Jesus Speaking With Authority Above a CityBible World
7:28Matthew 7:28
And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
This verse marks the close of the Sermon on the Mount, the open-air discourse to the great multitude gathered from many regions. The people were astonished because He taught as one having authority and not as the scribes, with clear, simple, solemn and convincing speech that all could understand. He set forth the principles of God's kingdom of grace and opened the law of God in its spirit and far-reaching claims, in contrast to worldly hopes and the traditions of the scribes and Pharisees. His words awakened conviction and hope, yet following them required changed thought and conduct, so while many were inwardly moved few accepted them as the guide of life. The closing call is to study these sayings again and again for personal enlightenment and to do the Father's will like the wise builder on the rock rather than hearing only.
Words and Setting
Matthew 7:28 marks the close of the Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew 5-7, the discourse begun in Matthew 5. That discourse was preached in the open air to a very large congregation. When Jesus finished it the people were astonished at His teaching.
The verse is also described as marking the close of the words recorded in Matthew 4-7, which contain many precious and important lessons.
More particularly it closes the sayings of Matthew 7 to enter in at the strait gate, to beware of false prophets known by their fruits, to do the will of the Father to enter the kingdom of heaven, and to hear and do His words like a wise man who built his house upon a rock. These were orders that it is safe to follow by placing the feet in His footsteps instead of listening to one's own ideas and plans. The conclusion in Matthew 7:25-29 follows His warning that professed workers of wonders may be rejected for practicing iniquity.
The sermon was spoken especially to the disciples but within hearing of the assembled multitude. The crowd included people from Galilee and many other regions who had come to hear Jesus and be healed. Its lessons of truth were given so they could reach multitudes, including people in ignorance and error.
Manner of Teaching
The astonishment came because the teaching carried authority unlike that of the scribes, set apart from their traditions, dogmas, formal instruction, doubt and hesitancy by its clear, emphatic, solemn and convincing character. The words were fresh and full of life, reaching minds with clarity and power, while rabbinical explanations of the law had become obscure and unintelligible. In contrast to traditions and doctrines that left hearers uncertain, the earnest, convicting power brought hope to those who listened. The instruction made mysteries plain in clear, simple truths with solemn, convincing force, so that no word could not be understood. Discourses were unlike any the people had heard, with words and principles clear, simple, wise and authoritative. The sermon was so clear that old and young, ignorant and learned could catch its full meaning, and even a child could study it without being misled.
He met the people on their own ground as one acquainted with their perplexities, making truth beautiful in direct, simple language that was pure and refined, clear as a running stream and as music compared with the monotonous, spiritless tones of the rabbis. The rabbis spoke with doubt and hesitancy as if the Scriptures might mean one thing or exactly the opposite, leaving hearers daily involved in greater uncertainty, while He spoke with power as if His words could not be controverted and with the Scriptures as unquestionable authority. He spoke slowly and impressively in a slow, clear, distinct manner with a musical voice, emphasizing the words to be heard and pausing between sentences instead of speaking in a nervous, hurried way or rushing sentence upon sentence. His manner was beautiful and attractive and ever characterized by simplicity, unfolding the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven by familiar figures and symbols and by earthly experiences and occurrences, using no high-sounding words and drawing familiar illustrations from nature and repeating familiar truths to help people grasp divine teaching. In compassionate love and tenderness He cheered, comforted and instructed all who heard, so the common people heard gladly, were very attentive, and could comprehend His words.
His words carried vital power and certainty, with power as if every sentence came from God, because He knew the truth He taught and understood it fully. He opened the Scriptures like a new revelation after false teaching had confused understanding of divine truth, restoring familiar truths that had been obscured or distorted by placing them in their proper light in original clarity and beauty. Essential truths were presented with certainty, not speculation or human opinion, making God's unchanging principles clear in practical forms people could understand and live by. The teaching met the soul's need, awakening thought, kindling aspiration, and stirring every capacity of body, mind and soul. It focused not on abstract theories or curiosity but on truths essential to character, knowing God, doing good, and living in relation to eternity.
