The Son of Man Has Authority

“So that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” He said to the paralytic, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” (Matthew 9:6, NIV 1984).

My Musings – A tag line for an old commercial said, “it’s not nice to fool mother nature.” And it’s not wise to challenge the authority of the Son of God. Jesus had said to the paralytic “take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” (Matthew 9:2, NIV 1984). Offended, “some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, ‘this fellow is blaspheming!'” (Matthew 9:3, NIV 1984). But Jesus knew their thoughts and demonstrated His authority by healing the man.

In these latter days it is commonplace for people to dispute the authority of His word. There are various reasons they do so. They do not believe there is a God, so Jesus cannot be the Son of God. Thus, His words bear no more weight than any other historical figure. They do not believe that Jesus was a historical figure, so His words are fictional. His words are outdated and no longer have any relevance. His words do not have universal application and depends on the particular situation. And so on.

But the most worrisome reason is from those claiming to be followers who “will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” (2 Timothy 4:3–4, NIV 1984).

My Advice – If there is no God, or if Jesus is not the Son of God, then any old reason will do. And there is no consequence to “canceling” the authority of the Scriptures. But if there is a God, if Jesus is the Son of God, then “each of us will give an account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:12, NIV 1984). And those who disputed the authority of Scriptures, for whatever reason, may very hear the same words that Job heard. “Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.” (Job 38:2–3, NIV 1984). No reason will do, no answer will suffice. We must not let this be us.