Mark 1:22 - No Authority?...Try Grace

The Verse

Mark 1:22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.

My Paraphrase

The people were amazed at the authority of His teaching, because it wasn't like their normal bland teachings.

My Thoughts

This verse always perplexes me. How could there have been, prior to Jesus' arrival, teachers teaching anything if they weren't being authoritative?  Doesn't teaching, by definition, naturally carry authority?  I mean, can it even be called teaching if it doesn't?  On top of that, these teachers had the Torah!  From God's own mouth!  So. . .what were they wasting time saying??  I mean, we find out later in Mark that the Pharisees had added thousands of rules and regulations to the law. So. . .how did they foist these rules onto their congregations if not authoritatively?  

I've always wonder what the teachings were like before Jesus showed up.  

I grew up in a church environment and I have heard my share of bland, lifeless sermons (as well as many good ones, don't get me wrong), but. . .in the end, even the tritest, most boring messages still proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus along with whatever else they were saying, so there were still things to quicken your heart into an "Amen" agreement. . .

So. . .I always wonder what these lackluster teachings sounded like.  Social reform?  Behavior modification?  Slaps on wrists?  I mean, even a rote, monotone reading of Scripture is still the Words of a Holy God, right?  So these Pharisees and rabbis must have been so way out in left field, it took the preaching of The Author of Creation only once to get the people excited and interested again!  

Anyway, this is obviously to show that Christ was God, and Life-Giver, in all respects.  He healed, did miracles, and even raised people from the dead; and in addition, He taught with authority--bringing souls back to life.  But what made Him so different as a teacher (besides being the Son of God and all)?  I think, it is because, unlike the other teachers, He taught with Grace.  

See, the concept of Grace naturally has more authority than mere law.  This is why: People, believers and non, will always question a rule with, "But why should I follow it?"  That is just human nature.  A law-slave can only answer, "Because God said so."  The most authority a law-slave can experience is guilt.  Which isn't a very strong selling point to an unbeliever (nor a believer like me, frankly).  However, Grace answers the "why" question like this: "Because God has paid a way for sinful souls to enter holy heaven and therefore calls us all to walk in newness of Life."  

Even if you reject that statement, or even if you don't quite understand it, it does give you pause.  It makes you think.  It changes your heart.  The question is no longer "why should I do....(fill in the blank)?"--which is easy to ignore. Instead, it becomes, "But why would a Holy God do that for me?"  There is something wonderful, awe-inspiring, and terrible in that statement.  And isn't authority much deeper and truer when it is based on love and empowering rather than guilt and force? 

Obscure Passages

Have you ever been in a church service where a pastor makes you turn to a minor prophet or like...Philemon or Jude and then calls it an "obscure passage?" Do you find that strange? I mean, it sounds like he privy to information that the rest of us aren't, which is strange, b/c the last time I checked, the Bible was the best-seller of all time...

There should be no "obscure passages" in the Bible.

Okay--in the pastor's defense--most Christians are lazy and would rather wear a W.W.J.D. bracelet (see Lisa's blog: http://arecoveringchristian.blogspot.com/2008/04/spirit-of-excellence-part-1.html ) than read the Bible, so telling them that a passage is unknown is not far from the truth. But it's not the obscurity of the passage, it's the ignorance of the church. This ignorance is a hole that becomes deeper and harder to get out of the less a congregation is fed--or encouraged to feed themselves.

The remedy is surprisingly simple. The message of Christ is energizing. It quickens the mind. Very little needs to be "done" to make it exciting. Since agenda fades after time and God's Word lasts through the ages, preaching strictly from the Bible makes for a much stronger sermon...The stronger the sermon, the easier it is for the hearers to nail down these passages in their minds and write them on their hearts...Then the passages would no longer be "obscure."

Being a pastor is a hard job, but it is only made harder when the pulpit becomes a forum. Passages like: the Psalms, Proverbs, Matthew 5-7, I Cor. 13, Hebrews 11, Ephesians 5, etc....are great, but...they are preached so often they become sounding boards for agenda, especially when the rest of the Bible is neglected save for "salt and peppered" cross-references. The Bible is a big book. If talking down to a congregation's Bible knowledge is necessary, then "lesser known" passages are a great way of educating the flock.