Truths It Taught
The sermon that closes here challenged worldly hopes of greatness by teaching the principles of God's kingdom of divine grace. It gave a right understanding of His character and kingdom and explained the conditions for entering it without directly attacking mistaken ideas, leaving hearers to infer for themselves what the kingdom was like. Its opening beatitudes set out those governing principles rather than promising the earthly glory and political deliverance many expected. Its doctrine was at variance with the precepts and example of the scribes and Pharisees, who had taught that happiness consists in possession of the things of this world and in fame and the honor of men. They had taught that it is pleasing to be called Rabbi and to be extolled as wise and religious, with virtues paraded before the public as the crown of happiness. Before that vast throng it was declared that earthly gain and honor is all the reward such persons will ever receive.
That teaching opposed the doctrines and practices of the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees, exposed their misrepresentation of God, and presented God's character through Christ as compassionate, merciful and loving. It defined the law of God and revealed its far-reaching claims, correcting the distorted picture given by those leaders. It showed that the spirit of the law must be in the heart, and that the state of the heart regulates a person's life and character. Its words were not new, but they came with the force of revelation because familiar truths obscured or distorted by human traditions were presented in their proper light and original clarity and beauty. So presented, they opened the hearers' understanding to the law's glory, dignity and majesty as the enduring standard of righteousness.
He could teach in this way because He had spoken the law at Sinai and knew its meaning fully, and His teaching opened the Scriptures like a new revelation in contrast to false teaching that had confused divine truth. The sermon thereby revealed that the Jewish people were separated from God by failing to walk in the light given them, with darkness coming upon them in proportion to the light they had allowed to shine on their path. Its pure gospel explains God's holy law as the standard of loving God and neighbor, so that unjustly acquiring wealth at another's expense shows a person has not learned the law or met its standard.
The closing section warns hearers not to rely on claims or works but to do the Father's will. It contrasts doers who hear and do His words and build on the rock with hearers who do not obey and build on sand. It connects professed workers of wonders rejected for practicing iniquity with the need for genuine faith that gives the heart to God and bears righteous fruit. The question is thus brought home to each person how he is building, for the foundation must be deep enough to withstand the flood, and the life built on it must stand the test of God's law and the judgment, in contrast to trusting one's own works while transgressing God's law.
Response of Hearers
The close of the Sermon on the Mount found the people listening with intense interest because they expected something extraordinary, and His plain, simple teaching spoken with authority gave them a sure foundation for faith and practice. They were amazed because His doctrine stood at variance with the precepts and example of the scribes and Pharisees, who had taught them that happiness consists in possession of the things of this world and in fame and the honor of men, in being called Rabbi and being extolled as wise and religious with virtues paraded before the public as the crown of happiness, while before that vast throng He declared that earthly gain and honor was all the reward such persons would ever receive. He spoke with certainty and a convincing power that silenced the people and brought a feeling of fear over them, so that they looked at one another doubtfully and asked who of them would be saved if His teachings were true.
Many were deeply convinced that He was actuated by the Spirit of God and that the sentiments He uttered were divine. Its truth and beauty attracted them, and unlike the traditions and doctrines of the rabbis it carried earnest, convicting power, with warnings that spoke to their hearts and brought hope to those who listened. His words challenged their former beliefs and opinions, so that to follow them would require a change in thought and conduct and would bring conflict with religious teachers whose traditions they would have to reject.
Though many responded inwardly, few accepted His teaching as their guide for life. His wise teaching held thousands spellbound, yet even words that deeply impressed the people could not reach hearts blinded by prejudice and hatred, which resolutely rejected the light.
Study and Obedience
The instruction closed by this verse, together with Matthew 5 and Matthew 7:12-20 and Matthew 7:26-29, is to be studied by every person for individual benefit, and ministers and church members must study Matthew 7 most critically again and again for their own enlightenment and not to prove supposed faults they discern in others. Every word of the seventh chapter of Matthew must be studied as for life. That study does the work in the heart that prepares for the work assigned in these last days to reach lost souls, so that instruction about the course of action will not be labor in vain.
