The Origin of True Authority

The Origin of True Authority

This week in my studies I came across a scripture that got my mind thinking. The scripture was in the Book of Mark, chapter 1, verse 21 & 22, and it reads...

"And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught. And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes." 

To set the stage, Mark is telling about some of the things that Christ did in his ministry, and he tells this right after saying how Christ called his apostles one by one. These scriptures stood out to me because they outline the distinct difference that people were able to see between the scribes and the Lord, Jesus Christ. In two ways he was different, in his "astonishing" knowledge of the doctrine and in his authority. 

Christ's knowledge of the doctrine came from study and prayer. He was the Son of God, but he grew up learning, as the scriptures say, in wisdom, stature, and favour with God and man. (Luke 2:52). Obviously the Savior knew the doctrine well, he had lived it. In his mortal ministry he grew up in the Jewish faith and kept those customs and rites. His living of the doctrine, as well as his intense learning of it at a young age, to the point where he himself could teach at the temple when he was only 12 (Luke 2:42), made him someone who knew the doctrine well. His knowledge of the doctrine came even before he was born physically on the earth however. Christ is the God of the Old Testament. He was the one to give Moses his commands, to make covenants with Abraham, and to guide Israel and his family. Christ knew the doctrine on a spiritual level because he was and is forever a part of that doctrine. I would be astonished as well if I were in Capernaum being taught from the mouth of God's son as well. It is no doubt to me that Christ knew the doctrine intimately. 

The other half of the scripture is that Christ taught them as if he had authority. The true origin of authority is God the Father, of which Christ was his son. Christ's authority came from his own father and this is why he was so starkly different from the scribes in the temple. Even today, those in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints claim that same authority. Starting from the beginning, Christ gave his authority to the Apostles (Matthew 10:1-10). Later, we believe that the Apostles Peter, James, and John came to the earth as resurrected beings to give this Authority to Joseph Smith.(Joseph Smith History 66-72). Preach My Gospel says it best, "The President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is the authorized successor to Joseph Smith. He and the present Apostles trace their authority to Jesus Christ in an unbroken chain of ordinations through Joseph Smith". 

I share all of this information for you to ponder and pray about. Think of where the apostles in the Bible got their authority to preach, heal, and guide the church, Christ's Church, in their day. Now think of where your preacher or pastor received their authority. Did it come by the paying of hands as the apostles did? Or did it come from a traditional college that taught theology? 

I am here to proclaim that the true origins of authority are God himself. That authority does not come from a college degree, but from God. The scribes in the scripture that we began with paled in comparison to the Christ because they received their heavenly knowledge from a worldly source. We must turn to God and follow his path. Please think on these things and pray about them for yourself. 

And remember... 

This is just one Mann's viewpoint.