Matthew 7:28 – A Little Sentence with a Big Meaning

A short sentence, only two verses, follows the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew writes,

Matthew 7:28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

Matthew 7:28-29

This sentence serves as a nice conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount and it tells us why the crowds liked Jesus more than the scribes, but it can be tempting to move quickly past it. If we step back, however, and look at the bigger picture of Matthew’s Gospel, we might see that this sentence does much more than merely close out an episode in Jesus’s ministry.

Snuggled in the last few words of this little sentence is the little word “authority.” I think most of us realize there are two types of authority: conferred authority and real authority. Conferred authority comes from a position, title, or job such as headmaster, chairman, or king. But real authority comes after a person has proven themselves to be an expert with regard to a topic or practice. It is this second type of authority to which Matthew refers when he uses the Greek word exousia, which means “power,” “right,” or “privilege.” The people saw that a humble carpenter from Nazareth had real authority, while the exalted religious leaders from Jerusalem only had conferred authority. Jesus had no B.A., M.A., or Ph.D. in religious studies, instead, he worked in a carpenter’s shop cutting wood, hewing stone, and constructing tables, chairs, and houses. But when the people saw Jesus’s works and heard his words they recognized a man with real authority, unlike the conferred authority of the well-educated scribes and religious leaders.

We might be tempted, since the little sentence found in Matthew 7:28-29 follows the Sermon on the Mount, to think that Jesus’s authority came solely because of the words he spoke, but if we back up a few chapters you will see that understanding falls short of the reality. In the verses immediately preceding Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount, Matthew wrote,

Matthew 4:23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.

Matthew 4:23

Just to state the obvious — because the obvious is often overlooked (especially by me) — Matthew tells us that Jesus’s ministry consisted of three things: teaching, proclamation, and healing. And, to once again state the obvious, Jesus had been doing all three of these things prior to giving what we now call the “Sermon on the Mount.” As such, when people recognized Jesus’s authority, it was because they not only heard his words, but they saw his works.

But there is something subtle here that isn’t obvious at all: the “Sermon on the Mount” is not really a sermon. Matthew describes it as a time of teaching (Matt. 5:1; 7:28).

Big whoop-de-doo. Sermon…teaching…pretty much the same thing.

Well, no. The “big whoop-de-doo,” as you state it, is that sermons come from a pulpit and are a formal lecture touching on things such as purity, parenthood, singleness, financial stewardship, or why we should come to the evening church service and not stay home and watch the Super Bowl. A sermon is nearly always a time when we sit passively and listen to a lecture. And when it is over, we go home, eat some chicken or beef or vegetables, and take a long nap. And besides, here’s a fun fact: the word “sermon” doesn’t actually occur anywhere in the Bible (except in the made-up headings found before various paragraph breaks). In fact, the word “sermon” doesn’t seem to exist in any language until the 1200s (https://www.etymonline.com/word/sermon).

Okay. But whether it’s Sermon on the Mount, or Teaching on the Mount, what does it matter?

Matthew, when recording the words Jesus spoke while on a mountain top, uses the Greek word for teaching (didasko). Didasko has a very different meaning than does our more modern word “sermon.” Didasko is an informal time of instruction that involves reasoning and explanations and culminates in applications.

Okay. Enough already! Greek—schmeek… What’s the point?

Well, one point is that when we read the Bible we need to be careful to not read into it things that aren’t there. We need to read the Bible as it is written so we can what the authors, both human and divine, intended for us to know. Jesus taught the Kingdom of Heaven; he held discussions and offered explanations. He didn’t sermonize. In fact, Matthew uses the Greek word didasko (teach, taught, teaching) 13 times in his Gospel. And, other than twice, he always uses didasko to describe times when Jesus instructed others in the way of the kingdom —

So…?

Stop interrupting. I was about to get to the point —

Fine!

Don’t be so grumpy. No one is making you read this.

