I am a Jesus pusher!!! “You have heard it said to those of old, . . . But I say to you” (Matthew 5:21, 22). What is Jesus’ authority? What gives Him the right to speak on behalf of the Scriptures? We must consider His DOCTOR OF DIVINITY. Jesus does not mention any educational standing or degrees throughout the Sermon on the Mount. That was one of the conflicts between Jesus and His day’s educated scribes and Pharisees. Where did Jesus get the credentials to teach as a rabbi? From what school did He graduate? From the beginning of His ministry, it is said, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46). When speaking of Jesus, the scholars of Israel said, “Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee” (John 7:52). Jesus did not have the qualifications to be a prophet. His authority was never based on His education.
The Book of Acts verifies the explosion of the early Church in Jerusalem. Peter and John were interrogated by Israel’s most influential and educated men. Upon hearing Peter and John, the leaders’ response was, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled” (Acts 4:13). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus demonstrated the same resource for living in and through the apostles. They were all merged with the Holy Spirit, the nature of God! Talent, training, or self-discipline are not the secret to victory because we are all helpless (Matthew 5:3). Victory is only in our merger with Jesus! The Spirit that merged Jesus with the Father wants to merge with us! I am a Jesus Pusher!!!