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Christians Are Just Simple Scribes

There seems to be consensus in the religious world that our Lord’s “Sermon on the Mount” is one of the hallmarks of Christianity. As part of His plain teaching regarding the kingdom (Matthew 4:17; Matthew 4:23-25; Matthew 5:2-3), He sets forth the unique characteristics of Christians, setting them apart from the world and other world religions. After concluding His great sermon, Matthew records these words:

“And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Matthew 7:28-29 – NKJV).

Let us ask, “How did Jesus speak differently than the scribes and what made His speech so special (cf. John 7:30-46)?

1) He spoke “As One Having Authority” — We might quickly guess that Jesus had a special air of confidence, maybe an aura of charisma and leadership that drew people to Him. We might also guess that He had the look and mannerisms of a leader and King, because after all, He was the King of kings (I Timothy 6:14-16; Revelation 17:14). Although man might imagine Jesus exuding tremendous power, it was not the kind of power seen by carnal men. Instead, He personified humility, meekness, and gentleness in all that He said and did. Although He spoke boldly when necessary, He was also gentle to the weak (Matthew 23:1-39; John 8:1-11; Luke 7:36-50). Consequently, we know it was not a commanding, charismatic presence that drew people to Him — it was something greater than that. If we look closely at our text, we will find our answer. It says that the people were astonished, because He spoke to them “as one having authority,” unlike the scribes.

2) How Would a Scribe Teach? — Scribes were men who had dedicated their lives to copying and recopying the sacred Jewish writings. In addition to making handwritten copies of the Old Testament, some of them also copied respected traditions and commentaries authored by uninspired men. Scribes were diligent in accurately performing this tedious and serious task. From history we know that they had determined many checkpoints to ensure their accuracy, such as verifying the number of words, middle letter, and middle word of each book. If a copy did pass all the checkpoints, then they would burn the copy and start over again.

Because of their close study of the law, they naturally became experts, able to quote many passages. However, a scribe was still just an uninspired man. He was not inspired like the prophets nor was he an inspired lawgiver like Moses. His authority only resided in the text that he quoted. If he could not show his point from Scripture, then his words were empty. He was limited to answering questions by, “It is written” or “In the Scriptures we read.” He had not been given authority to say otherwise.

3) How Did Jesus Teach? – Although Jesus frequently answered questions by quoting Old Testament Scripture (Matthew 4:4-10, Matthew 22:23-33), He also said words that a scribe would dare not say:

“You have heard that it was said …. But I say to you …” (Matthew 5:21-22 – NKJV, Matthew 5:27-28 – NKJV; Matthew 5:31-32 – NKJV; Matthew 5:33-34 – NKJV; Matthew 5:38-39 – NKJV; Matthew 5:43-44 – NKJV).

“Because I said so” is a frequently offered phrase uttered by parents as a sufficient answer to their children’s questions. Similarly, Jesus repeatedly offered answers and issued commands that were to be respected simply because He said so. Such authority over the creation only resides in the Creator and ultimate Lawgiver. Even inspired prophets limited themselves to saying, “The Lord said to me ….” (cf. Deuteronomy 1:42; Isaiah 18:4; Jeremiah 1:7). None would have ever dared say, “But, I say to you ….”

Although Moses sat in the place of lawgiver, even He learned not to speak presumptuously, asserting authority that was not his own (cf. Numbers 20:10-12; Deuteronomy 32:48-52). Clearly, Jesus was the prophet Who spoke to the people about all things (Deuteronomy 18:15-19; John 1:19-21; 1:17). He spoke with such great authority, because He had been given such authority (Hebrews 1:2 – NKJV; Matthew 17:1-5 – NKJV; Mark 9:2-7 – NKJV).

4) Who are we? – Let’s consider this question: “Who are we, religiously speaking?” Obviously, we do not enjoy the place of authority that Jesus was given (Matthew 28:18 – NKJV; John 17:1-2 – NKJV) and thus we are but simple scribes. We do not have the authority of inspiration. Instead, we are restricted to quoting and pointing to Scripture. Within it lies God’s power to reveal the gospel unto salvation (Romans 1:16; Ephesians 3:3-5; 2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Consequently, we cannot answer querist’s Bible questions with, “My opinion is …”; “My church says ….”; “My preacher says ….”; “My conscience suggests ….”, or “I think ….”, because these answers have no authority from God. Like the scribes, we can only say, “According to the Scriptures …” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4 – NKJV) or “It is written …” (Matthew 4:4 – NKJV; Matthew 4:7 – NKJV).

While other religious folks may presume additional authority, and speak where God has not spoken (I Peter 4:11), Christians are just simple scribes — diligent students and teachers of the Book (2 Timothy 2:15 – ASV; 2 Timothy 2:1-2 – ASV).