The biblical idea of power carries not only the connotation of might but also authority. To say that Christ’s teachings are powerful is to say they are authoritative.
At the conclusion of His famous teaching that we know as the Sermon on the Mount, the biblical record reports, “When Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Matt. 7:28–29).
Truth has about it an inherent power or impact. Jesus spoke the truth and that truth made an impact on His hearers; even His opponents recognized it.
When Jewish religious authorities sent a delegation to bring Jesus to them, it came back empty-handed.
When asked why they had not brought Jesus, the record says the officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this Man” (John 7:46).
Warning
On one occasion Jesus, in speaking to His disciples as well as the crowds, gave them a warning set against the backdrop of the Jewish rabbis who loved to be regarded as teachers: “But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi;’ for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren” (Matt. 23:8).
Jesus’ authority as Teacher was seen in His power to inform His hearers of divine truth. His authoritative teaching had power to inspire and impel them to choose to be obedient to His commands.
In the early years of seeking to be obedient to God’s call to preach, a seasoned minister told me to take the Gospels and “read the red.” He referred, of course, to an edition of the New Testament that printed all the recorded words of Christ in red ink.
The point is obvious: Give attention to the teachings of Christ.
Inherent power
The teaching of Christ has endured through the ages because of its inherent power and authority. At a point in His public ministry when many who followed Him turned back and walked with Him no more, Jesus addressed the disciples with the searching question, “Do you also want to go away?”
Simon Peter responded simply, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:67–68). The ultimate power of Jesus as Teacher comes from God; His teaching leads repentant sinners into the possession of life abundant and everlasting.
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