By Whose Authority by Jerry Hill

Then he was back in the temple, teaching. The high priests and leaders of the people came up and demanded, “Show us your credentials. Who authorized you to teach here?”

Matthew 21:23

Several years ago, when Janet and I were living in Springfield, our church had a guest speaker who was a Bible translator. His unique niche was that he translated the New Testament scriptures into the tribal languages of isolated groups of people who did not speak a generally common language. Often, only a few hundred people spoke the language used by these isolated tribes. He had a device he could provide to the tribes that allowed them to play the audio version of his translation by cranking the handle on a recorder since they had no electricity or batteries. As these people listened on the device, it was the first time they had ever heard of Jesus and Christianity.

He related the story of one tribe where the entire village gathered to listen for the first time. The Chief was seated, and all the villagers were sitting around him. The translator started turning the crank, and the people began hearing Jesus's lineage as recorded in Matthew's first verses. As the recording continued, the Chief stood to show respect, and then all the others stood. The Chief said that this man, Jesus, must be important and must have authority to come from such a family. He asked, "How can someone with such a lineage love me?" The Chief began his discovery of the Christ story by recognizing the authority of Jesus even before he knew of his miraculous birth, his miracles, and his resurrection.

In Matthew 21, the high priests come to Jesus, questioning his credentials and authority to teach and do the things he did. Hasn't that always been the question about Jesus? From when he was laid in the manger and the shepherds arrived to when the stone was rolled away from the tomb, the question each of us must ask ourselves is: "Who is this Jesus?" "What is his authority?" "What does he mean to me?"

I think sometimes, at Christmastime, we can get caught up in the parties, gifts, and decorations and fail to contemplate these questions and their answers. The holiday lights and manger scenes are just window dressing. The real power of Christmas to change our lives lies in these inquiries: "Who is this Jesus?" "What is his authority?" "What does he mean to me?" Let's not forget to answer these questions as we prepare for Christmas.

JERRY HILL