…

When Matthew wrote that Jesus “proclaimed” the gospel he used the Greek word kerysso, which means, well, “to proclaim.” But proclamation is not teaching. Proclamation is more like someone standing on a street corner calling out “Hear ye! Hear ye! The king has proclaimed (something important)!” This sort of thing happened a lot in the Middle Ages and in the movie Shrek; the person doing it was called a herald because he heralded — proclaimed — the king’s message. There was no discussion. There was no debate. There was no instruction. There was just proclamation. This sort of activity — proclamation — is what probably comes closest to what we call a “sermon” these days. But when Matthew uses this word, kerysso, in his Gospel, it is nearly always (8 out of 9 times) associated with what Matthew calls “the gospel.” This “gospel” was first proclaimed (kerysso-ed) by John and then by Jesus. You might remember they both proclaimed, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:2; 4:17).

I remember. Can you just get to the point…

Hold your metaphorical horses. The reason these seemingly mundane things are important is that when Jesus taught (didasko), he instructed others in the ways of the kingdom, but when he proclaimed (kerysso), he announced the need to repent and he heralded the coming kingdom of heaven. Thus, the “Sermon on the Mount” was teaching (didasko), while the gospel, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” was proclamation (kerysso).

With this subtle distinction made, let’s revisit the words Matthew wrote immediately preceding the (so-called) Sermon on the Mount. He wrote,

Matthew 4:23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

Matthew 4:23-25

Jesus had been teaching (didasko), proclaiming (kerysso), and healing in the area surrounding the Sea of Galilee (Matt. 4:23) and, as a result, “great crowds followed him” (Matt. 4:24-25). Now, looking at our verses for this week, Matthew 7:28-29, when we read that the crowds followed Jesus because he “was teaching them as one who had authority,” we should realize that Jesus’s authority didn’t come as a reaction solely to his words; Jesus’s authority came as a response to his full three-part ministry of teaching, proclaiming, and healing; a ministry unknown to the other religious leaders.

But this little sentence in Matthew 7:28-29 isn’t full of meaning only because it points to the source of Jesus’s authority; it plays a major role in helping us understand Jesus’s ministry. But for this, we need to look ahead a few chapters. In Matthew 9:35, we read,

Matthew 9:35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.

Matthew 9:35

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? It’s almost as if Matthew was using an early version of the cut-and-paste tool because Matthew 9:35 is nearly identical to Matthew 4:23.

Maybe he should sue Bill Gates.

Don’t be silly. They might have had windows back then, but they didn’t have computers…

Ugh.

Anyway, getting back to the point, Matthew didn’t copy 4:23 because he was running out of creative juices, he copied 4:23 and placed it in 9:35 because he was bookending the two primary essentials of Jesus’s ministry — teaching and healing — between those two verses. And nestled neatly in the middle of the whole thing we find the little sentence about Jesus’s authority in Matthew 7:28-29. In an outline form, this section looks like this:

• Matthew 4:23-24 – Jesus’s ministry of teaching, proclaiming, and healing; the crowd’s reaction
• Matthew 5:1-7:27 – Jesus’s Teaching: The Sermon on the Mount
• Matthew 7:28-29 – Jesus’s authority
• Matthew 8:1-9:34 – Jesus’s Miracles
• Matthew 9:35-38 – Jesus’s ministry of teaching proclaiming, and healing; Jesus’s reaction

Matthew, by placing his comment about Jesus’s authority between his teaching and miracles, highlights the fact that Jesus’s authority came from both his words and actions. We might wish to imagine that Jesus’s authority oozed out of him just because he was the Son of God, but I’m not so sure that is what Matthew was telling us. Jesus’s authority came as a result of his actions being consistent with his teachings; the crowds never saw that in the life of the scribes. Furthermore, in a mysterious sort of way, even though Jesus’s authority resulted from his words and his actions, his authority was also the main reason the crowds found him so appealing in the first place.

