This reference to the Makarioses is a bit of misdirection, because I want to talk about the authority of the Lord Jesus. There is divine authority hiding behind each of these “beatitudes” – these “markarios.” Later, when Christ was giving the Great Commission to His first church, He prefaced His command with the words, “All POWER is given unto me in Heaven and in earth.” The word “power,” as you have been told, is “exousia” and is talking about the power of authority. That is in contrast to the power that is translated from “dunamis.” There is power contained in a nuclear bomb (dunamis), and there is a different kind of power in the command of the President (exousia) to order that bomb to be dropped. There is power in a fist, but there may be the need of more power to keep from using that fist. In other words, there is power in a muscle and there is power in supremacy, discipline and authority. When the Lord Jesus was speaking to His disciples about their evangelistic responsibility, he said, “All authority is given unto me in Heaven and in earth.” That doesn’t mean that He doesn’t also have “dunamis” – power of physical strength, but that is not what He was talking about in Matthew 28. And when we come the end of His Sermon on the Mount, which began with the Beatitudes, people walked away shaking their heads saying that they had never heard anyone talk about the things of God with the same authority – power – “exousia.” “And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”
My object this evening is this – and it is closely related to this morning’s message – is this – If you are not living with your head and knee bent before the Lord Jesus, then you are an idolater. Christ Jesus not only declared His divine authority, but revealed it and demonstrated it a many ways. And if He is not your Saviour and King, then you will experience His eternal wrath.
Let’s talk about some of the evidence of Jesus’ authority which can be seen in the Sermon on the Mount.
First, Jesus claimed supremacy over all the LAW OF MOSES.
Go back to Matthew 5:17: – “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
Let’s try to understand what the Lord Jesus was saying here: First, we have to remember that Jesus was speaking directly to a bunch of Jewish disciples, And when He referred to the law, there was only one thing that they would picture: Moses’s law. Later Christ Jesus will say that He had come to FULFIL the LAW – and to fulfil the PROPHETS as well. When the Apostle Peter was talking to Cornelius in Acts 10, he made a brief outline of Jesus’ life. He said that Jesus was the anointed of God – that is that He is the Messiah. He talked about Christ’s death, burial and resurrection, and of course the reason. Then the said, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” The Lord Jesus Himself said, in John 5, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” The scriptures to which He referred were the writings of Moses, the prophets, the histories and Psalms. In other words the whole Old Testament speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ. He fulfilled all those scriptures in that He answered and completed them. Luke 24:44 – “And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.” It is theological, intellectual, and spiritual suicide to ignore the Old Testament and still profess to respect the Lord Jesus and the Sermon on the Mount.
In Matthew 5:21, Christ said, “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” For the next ten verses Jesus refers to the Law of Moses and says over and over, “but I say unto you… ” “Ye heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you… ” “Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you… ” When Moses gave Israel the law, it was not of his own design; it was given to him to share with Israel. But when the Lord Jesus referred to Moses’ law and then said, “but I say unto you,” we see the One who gave Moses that law. If any mere man handled the Word of God in that fashion, we might expect lightning to fall from heaven. Here is the climax of the revelation of God – not the Sermon on the Mount – but the preacher on the mount. “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
Christ Jesus has authority over the law. And by His law He will judge you, and condemn you to eternal damnation, if you are outside His grace.
Secondly, the Lord Jesus has authority AS THE UNIQUE SON OF GOD.
One of the major misunderstandings about the Sermon on the Mount is to think that in these verses Jesus gives sinners a plan for their salvation. This sermon outlines the rules of the Kingdom, but not immigration papers into that Kingdom. And since this is basically a sermon to Christians, He refers to His hearers as children of God. Seventeen times in these three chapters does Jesus speak about God the Father. Fifteen times he refers to “your father” and “thy father.” Once he speaks about “his Father.” And once he says “our father,” but only when showing those disciples how to address their Father. Not once in this sermon does he employ the words “our father” uniting himself with the disciples. This is consistent with all the rest of the New Testament.
