Message From Senior Pastor
By Chris Kam, Senior Pastor
KNOW -ING A
HIM
fter recording Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount,” Apostle Matthew wrote this particular sentence: (Matthew 7:28,29) “ 28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.” The phrase “When Jesus had finished saying these things”, was repeated (in similar or identical words) in four other places: Matthew 11:1, 13:53, 19:1 and 26:1. As a good Bible student, we look for words or phrases that are repeated to see an emphasis that the writer is trying to make. In the case of Matthew, these served as turning points or shifts in the book structure. So, I am particularly intrigued by this passage on the writer’s emphasis. He drew a contrast between the teachers of the law and Jesus. One had positional authority and the other did not. Obviously, Matthew was not talking about positional authority, but spiritual 1
