Authentic Authority
I’ve been reading through the book of Mark for the last week and I have been overwhelmed by the timeless truths that continue to pour out of the life of Jesus. In Mark 2 Jesus is teaching with authority. What is amazing about this is that Jesus’ teaching overshadows that of the religious teachers of the day. Many people are “powerful” and “charismatic” teachers – in fact many pulpits are filled with communicators who can not only draw a crowd, but inspire people to live a certain way. Unfortunately, many of these guys don’t teach an authentic gospel. There is no reference to repentance or belief, and at the end of the day the hero of their story is not Jesus. But for whatever reason – Christ is proven to be a man who teaches with authority, but he takes this a step further by demonstrating his authenticity. As he is teaching in Mark 2, a demon-possessed man comes to him – and to make a short story shorter – Jesus heals him. The crowds were overwhelmed because Christ not only spoke with authority, but he proved his authority.
Authority, or legitimacy, cannot be measured by the amount of people we get to our church, or the hits we receive on a particular blog. It must be measured in three ways:
1) The Life Lived – Morality
2) The Compassion Demonstrated – Loving Our Neighbor
3) The John The Baptist Factor – “He (Jesus) must become more and I most become less.”
Embracing the gospel for life-change is the ultimate step of authenticity. The gospel is active globally when it is potent in us personally. Communicate with authority, demonstrate with authenticity.