May 4th 2012

What does it mean that Jesus was a rabbi with authority?

Read Matthew 7:28-29

As we read through the Gospels we come across passage after passage that mentions how Jesus spoke with “authority”, but what exactly does that mean? In our culture, we imagine someone who speaks with authority maybe as someone who speaks very boldly or powerfully or maybe someone who is famous in some way. In Jesus day, a rabbi with “authority” meant something very specific.

During the time of Jesus there were two types of rabbis, the first were known as Torah-teachers. These were people who went all the way through the Jewish education system, and knew the Torah (1^st 5 books of the Old Testament) by memory. They were teachers of the Law, but could only teach what the community believed to be a proper teaching of the text. This is like being an ordained pastor; they are allowed to teach what is believed within their denomination. Torah teachers were also master teachers, meaning they knew how to speak to people’s hearts where they would get it. This is very different from teaching theology, this is practical, emotional teaching.

The second group of rabbis were rabbis with authority (S’mikeh). So what did it take to be one of these rabbis? First they had to have the entire Old Testament memorized, not just the Torah. Secondly they had to be master teachers (like the Torah teachers). Third they had to be recognized by the community. Another trait of these rabbis with authority is that most of these rabbis could heal people (Note: Only Jesus raised the dead). Ever wonder why people didn’t immediately believe Jesus after he healed someone? It was expected.

If you fit into these categories, then you could become a rabbi with authority. Now, these types of rabbis were extremely rare, in the 100 years around Jesus’ life there were a little over a dozen of these rabbis. Once a rabbi had authority, they would be able to make new teachings about what the Scriptures means, or how to live it out.

With this in mind, take some time and mediate on just how special Jesus was not just to us today, but who he was in his time.