What Did Jesus Have "Authority" Over?

Jesus described his authority during his life in an interesting way. “Authority:” does not mean being an expert in something but having control over external things.

In this article, almost everything Jesus said about authority. He said that was given authority over some things, but he also recognized that earthly rulers were given authority over other things. But what is the nature of their authority? How did his listeners hear him talk about it?

The Greek Words

The Greek word is exousia (ἐξουσίαν) which means "control", "the power of choice", "permission", and "abuse of power." It means having exterior authority as compared to inner power. Jesus uses exousia to refer to the command of kings and their representatives, and the areas of control that his Father gave him.

Jesus uses exousia in twenty-three verses, but this number is misleading. Most of these verses are near duplicates, appearing in two or three Gospels. When we boil it down, Jesus said surprisingly little about either the social power structure or divine ones.

Authority During the Time

In Jesus’s time, the authority of emperors’, kings’, and lords’ was much more extensive than today. Those in authority literally “owned” those under them. Those below them were see as slaves. How common were slaves? Look at all the “servants” in the New Testament. They were described as slaves in the Greek. Slavery to the ruler was broad but usually not very intrusive, much less so that our states today. Rulers had unlimited authority over people, but they didn’t demand much except public respect, taxes, and the occasional ability to conscript men for service. Of course, they could also kill who they pleased. They did not regulate or tax as heavily as states today.

Jesus recognized this social authority in Matthew 20:25:

NIV: You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.
Listeners Heard: You-all know that the rulers of the foreigners' lord over them and they have great authority over them.

But Jesus was also very clear about where that authority ultimately came from. He tells Pilate in John 19:11:

NIV You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.
Listeners Heard: You don't possess authority over me, none, except it exists having been given to you from above.

The NIV is an example of confusing “power” with “authority, two different ideas in Greek. Here Jesus expressed the common idea that social authority comes from the divine. This was the view all over the world, even in ancient China where emperors ruled by the “mandate of heaven.” The Roman emperors took this idea one step further, declaring themselves gods. This became the “divine right of kings.”

Jesus knew he would be sentenced to death, but he also made it clear that authority over his life didn’t belong to society’s rulers but to him. He says this in John 10:18 about his life:

NIV: No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.
Listeners Heard: No one removes it from me. Instead, I myself remove it out of myself. I possess authority to remove it and I have authority to get it back. I get this order here from that Father of mine.

Jesus makes it clear that his source of authority is his Father. He too gets in from above.

Jesus’s Authority

The first authority that Jesus claims is releasing people from their mistakes. He demonstrates this in Matthew 9:6 when curing a paralyzed man.

NIV: But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” (to the paralyzed man) “Get up, take your mat and go home.
Listeners Heard: In order that, however, you might know that this son of the man has authority on the planet to let go of mistakes. (to the paralyzed man) Arise! Lift up that sleeping mat of yours, and go into that house of yours.

The key phrase here is: “on the earth.” This “earth” is the God-made planet, the created natural world, not society. Authority over health is also authority over what God has created. He uses “on the earth” in all verses describing his authority (Mark 2:10, Luke 5:24) and its limits.

When his challengers asked Jesus about his ability to perform acts of wonder, he challenged them back in Matthew 21:19 (also Mark 11:29 and Mark 11:33):

NIV:  I’ll tell you by what authority I do these things if you answer one question,
Listeners Heard: I myself will also ask you one question.  When you tell me that, I myself also will tell you with what authority I perform these things.

He then asked them where John the Baptist’s authority came from, the Divine or people. They couldn’t tell them the source of his authority, so Jesus didn’t answer. But this was Jesus having a bit of fun.