"BY WHAT AUTHORITY?"

One day during the life of Jesus Christ we find He was teaching in the temple. This was not unusual for The Lord. He was teaching the chief priests and elders, many powerful men with great authority. They confronted Christ with a question, that question being, "By what authority?" Matthew 21:23 reads, "Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. "By what authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you this authority?" (NIV).
In other words, these powerful men were asking, "Who, or what, gives you the right to do what it is that you are doing? Who gives you, Jesus, the authority you claim?"
We understand today that it was God. God gave him all the authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). Whatever Jesus Christ spoke came from heaven. Whatever Jesus taught was what God wanted taught (John 12:49 & 50). Many in our world today claim to believe and love God but at the same time reject Jesus as The Christ, The Son of God. I am at a loss to understand how some can "claim" God to be Holy and Just and Righteous and True, yet at the same time disbelieve what He says about Christ to be anything but true. Is God a liar? Did He not speak truth when He spoke of His Son in Matthew 17:5 "While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!" (NIV). Then also Matthew 3:16 & 17 "As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." (NIV) No other person or prophet was ever given this declaration. John 3:16 even tells us that "He gave His ONLY begotten Son". He is NOT 'A SON OF GOD', HE IS THE ONLY, UNIQUE Savior.
All who claim to be followers of God need to be confronted with this same question; "by what authority?" By whose authority are we living our lives? Have we surrendered our hearts and lives to the authority of Jesus Christ because God claims Him to be 'the One'? Being a Christian, that is a person belonging to Christ, is not about being popular, but about being obedient to Jesus Christ our Lord. If Jesus has spoken on any given subject, then His words have THE final authority, not the popular words of any denomination or cult. My thoughts and my opinions, my desires and my feelings, my likes and my dislikes must surrender to his teaching and the teachings of His Father, God (Luke 6:46). Jesus taught the rules of faith, and the Christian lives by these rules (Galatians 2:20). God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36). If God made Him Lord and Christ, who is anyone to deny God's Holy Truth? Man is the liar and false teacher. Let God be found to be true!!! Make Him Lord of your life. Obey His teachings. Always seek His authority for what you do and believe and follow. God bless...