Jesus Christ

By What Authority?

Radical transformation wouldn’t be radical if it wasn’t stepping on someone’s toes. Only the upstarts are described as ‘radicals.’ Jesus was an upstart, and those in power — those who assumed a monopoly on righteousness — wanted to know by what authority Jesus did what he did. But this is the power of the doing of God’s work: When God calls Moses to act, to lead the people of Israel through the sea, there is no doubt who is doing what. ‘You shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has freed you from the burdens of the Egyptians (Exodus 6:7).’