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3.
Jesus'
authority as the Lord
We have already had occasion to observe that the ascription to
Jesus of the title 'Lord' does not necessarily imply a recognition of
him as the divine Lord. As N.B. Stonehouse put it: 'The
flexibility of the Greek word "Lord" must indeed be
recognised: not every instance of its use implies a consciousness of
divine authority. Not everyone who addressed Jesus as Lord clearly
chose this name as the equivalent of deity; it could as a polite form of
address mean little more than our "sir"'. Nevertheless,
in some contexts Jesus seems deliberately to have accepted the fullest
implications the title could bear, as when he associated it with his
other and favourite title 'Son of man', who in Daniel's vision would
receive universal dominion, (Dan. 7:14; Matt.24:39, 42, 'your Lord'),
and with David's 'lord' who would sit at God's right hand (Mark
12:35-37).
Only the context can help us to judge how much dominion and deity may
rightly be included in the word 'Lord'. Take as an example the
section in the Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus referred to people who
addressed him as 'Lord, Lord' (Matt.7:21-23). He was not
complaining that they chose this title, for he accepted it as
appropriate. His point was rather that they were using it glibly
and were not investing it with its true meaning. he was not just
'sir' to be respected; he was 'Lord' to be obeyed. The Lucan
equivalent makes this plain, as we saw: 'Why do you call me
"Lord, Lord", and not do what I tell you?' (Luke 6:46).
Thus Jesus saw himself as more than a teacher, giving advice which
people might or might not heed at their discretion; he was their master,
issuing commandments, expecting obedience and warning them that their
eternal welfare was at stake. Clearly, in all this Jesus was no
ordinary rabbi. A Jewish rabbi's pupils sat at his feet to study
Torah. Jesus was also in one sense a rabbi, since he taught his
disciples the true meaning of Torah. But his expectation was not
just that they would absorb his teaching; it was that they would be
devoted to him personally. This no doubt, is why he was not
content with the title 'Rabbi' on its own, for in fact he was their
'Teacher and Lord' (John 13:13). This too is why they in their
turn did not just become 'rabbis', guarding and handing on the tradition
of his teaching; they were also, and even more, 'witnesses' to him.
Next: (4) Jesus' authority as the
Saviour. (5) Jesus' authority as the Judge |
