When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, because he was teaching them like one who had authority, and not like their scribes.
Matthew 7:28-29 CSB
Can you hear it? After weeks in the depths of this sermon, I feel like I’m sitting on the mountainside, hearing his final word—which is crash—and then just let out a single word:
WOW.
Not sure what that is in Aramaic, but it looks like this in Hebrew: וואו. To me, it’s still wow.
Here they were, people from all walks of life, believers and skeptics, hearing things that at first sounded familiar and then turned to make them realize this rabbi was not like any other rabbi they had ever heard.
God was saying something through this man.
That’s why they were astonished, in awe, amazed, and every other word that says: Wow.
He wasn’t just a guy teaching a subject he’d studied, but a man who was a prophet, and even more than a prophet, because he spoke with authority. What does the verse say? Like one who had authority. Scribes don’t have authority.
God has authority. This man must be from God.
Many would come to know and believe that this man was God, and they had the privilege of hearing him speak to them face-to-face, in person, in a language they understood—right there on the mountainside.
WOW.
That’s all for today because it’s enough. If you’re not wowed yet by the words Jesus spoke, re-read them and be astonished at what you missed.
Grace and Peace