But we shouldn’t stop there. Matthew 7:28-29 is also important because it marks a transition point in Jesus’s ministry. Matthew began this section by telling us of the crowd’s reaction to Jesus: they followed him. But when Matthew concludes this section he tells us of Jesus’s reaction to the crowds: he had compassion for them. Matthew writes,

36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Matthew 9:36

Jesus knew teaching about the kingdom of heaven was not sufficient, the crowds needed to see the kingdom in action. Jesus knew he was only one person —

Wait. Sure, Jesus is only one person, but remember, he’s God! He can do anything!

Oh. Uh…I almost forgot you were there. Again, if you’d let me finish —

Again, if you’d get to the point…

Jesus knew he was only one person. Sure, Jesus is God and he came to earth so that by his one act of righteousness on the cross all men would have justification and life (Rom. 5:18). But Jesus also came to teach the kingdom, proclaim the gospel, and heal our diseases and afflictions. By himself, Jesus gave all men justification and life, but he was unable (maybe unwilling) to teach, proclaim, and heal the entire population of the earth. This is why Jesus spent his time making disciples of twelve people: so those twelve people could teach, proclaim, and heal more than he could ever do. When Jesus began his ministry he did all these things on his own, but I don’t think he ever intended to do all these things for everyone for all time. This is why, after Jesus sees the scope of the problem and has compassion for the people, Matthew writes,

37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Matthew 9:37-38

And, if you jump ahead just one verse, you will see that Matthew wrote,

Matthew 10:1 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Matthew 10:1-4

Matthew wants his readers to understand what the gospel entails (Matt. 5-9) before he introduces his readers to the disciple’s role in teaching, proclaiming, and healing (Matt. 10). And, I hope you noticed that Matthew uses that little word, “authority” again. Jesus had authority because of his ministry, but Jesus gave his authority to his disciples to continue his ministry. We will soon see that “authority” plays a major role in the book of Matthew, but more on that later. For now, let us return to that little sentence with a big meaning found in Matthew 7:28-29,

Matthew 7:28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

Matthew 7:28-29

This little sentence holds the central foundation of Jesus’s teaching and healing ministry. This little sentence is a transition from Jesus ministering alone to his bringing in the disciples into his ministry. But this sentence also does one more important thing.

If you have been reading these posts on Matthew, you will know I have been suggesting Matthew’s Gospel helps us better understand how to pray the Lord’s Prayer. Where Matthew 1:1-2:23 helps us probe the depths of “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,” and Matthew 3:1-7:27 helps us better understand the kingdom when we pray, “Your kingdom come,” this little sentence found in Matthew 7:28-29 serves as a transition to the next petition of the Lord’s prayer, “Your will be done.”

For most of my life, I saw the will of God as primarily being about who to marry, what job to take, whether to become a missionary, and where to live. But I think I was mistaken. I think God’s will is primarily about how we become more Christ-like in our words and actions, and only secondarily about the who’s, what’s, and where’s of our lives. As such, the focus and intent of the prayer “Your will be done,” is that God would enable us to behave as he would if he were on earth. And what better way to discover how God would behave — to know God’s will — than to study what God actually did when he was on earth? And discovering that is what the next few posts will be about.

For now, we conclude by looking, once again, at that little sentence about Jesus’s authority in Matthew 7:28-29. It sits neatly between Jesus’s teaching of the kingdom and Jesus’s work of the kingdom telling us that both the words and works of the kingdom are needed for there to be any authority; it tells us that authority comes not from drawing crowds, but from having compassion on the crowds; it opens Jesus’s ministry up to his disciples; it transitions from teaching about how to pray “Your kingdom come” to about how to pray “your will be done.” That’s quite a lot of work for one little sentence to accomplish, but when that little sentence rests upon the authority of Jesus, even little sentences can accomplish great works.

• Click HERE to go to the page containing all the posts for this study on The Lord’s Prayer and Matthew’s Gospel