Its conclusion calls the question home to each person how they are building, contrasting hearers who do the word and build on the rock with hearers who do not obey and build on sand. The firm foundation must be deep enough to withstand the flood, and the life built on it must stand the test of God's law and the judgment, in contrast to trusting one's own works while transgressing God's law. Following these principles means learning humbly from Christ, asking Him to cleanse the heart and remove faults of character, surrendering self to Him, and living in a way that leads others to Him. The lessons of that sermon are to be lived out, and doing so makes a deeper impression and has a more lasting influence than preaching from the pulpit.
The sayings closed here, especially Matthew 7:24-29, warn those living near the close of earth's history when everything will be in confusion. Christ's doctrine exposes the misleading sentiments by which Satan stealthily works to confuse the minds of those who know the truth, and it calls those living divided lives, professedly serving the Lord while scheming to carry out their own plans that retard the work Christ gave His life to accomplish, to repent and be converted lest they be deceived by the enemy of souls. The warning is applied as a call to seek the conversion of unbelieving friends and neighbors, for hearers are not to rely on claims or works but to do the Father's will. The defects pointed out in those whose thoughts are absorbed with the faults of others are very serious, and unless there are decided conversions, many who think that they are lights will prove to be stumbling blocks.
His vivid and compelling way of bringing truths from God's word is the model for ministry, for His words were fresh and full of life, unlike the traditions and dogmas of the rabbis, and reached minds with clarity and power so that the people were captivated. He preached few sermons but taught in different lines as one having authority because He knew He was teaching the truth, speaking as never man spoke and drawing crowds wherever He went, and camp meetings are to follow that model by laboring to teach in different lines as Christ did. As the greatest Teacher the world ever knew, all who have placed themselves on His side are to learn from Him the art of conversation. Conversation is a science in which practice makes perfect, so that when placed in company where a flood of foolish talk bears all before it, His followers are if possible to change the conversation, by the help of the grace of God quietly dropping words or introducing a subject that will direct the conversation into a profitable channel.
This verse marks the close of the Sermon on the Mount, the open-air discourse to the great multitude gathered from many regions.
The people were astonished because He taught as one having authority and not as the scribes, with clear, simple, solemn and convincing speech that all could understand.
He set forth the principles of God's kingdom of grace and opened the law of God in its spirit and far-reaching claims, in contrast to worldly hopes and the traditions of the scribes and Pharisees.
His words awakened conviction and hope, yet following them required changed thought and conduct, so while many were inwardly moved few accepted them as the guide of life.
The closing call is to study these sayings again and again for personal enlightenment and to do the Father's will like the wise builder on the rock rather than hearing only.
Words and Setting
Matthew 7:28 marks the close of the Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew 5-7, the discourse begun in Matthew 5. That discourse was preached in the open air to a very large congregation. When Jesus finished it the people were astonished at His teaching.
The verse is also described as marking the close of the words recorded in Matthew 4-7, which contain many precious and important lessons.
More particularly it closes the sayings of Matthew 7 to enter in at the strait gate, to beware of false prophets known by their fruits, to do the will of the Father to enter the kingdom of heaven, and to hear and do His words like a wise man who built his house upon a rock. These were orders that it is safe to follow by placing the feet in His footsteps instead of listening to one's own ideas and plans. The conclusion in Matthew 7:25-29 follows His warning that professed workers of wonders may be rejected for practicing iniquity.
The sermon was spoken especially to the disciples but within hearing of the assembled multitude. The crowd included people from Galilee and many other regions who had come to hear Jesus and be healed. Its lessons of truth were given so they could reach multitudes, including people in ignorance and error.