Never are we told that Christians are the children of God, in the same sense as Jesus was the Son of God. In fact the very opposite is true. Christ Jesus is “the” Son of God;“the only” begotten of the Father. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.” After His resurrection and in referring to His ascension, Jesus told Mary, “I go to my father, and your Father.” What a strange way to word that thought. Why didn’t He just say, “I am returning to our Heavenly Father?” Because even though the First Person of the Trinity is father to both the Saviour and the Saint, that relationship is very, very different. We are “children of God by faith in Christ Jesus,” but Christ Jesus is the Son of God by eternal nature.
Now, please don’t consider this some sort of theological raz-ma-taz. This is essential truth. If we have any confidence that we are children of God, then it is because of the grace of Almighty God. Sonship is the actual right and property of Christ alone. If Jesus was nothing more than a distant teacher and moral leader, then we are all doomed to Hell. Becoming a son of God and a joint heir with Christ is not something that becomes ours by education. Nor are we made children of God by donning the garb of Christians, or speaking the jargon of saints. A native of Kenya may fall in love with the United States. While still living in Africa, he may learn American English, study our history, wear Nike shoes and send in absentee ballots in our Federal elections, but these things don’t make him an American, and they don’t transport him from Africa to Spokane. We are children of God only as we are directly related to Christ. “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” But even in this Jesus’ own Sonship is revealed to be unique and unapproachable. Jesus has authority as the unique Son of God.
This Sermon is a revelation that Jesus has AUTHORITY OVER ALL MEN.
Matthew 7:21 – “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”
Jesus stepped out the gloom of a Galilean carpenter’s house and essentially said, “Humanity, bow down before me.” Those exact words were never used while He was here, but they could have been and will be. That message was conveyed in a special kind of Divine humility, but that doesn’t rob them of their authority. The man who says, “Keep the rest of your Bible doctrine, just give me the Sermon on Mount,” has no authority to separate the two. When the Lord Jesus taught that He had authority on earth to forgive sins, He drew a line in the sand. Either He possessed the authority of God, or He was a fool and a criminal. When He said that He had power over unclean spirits, and when he demonstrated power over disease, He clearly proved that He was God. And the Lord Jesus even went so far as to say that He had power over all flesh – humanity.
He has that authority in the same way that a Master Craftsman has power over His creation. Imagine some great painter or sculptor, working for weeks on a particular work. This is one of the ancient masters, whose works today sell for millions of dollars. But while he’s working on this particular painting 300 years ago, he doesn’t like it. Despite the fact that today, it would make several families rich, he doesn’t like it and cuts it into a dozen fragments. He has every right to do that, because he is the owner and master. The Bible says that Jesus is the Master Craftsman of all creation. It was Christ who spoke and the world came into being. It was the Son of God who fashioned the shape of man and breathed into his lungs the breath of life. And as such, He has absolute authority over man – His creation.
Not only that, but as the Sustainer of that man’s life, he should have authority over it as well. God “hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell.”
But there is another area, or reason, for Jesus’ authority over us. John 15:10 – “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another.” It is one thing to rebel against the abuse of an oppressive dictator, but it’s an entirely different thing to spit on an expression of genuine love and concern. “The fool hath said in his heart there is no God.” The fool hath said in his heart, “I will not admit to your authority.” The fool hath said in his heart, “I reject all the expressions of your love toward me.” But the fact remains, that Christ does have absolute authority.
And in that authority, HE SHALL JUDGE every creature within His creation.
The man who says, “Give me only Jesus’ humanity, humility, morality and mortality,” has never really read the Sermon on the Mount. In there we read, “not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” The Gospel of John puts it this way: “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.”
Every man, woman and child are going to one day stand before the Son of God to be judged. They will all be there, whether friend or foe. For those who have been born again, and who love the Lord, only their deeds will be judged. But for those who have lived and died rejecting Him, they will hear the pronouncement of their eternal condemnation: “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
All authority is given unto Christ in Heaven and in earth. Have you bowed your knee before the Lord, beginning at the cross of Calvary? Is your heart humble before Him, as a subject of the King of Kings? Do you willingly obey from your heart as many of His commands as you are able to understand? Do you need to be baptized as a testimony of the Lord’s salvation? Do you need to join this church and commit yourself to His service? I guarantee that you will bow before Christ’s authority. But will you do it willingly and with a joyful heart or will it be just before your eternal condemnation?