Matthew 7:28-29
“And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”
Sitting at the feet of Jesus must have been an amazing experience for those early disciples. Jesus may not have taught something so radically different from what the scribes taught, but the impact on the people was certainly different. It was not in the wisdom of the words or the depth of the explanation but the power of the words themselves. Jesus’ words had heavenly backing. The hosts of heaven supported and enforced His words when He spoke to men, and this made the difference. Knowledge is good and non-discriminatory, but the bearer of the knowledge is the determining factor in the impact from the knowledge shared.
The people were astonished at the words of Jesus because of the authority behind Jesus, and the power of the authority of Jesus was the life of Jesus. Because His life was the very life of God, the words He spoke carried the full authority of God. And this is the cry of my heart. The deep cry of my life is that I may not be like any ordinary fellow out there. The ache of my heart is that God with authenticate my life, validate my words and breathe through everything I say or do. Beyond the words of ministry, may my every gesture and every whisper, carry the weight of heaven behind it. I do not intend to astonish anyone. However, what is my life worth if at the end of the day, I am just like any other regular folk speaking regular stuff and doing regular things; which have not eternal impact on those around me? Living a life that does not astonish is a wasted life. We are called to astonish, but it is tied to the quality and concentration of my personal life. “Oh! That my life in God may astonish men.”
“That’s my cry, Lord. Father, I reject the ordinary, and I desire more. I desire a life that impacts, penetrates and astonishes men. I don’t want to wrestle with people for position or importance in the community. Just work with me to correctly align my life with heaven, and I know after that, my life will astonish men. O God, make this happen in me and through me. Please, Lord. I plead this, in Jesus name.”
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