“By what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority?” (Luke 20:2). That was the question posed by the chief priests and scribes to Jesus. Their purpose was to ensnare Christ. Should He say that God gave Him the authority to do those things, they would charge Him with blasphemy and stoned Him to death. And if He should say that He had His authority from men, they would brand Him a false teacher for teaching contrary to the Law and one not worth listening to and therefore not the Christ. They would still stone Him to death too for blasphemy because He said He was the Son of God.
Christ had given proof of His Divine authority and established His claim to be the true Messiah. The chief priests and scribes could not deny that the miracles He performed came from God. It was not therefore because they lacked evidence of His authority, but because they hated it (John 11:48). Their purpose was to entangle Him with this question and charged Him with blasphemy.
Christ countered their question with another question: "The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?" It put them in a fix. They dared not repudiate the baptism of John for all the multitude considered John to be a prophet from God. And if they were to admit that John’s baptism was from God, then, why didn’t they submit to John’s baptism (Luke 7:29-30). Moreover, John repeatedly borne testimony of Jesus that He was the Christ. Hence, if John’s baptism was from God, then, his testimony about Jesus was true. They could not accept this conclusion.
The subject of authority is not often mentioned these days. If it was considered and applied, there would be a lot less heresy and confusions in Christianity. Denominations would be a bygone word if men would heed to the authority of Christ and the scriptures. They would only be just one church and one doctrine if all men were to abide by the authority of the scriptures.
Unfortunately, men do not always stick to authority. Eve was the first human to disrespect the authority of God and ate the forbidden fruit which He commanded her not to (Gen 2:17; 3:6). She thought her action would not do any harm after all, it was just a fruit. But her action brought sin into the world and eternal death to all mankind.
Naaman, captain of the Syrian army and a leper, thought Elisha was mocking him when he asked him to wash in the Jordan River seven times. He thought that command from a prophet was God was madness and silly. It was only after he had learned to obey authority that he was healed (2 Kgs 5:1-14).
Does Christ have authority both in heaven and on earth? Of course He does (Matt 28:19). Is the Bible the sole authority we should have in religion? Of course it is (2 Tim 3:16-17). Do men believe that Christ and the scripture have authority in their doctrines and practices? Yes, they do; at least that is what they professed. But, in practice, they don’t!
If you ask one who is from a denomination: “The baptism of the New Testament: is it from heaven or from men?” They will tell you it is from heaven. They will tell you they believe in baptism and they baptise their members. But their baptism is not the same baptism as practiced by the apostles and the first century Christians. They are like Naaman who did not think that the waters of Jordan River could cleanse him. It was only after he learned to obey the command to wash and be clean that he was cleansed. Denominations need to abide by the same authority which says: “baptism doth also now save us” (1 Pet 3:21).
Examine the doctrines and practices that you were taught; are they from men or from God? The purpose of God giving us the Bible is so that we can examine any doctrines they have been going round in this world (Acts 17:11). The Bible shows us the truth and it is the truth (John 17:17). Let us take heed to the authority of the written word and stick to this slogan: “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
Jimmy Lau
Psa 119:97 Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.
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