Manner of Teaching
The astonishment came because the teaching carried authority unlike that of the scribes, set apart from their traditions, dogmas, formal instruction, doubt and hesitancy by its clear, emphatic, solemn and convincing character. The words were fresh and full of life, reaching minds with clarity and power, while rabbinical explanations of the law had become obscure and unintelligible. In contrast to traditions and doctrines that left hearers uncertain, the earnest, convicting power brought hope to those who listened. The instruction made mysteries plain in clear, simple truths with solemn, convincing force, so that no word could not be understood. Discourses were unlike any the people had heard, with words and principles clear, simple, wise and authoritative. The sermon was so clear that old and young, ignorant and learned could catch its full meaning, and even a child could study it without being misled.
He met the people on their own ground as one acquainted with their perplexities, making truth beautiful in direct, simple language that was pure and refined, clear as a running stream and as music compared with the monotonous, spiritless tones of the rabbis. The rabbis spoke with doubt and hesitancy as if the Scriptures might mean one thing or exactly the opposite, leaving hearers daily involved in greater uncertainty, while He spoke with power as if His words could not be controverted and with the Scriptures as unquestionable authority. He spoke slowly and impressively in a slow, clear, distinct manner with a musical voice, emphasizing the words to be heard and pausing between sentences instead of speaking in a nervous, hurried way or rushing sentence upon sentence. His manner was beautiful and attractive and ever characterized by simplicity, unfolding the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven by familiar figures and symbols and by earthly experiences and occurrences, using no high-sounding words and drawing familiar illustrations from nature and repeating familiar truths to help people grasp divine teaching. In compassionate love and tenderness He cheered, comforted and instructed all who heard, so the common people heard gladly, were very attentive, and could comprehend His words.
His words carried vital power and certainty, with power as if every sentence came from God, because He knew the truth He taught and understood it fully. He opened the Scriptures like a new revelation after false teaching had confused understanding of divine truth, restoring familiar truths that had been obscured or distorted by placing them in their proper light in original clarity and beauty. Essential truths were presented with certainty, not speculation or human opinion, making God's unchanging principles clear in practical forms people could understand and live by. The teaching met the soul's need, awakening thought, kindling aspiration, and stirring every capacity of body, mind and soul. It focused not on abstract theories or curiosity but on truths essential to character, knowing God, doing good, and living in relation to eternity.
Truths It Taught
The sermon that closes here challenged worldly hopes of greatness by teaching the principles of God's kingdom of divine grace. It gave a right understanding of His character and kingdom and explained the conditions for entering it without directly attacking mistaken ideas, leaving hearers to infer for themselves what the kingdom was like. Its opening beatitudes set out those governing principles rather than promising the earthly glory and political deliverance many expected. Its doctrine was at variance with the precepts and example of the scribes and Pharisees, who had taught that happiness consists in possession of the things of this world and in fame and the honor of men. They had taught that it is pleasing to be called Rabbi and to be extolled as wise and religious, with virtues paraded before the public as the crown of happiness. Before that vast throng it was declared that earthly gain and honor is all the reward such persons will ever receive.
That teaching opposed the doctrines and practices of the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees, exposed their misrepresentation of God, and presented God's character through Christ as compassionate, merciful and loving. It defined the law of God and revealed its far-reaching claims, correcting the distorted picture given by those leaders. It showed that the spirit of the law must be in the heart, and that the state of the heart regulates a person's life and character. Its words were not new, but they came with the force of revelation because familiar truths obscured or distorted by human traditions were presented in their proper light and original clarity and beauty. So presented, they opened the hearers' understanding to the law's glory, dignity and majesty as the enduring standard of righteousness.
He could teach in this way because He had spoken the law at Sinai and knew its meaning fully, and His teaching opened the Scriptures like a new revelation in contrast to false teaching that had confused divine truth. The sermon thereby revealed that the Jewish people were separated from God by failing to walk in the light given them, with darkness coming upon them in proportion to the light they had allowed to shine on their path. Its pure gospel explains God's holy law as the standard of loving God and neighbor, so that unjustly acquiring wealth at another's expense shows a person has not learned the law or met its standard.
The closing section warns hearers not to rely on claims or works but to do the Father's will. It contrasts doers who hear and do His words and build on the rock with hearers who do not obey and build on sand. It connects professed workers of wonders rejected for practicing iniquity with the need for genuine faith that gives the heart to God and bears righteous fruit. The question is thus brought home to each person how he is building, for the foundation must be deep enough to withstand the flood, and the life built on it must stand the test of God's law and the judgment, in contrast to trusting one's own works while transgressing God's law.
