1 of 12 Christian Basics: Jesus’s authority

FeaturesPhilosophical
Written By Edward Wolfe

Forgiveness

Many people have suggested basic concepts for Christianity. In fact, Jesus himself taught 12 basics of theology in his Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). In the first article of this series on Christian basics, I listed the 12 I found there.

His first concept is that “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Jesus claimed that he had “all authority.” The Greek word used in this verse is ἐξουσία (exousia), meaning power, authority, weight.

A pointed use of the word is in Mark 2:10 where Jesus proved his authority to forgive sins by healing a paralyzed man. In this story, Jesus showed he had power and right to heal and to forgive sins.

The teachers of the law, hearing Jesus forgive the man’s sins, very reasonably asked, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” In first-century Jewish thought, God was the primary party offended by a person’s sins, so only God could forgive them. Just as I don’t have the right to forgive someone who has hurt you, no human being had the right to forgive a person’s sins against God, since that was between themselves and God.

Jesus claimed authority to forgive sins, demonstrated by his authority and power to heal. Even today, he still has the authority to act in a benevolent, miraculous way in this world and to restore our relationships with God.

In the Great Commission, his authority included at least the power to heal and restore our relationships with God.

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Edward Wolfe

Edward Wolfe has been a fan of Christian apologetics since his teenage years, when he began seriously to question the truth of the Bible and the reality of Jesus. About twenty years ago, he started noticing that Christian evidences roughly fell into five categories, the five featured on this website.
Although much of his professional life has been in Christian circles (12 years on the faculties of Pacific Christian College, now a part of Hope International University, and Manhattan Christian College and also 12 years at First Christian Church of Tempe), much of his professional life has been in public institutions (4 years at the University of Colorado and 19 years at Tempe Preparatory Academy).
His formal academic preparation has been in the field of music. His bachelor degree was in Church Music with a minor in Bible where he studied with Roger Koerner, Sue Magnusson, Russel Squire, and John Rowe; his master’s was in Choral Conducting where he studied with Howard Swan, Gordon Paine, and Roger Ardrey; and his doctorate was in Piano Performance, Pedagogy, and Literature, where he also studied group dynamics, humanistic psychology, and Gestalt theory with Guy Duckworth.
He and his wife Louise have four grown children and six grandchildren.

https://WolfeMusicEd.com
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Stravinsky’s Riotous Ballet