The people were astonished at His teaching, because He taught as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.They were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes.And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.And they were astonished at his teaching: for he taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes.
6 sermons cite this verse
… different from every other teacher, from all the other rabbis. You recall when he first went into the synagogue in Capernaum. Same language is used. They were astonished at his teaching because he taught as one that had authority, not like the scribes. Different level. Different level. And this goes all the way back to when he was young, when he was 12 years old, and he is lost in the temple. And his parents go to find him in Luke chapter 2, and they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, and all who heard him, this 12-year-old, were astonished at his understanding and answers. A little bit later in John chapter 7, they said, how does this man have such learning having never been taught? He has no formal education. How does he understand all that. In Luke chapter 19, this is now toward the end of his earthly ministry, he is in Jerusalem teaching daily in the temple, and all the people were very attentive. One translation says, hanging on every word. While he was doing that, some of the Jewish leaders sent guards to where Jesus was giving his sermon to arrest him. …
… Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, not as the scribes. Then turn to chapter 2, verse 1. And again he entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that he was in the house. immediately many gathered together so that there was no longer room to receive them. There's the crowds growing, not even near the door. And he preached the word to them. Look at verse 13 of chapter 2. Then he went out again by the sea, and all the multitudes came to him, and he taught them. then again in chapter 4 that we just read, and again, he began to teach by the sea. You see, this is pretty important to him. Sometimes it says he preached. Sometimes it says he taught. Two different words, two different meanings. Preaching and teaching. And those are two different activities, by the way. Preaching is the word keruso. It means to herald, to proclaim, to announce. When it says Jesus taught them or was teaching them, it is the word didasko. …
… and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. Verse 28, when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority and not as their teachers of the law. Before we dive too deeply into this text, I want to take a look at verse 28 and 29, and that is the reality. Keep in mind, they're amazed at the whole teaching, the whole Sermon on the Mount from Matthew chapter 5 to Matthew chapter 7. And they're like, whoa, something is different about this guy when he talks. Now you and I are like, yeah, it's because it's Jesus. But keep in mind, this is the crowd pre-death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. So to them at this point, he's just another teacher of the scriptures, but they had heard other teachers of the scriptures talk before. And when they did, they'd say things like the scripture says, the Torah says, AKA they taught off of borrowed authority, but Jesus doesn't need to borrow authority. Jesus is the final authority. His words are the very bedrock to life itself, which begs an important question for us today. …
… He is teaching them. Verse 22, and they were astonished at his teaching for he taught, here's the word, He taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. Now let me paint a picture for you of ancient synagogue worship. First of all, the synagogue itself. The synagogue, if you know your Old Testament, you have noticed that in the entire Old Testament, there's not a single mention of the word synagogue because the institution did not exist in the Old Testament. There was one place of worship that was the tabernacle later on, the temple. But in 586 BC, the Babylonians destroyed that temple and moved the people to Babylon for 70 years. While they were in Babylon, they developed the institution called sunagoge, or the synagogue, the bringing together. That's what the word means. The bringing together of people. because they had no temple. They couldn't offer sacrifice. They had no formal priestly function. So they would get together in smaller groups and discuss the law or hear the law being taught. …
… the streams rose and the winds blew and beat against that house and it fell with a great crash when jesus had finished saying these things the crowds were amazed at his teaching because he taught as one who had authority and not as one of their teachers of the law. Verse 25 is my assignment. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, yet did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. So now tell your other neighbor, tell them you're more ready than you recognize. You may be seated in the presence of the Lord. You're more ready than you recognize. As I consider the memories of ministry that I've experienced from my vantage point over the last 20 years, one stands out that surprises me the most. Everywhere that I go to minister God's Word when I meet people, they tell me a different report of how this ministry has touched their life. I live for those moments. It's one thing to write a book, write a song, or preach a sermon. It's another thing to get to speak with someone that that word touched personally. That's a beautiful thing. Sometimes people start crying. Sometimes people apologize. They say, I haven't been to church in three years, but I used to really like it over there at Elevation. I always tell them, you know where to find me when you need me. …
… All these things that he's taught. When he was finished, the crowds were amazed at his teaching because he taught as one who had authority and not as their teachers of the law. don't you want to be like that? Don't you want people to say that about you? She talks like she has authority, not like positional authority, not like anybody signed her up for some kind of special access code thing, but she just has it on her life. And that's what he's wanting for you. It says in Ephesians that at his resurrection, he's hoping our eyes will be opened to see this, to know that the power that raised him up or that's in us is the same as the mighty strength that he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead. This is Ephesians 1. And seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms far above all rule and authority, power and dominion in every name that is invoked not only in the present age, but also in the one to come. …