Response of Hearers
The close of the Sermon on the Mount found the people listening with intense interest because they expected something extraordinary, and His plain, simple teaching spoken with authority gave them a sure foundation for faith and practice. They were amazed because His doctrine stood at variance with the precepts and example of the scribes and Pharisees, who had taught them that happiness consists in possession of the things of this world and in fame and the honor of men, in being called Rabbi and being extolled as wise and religious with virtues paraded before the public as the crown of happiness, while before that vast throng He declared that earthly gain and honor was all the reward such persons would ever receive. He spoke with certainty and a convincing power that silenced the people and brought a feeling of fear over them, so that they looked at one another doubtfully and asked who of them would be saved if His teachings were true.
Many were deeply convinced that He was actuated by the Spirit of God and that the sentiments He uttered were divine. Its truth and beauty attracted them, and unlike the traditions and doctrines of the rabbis it carried earnest, convicting power, with warnings that spoke to their hearts and brought hope to those who listened. His words challenged their former beliefs and opinions, so that to follow them would require a change in thought and conduct and would bring conflict with religious teachers whose traditions they would have to reject.
Though many responded inwardly, few accepted His teaching as their guide for life. His wise teaching held thousands spellbound, yet even words that deeply impressed the people could not reach hearts blinded by prejudice and hatred, which resolutely rejected the light.
Study and Obedience
The instruction closed by this verse, together with Matthew 5 and Matthew 7:12-20 and Matthew 7:26-29, is to be studied by every person for individual benefit, and ministers and church members must study Matthew 7 most critically again and again for their own enlightenment and not to prove supposed faults they discern in others. Every word of the seventh chapter of Matthew must be studied as for life. That study does the work in the heart that prepares for the work assigned in these last days to reach lost souls, so that instruction about the course of action will not be labor in vain.
Its conclusion calls the question home to each person how they are building, contrasting hearers who do the word and build on the rock with hearers who do not obey and build on sand. The firm foundation must be deep enough to withstand the flood, and the life built on it must stand the test of God's law and the judgment, in contrast to trusting one's own works while transgressing God's law. Following these principles means learning humbly from Christ, asking Him to cleanse the heart and remove faults of character, surrendering self to Him, and living in a way that leads others to Him. The lessons of that sermon are to be lived out, and doing so makes a deeper impression and has a more lasting influence than preaching from the pulpit.
The sayings closed here, especially Matthew 7:24-29, warn those living near the close of earth's history when everything will be in confusion. Christ's doctrine exposes the misleading sentiments by which Satan stealthily works to confuse the minds of those who know the truth, and it calls those living divided lives, professedly serving the Lord while scheming to carry out their own plans that retard the work Christ gave His life to accomplish, to repent and be converted lest they be deceived by the enemy of souls. The warning is applied as a call to seek the conversion of unbelieving friends and neighbors, for hearers are not to rely on claims or works but to do the Father's will. The defects pointed out in those whose thoughts are absorbed with the faults of others are very serious, and unless there are decided conversions, many who think that they are lights will prove to be stumbling blocks.
His vivid and compelling way of bringing truths from God's word is the model for ministry, for His words were fresh and full of life, unlike the traditions and dogmas of the rabbis, and reached minds with clarity and power so that the people were captivated. He preached few sermons but taught in different lines as one having authority because He knew He was teaching the truth, speaking as never man spoke and drawing crowds wherever He went, and camp meetings are to follow that model by laboring to teach in different lines as Christ did. As the greatest Teacher the world ever knew, all who have placed themselves on His side are to learn from Him the art of conversation. Conversation is a science in which practice makes perfect, so that when placed in company where a flood of foolish talk bears all before it, His followers are if possible to change the conversation, by the help of the grace of God quietly dropping words or introducing a subject that will direct the conversation into a profitable channel.