correct answers to the questions that pertained to sin and righteousness and life and death.  And no doubt all those gathered there that day were fairly confident they had been coming to the right place to hear from the proper authorities on such matters.

How many today gather to listen to someone perceived to be an authority because he has the title “Dr.” before his name, or because he’s written so many books, or because his church has so many members? For a religious leader to claim any authority today simply because he has a lot of followers is like claiming some clip on YouTube is suddenly Oscar-worthy simply because it went viral and has had millions of hits.  We make a big – and potentially spiritually dangerous – mistake today if we draw the conclusion that a religious teacher or preacher is an authority based on the number of hearers or viewers or members that regularly listen to him. 

That says something to us about being aware of all the supposed “authorities” on Christianity out there.  Swinging by the local Christian book store to grab the latest best-selling book simply because a lot of other people brought the book doesn’t make it’s author an authority.  Filling my head with the pop tunes at the top of the Christian contemporary charts because that’s who everyone else is listening to doesn’t make this band or that singer an authority.  If I am involved in a Bible study outside of church based on the fact that a lot of my friends are doing it, that doesn’t make that group or that teacher an authority.  Now the point here is not that you can’t read books or listen to music that other Christians appreciate; rather, the point is that we have to be wary of drawing a false conclusion that popularity determines authority.  Simply because many others – even if they might be Christians – happen to think highly of someone or something, that doesn’t mean that whatever it is or whoever it is should be considered an authority.

Those gathered in the synagogue that day probably had their own ideas of authority when it came to listening to different rabbis.  But they didn’t likely know how wrong they were about religious authority until they found out first-hand what genuine authority truly sounded like.  Turns out, the sound of authority was Jesus’ voice.  It wasn’t merely the scrolls that he unrolled when he spoke, but the Scriptures themselves that he unraveled for them in ways they had never before experienced.  What had previously been confusing started to make sense in a whole new way.  Where other teachers would quote this rabbi or that rabbi, Jesus simply quoted Scripture and opened their eyes to its truths.  He didn’t need to quote other authorities, for he himself was the authority.  And they recognized it.  Mark tells us, “They people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law” (v.22).

I imagine when Jesus spoke there must have been a glaring difference that set him apart from the previous religious leaders who had read and lectured: the presence of the gospel.  The difference must have been shocking.  Other religious leaders would speak of duty, obligation, rules, laws, and righteous obedience.  Jesus’ message though, had a different tone to it, brought to light through such words as “fulfillment” and “forgiveness,” “grace,” “peace,” “freedom,” and “faith,” to name a few.  These were what he came to bring.  Jesus was not a second law-giving Moses, but a salvation-bringing Savior, and that must have been so abundantly clear as he read the Scriptures and they took on a whole new meaning – one not of bondage and death, but of freedom and life.  That gospel focus – the good news of forgiveness and salvation through him – was undoubtedly a part of what led others to recognize the unique authority of Jesus’ teaching.

How can hearers today know if the religious leaders to whom they listen are speaking authoritatively?  How do I know if a song or a book or a preacher is authoritative, and therefore worth hearing or reading?  I keep this in mind: Religious authority isn’t based on popularity or numbers, but on content, and if that content somehow betrays the clear words and teachings of Jesus, then whatever or whomever it is we’re talking about has no place being considered an authority at all.  And if the life and works of Jesus are somehow being misrepresented, or not represented faithfully or fully, then I need to question if the Lord would rather have me watch more or just watch out.  Does the singer seem to focus on her life for Christ, or Christ’s life for her?  Does the author avoid any mention of sin or the reality of hell, and only paint Christianity with the brush of success and wealth and health and happiness, and imply that if you aren’t enjoying any of these things, then it can only be because you’re not as fine a Christian as you should be?  Does he write about salvation for all, no matter what one believes, instead of emphasizing that grace and forgiveness only come through faith in the only one who can give it, Jesus Christ?  Is the group you study the Bible with made up of people who cling falsely to teachings or truths not taught by Jesus in his Word, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant those differences may appear to be?  We need to ask these questions to determine what is and what is not authority, and if the life and works of Jesus are in any way sorely lacking or falsely portrayed, then like the antelope being chased down by a cheetah, we need to run away as fast as we can.

Jesus speaks with authority today, just as he did that day in the synagogue, and he does it through his Word.  Follow the authority, hearing his Word wherever it is faithfully proclaimed.  Doesn’t that underscore the importance of evaluating what you hear right here on a Sunday morning on the basis of the Word, just as the Bereans did?  Anything that comes out of the mouth of one of God’s representatives can only be considered authoritative so long as it is right in line with God’s Word.  And, if at any time it isn’t, sound the alarm! 

When it comes to speaking in line with God’s Word, we all can take great comfort in this account of Jesus expounding on the Scriptures, because it serves as an essential reminder that as our perfectly obedient and sinless Savior, Jesus always faithfully represented his Father’s will.  When he preached, he spoke clearly enough to be understood, but also clearly enough not to be misunderstood.  When he taught, he didn’t ever get it wrong or miss the point or state something in a way that came up short.  He taught and preached, well… perfectly.

That perfection was recognized by even the most unlikely hearer that day when Jesus taught in the synagogue.  Mark described it for us.  “Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, ‘What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God!’  ‘Be quiet!’ said Jesus sternly. ‘Come out of him!’  The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek” (v. 23-26). The title “Holy One of God” referred only to one.  There was no mistaking it, this demon acknowledged Jesus as the Savior who was to come into the world. 

But the Holy Spirit worked in you to do more than just acknowledge Jesus as your Savior; he led you to believe in him as well.  He opened your eyes to see that Jesus wasn’t just holy for the sake of being holy, but that he was holy – completely perfect and without sin – for your benefit.  He was your holiness; holiness that you and I are unable to attain apart from him; holiness that is a requirement for heaven.  Because our lives are filled with sin, his life needed to be without sin.  His life was, and by faith in him then, so is yours.  You are holy.  You are perfect.  You are, because he was.

And that matter of your sin?  You know that he took care of that, too.  That was why he needed to take the agonizing trip to the place of skulls and be crucified.  He went there to make the complete and final payment for your sins.  When we’ve wandered, when we’ve been attracted to that which doesn’t quite measure up according to Jesus words and works, he’s forgiven that, too.  When we’ve downplayed his teachings in favor of chasing what’s popular, he’s forgiven that, too.  Go on, keep working through that laundry list of sins that keep haunting you, but then see the check mark that Jesus has placed right next to each and every one; a check mark that means “forgiven.”  Amen.