By What Authority?

The day before, Jesus had accepted the accolades of the Jewish throng as He entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey. He had gone directly to the temple where He confronted the merchants and money changers. “My house shall be called a House of Prayer,” He scolded as He drove them from that holy ground (Matt. 21:13).

The next day He was back in the temple teaching. That is when the chief priests and elders approached. These were not random Jewish leaders. The chief priests presided over the ecclesiastical courts. Their word was final in all matters of Jewish law. The elders were the judges in the civil courts. Together they sought to create a situation where Jesus would offend one or the other. 

“By what authority are you doing these things,” they demanded (Matt. 25:23). Would Jesus claim the authority of Caesar and offend all patriotic Jews? Would He claim authority from God? If so they would charge Him with blasphemy. If Jesus claimed authority of the law the chief priests would call Him a liar for they had never granted authority to this Nazarene. If Jesus refused to answer He would be condemned by His own silence. 

An important question

The question of authority is still an issue among Christians. It is a question faced by every pastor and ministerial staff member. It is an important question. One noted Christian leader observed that “unless a man be clear in his own conscience concerning that (his source of authority), he cannot act with any comfort or hope of success.” 

One answer to the question of authority might be the Church. In Baptist life it is a local church which ordains or commissions one to specialized Christian service. Ordination is the way churches accredit a person as appropriate for ministry. With few exceptions every pastor has a certificate of ordination. It announces to other churches and to the world that the holder has been authorized to act as a minister of the gospel. 

Governments recognize the authority of ordination or commissioning. Frequently certain civil powers, such as the authority to perform weddings, are granted to those who have been ordained or commissioned by a church.  

Ecclesiastical embellishment

But the question of authority is deeper than ordination. If authority was bestowed at ordination then it would only be an ecclesiastical embellishment.

Another possible answer is authority comes with preparation. Baptists are blessed to have colleges, seminaries and divinity schools to train their ministers. I know I am personally indebted to the men and women who taught me in a Baptist college and a denominational seminary. 

Academic preparation expands knowledge, provides understanding, hones skills, introduces resources and prepares one for life-long learning. Academic study provides both a breadth and depth of insight available no other way. It is practically indispensable. 

Accredited seminary degree

This month thousands of young men and women will receive ministerial degrees from seminaries and divinity schools. Many churches require their pastors to hold such a degree from a properly accredited school. Yet the majority of pastors in Alabama Baptist churches do not hold a properly accredited seminary degree. 

That does not mean they do not have academic preparation.

I remember an incident during my seminary years when one of my professors got into a
letter-writing controversy through the state Baptist paper. Because of the insights of the letter writer who challenged the professor, most people concluded the man was a retired professor. When the writer turned out to be a bivocational pastor who had not finished college it was a reminder that learning can take place outside of a classroom setting.  

Many ministers would like to have more formal training than they have been able to receive. In place of formal training these ministers engage in daily in-depth study and learning programs so they can “rightly divide the Word of Truth.” 

Academic preparation is important but authority for the minister does not come with a seminary degree. 

When Jesus met with Nicodemus, the Jewish leader said, “We know You are a teacher who has come from God” (John 3:2). Had the chief priests and elders been paying attention, the miracles Jesus did would have testified to the source of His authority. As Nicodemus added, “For no one could perform the miraculous signs You are doing if God were not with him.”

Though Jesus never answered His confronters, it was clear that His authority came from God. 

‘Call’ to Christian service

That is the same source of authority for today’s minister. Before ordination, a church wants evidence of a “call” to Christian service, evidence that the candidate has a special relationship with God. Every week as the pastor stands to speak, the congregation wants to know their pastor has been with God, that what the pastor shares is a word from God. 

Theology books, commentaries, history books and all the rest may inform what is said but the core of the message is the result of time spent with God. Without that time with God, there is no authority in ministry. 

Acts 6:4 emphasizes the importance of time with God. When the apostles began to be distracted from their primary mission by ministry needs in the congregation they asked for help so they could devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word.

In communion with God

Like the early apostles, today’s minister must live in communion with God. He must spend time talking with God and listening to God in prayer. He must hear what the Spirit says through the study of His Word. 

Acts 4 describes Peter and John appearing before the same people who questioned Jesus about His authority. The judges knew the two were “ordinary and unschooled.” Yet “they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” 

When one lives in communion with Jesus through disciplined prayer and time in His Word, people will know we have been with Jesus and that is all the authority required.