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? He makes His words equal with the Scriptures! Is His explanation of the Scriptures superior to the scribes of His day? We must consider His DIVINATION OF DIVINITY. While Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount in the early days of His ministry, the crowds were in abundance. His miracles were the attraction. Before the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew wrote, “Then His fame went throughout all Syria, and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics, and He healed them. Great multitudes followed Him from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan” (Matthew 4:24-25). His position as a miracle worker was well established before the preaching of this sermon. Matthew included foreign countries outside Palestine in this list. However, in our illustration, miracles and the ability to do miracles are not indicated as a basis for the authority of Jesus.
According to our passage and its context, none of the above give validity to the authority of Jesus’ saying, “But I say to you.” He did not speak out of His divine position as the Second Member of the Trinity. He did not speak out of a superior educational qualification. He did not speak from the authority of one who does miracles. What is the basis left for Him to give such irrefutable statements? Why should we trust Him? Jesus embraced the position of helplessness and abandoned Himself to His Father (Philippians 2:5-8). He lived in the power of the Spirit! This same Spirit of God is available to merge with us in our helplessness! I am a Jesus pusher!!!