The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1963-03-15
Authority
Lesson for March II, 1868


1t used to be that men were
ranked high because they had
authority over other men; the
more men, the more authority.
This still is the case. We call
such men executives and we
pay them fabulous salaries to
run the great corporations of
today. A man may build up in
side these corporations what is
called an empire" of men who
are under his control in some
way But there is another kind
of authority. and it is some
times more highly priced: it is
authority on something. M e n
who have this may not be paid
so well; they are usually less
interested in money than the
tycoonS are. But they get a
great deal OF satisfaction out of
life. and they seldom want to
change places with the m e n
who have authority-over
The Authority Of Jesus
Jes us had both kinds of
authority But His was rather
extraordinary power. w h a t
made 1t extraordinary (among
other causes was this: He had
none of the gimmicks, t h E
special marks, the keys, rib
bonS. chevrons. the letters aft
er His name, which mark men
OF authority, then and now. He
was just Jesus Of Nazareth, and
His friends called Him Teacher
so often that that was W h a t
most people called Him. HI S
family had no influence, He had
not had a scholars education,
He had no money. HIS re
friends were mostly poor. He
never met a payroll, He had
no empire in the style of a
Napoleon or a Captain of Fl
nance. : Yet in spite Of these
handicaps, people did respect
Him with an enthusiasm I'M
bounded. "
For after all, Jesus did have
an empire, in the hearts Of
men. His friends felt this, and
so did the masses of the
people. 1t is important to note
where Jesus authority wa S.
what was He authority on. OF
over?
The Kingdom of the Mind
Jes was one who had
authority in the invisible king
dom of the Mind AS one Cos
pei writer says. He knew what
was in man. He could tell what
people were thinking. He knew
what to say to persuade people
and He knew too when people
were not to be persuaded. He
knew people from the inside.
Because He knew this. He was
also an authority over people S
minds. Not that He told them
what to think thought conrol
or hypnotlsm were not in His
line. He used no tricks, He did
not make His points by shout
ing, or by saying the same
thing over and over as a cheap
politician does, till finally he
begins to believe it himself. Not
a bit of that was in Jesus. His
way was to speak the truth
just as simple as that; only I'M
like some teachers and preach
erS, who can make any truth
sound dismal and dull W h e n
they get through threshing it to
chaff, Jesus made the tru t h
not only interesting but unfor-
gettable. not only interesting
but otter startling.
The Kingdom of the Spirit
Jesus had an authority that
went deeper than the mind,
Deeper, that is, if YOU think Of
mind as most people do, as
being what you think wi h.
There is a something in man
and soul may be the best word
to describe something that can
not be seen or felt but known
only from inside there is a
something which is more than
mind, something that reaches
beyond the stars beyond the
kind of existence we know
reaches out to God Himself
Jesus was master of men S
souls as He was of their minds
He was an authority on them
and over them. We can put
this in another way by saying
that in religion and morality
Jesus had the last word. To this
day. even among persons who
are not Christians, there is an
insight into right and wrong
that was not known before Je-
sus time. No one who lived in
the same century, who was a
teacher, was able to teach SC
enduringly as He. No o t h e /
name from the first century,
Christians would say no name
in all history. is as influential
today. Life brings us m n J
questions. but the most serious
searching, burning questions
are those that science cannot
answer. What is the purpose Of
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