The religious leaders of Jesus' day demanded to know by what
authority
he taught the things he did and worked the miracles he did.
It is important to determine by what authority any religious body
claims to speak. This, in fact, is the intent behind the second
of the Ten Commandments (by the Catholic numbering), which forbids
taking the name of the Lord in vain
.
This prohibition was originally intended not against profanity
(if that even existed at the time), but rather against presuming to
speak for God, i.e., to falsely claim to speak in His name, as false
prophets did.
Jesus did speak about authority in at least three instances:
- Following His resurrection, at Matthew 28:18 he said, "All authority has been given me in heaven and on the earth."
- At Matthew 16:17-19, Jesus addressed Peter, "'Happy you are, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal [it] to you, but my Father who is in the heavens did. Also, I say to you, You are Peter, and on this rock-mass I will build my congregation, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, and whatever you may bind on earth will be the thing bound in the heavens, and whatever you may loose on earth will be the thing loosed in the heavens."
- At Matthew 18:18, Jesus said to the disciples, "'Truly I say to YOU men, Whatever things you may bind on earth will be things bound in heaven, and whatever things YOU may loose on earth will be things loosed in heaven."
In the first passage, Jesus speaks about the authority given Him by
the Father. In the second He speaks of the authority He gives
to Peter (the "you" in each case is in the second person singular
form, addressing Simon Peter individually, not the group of disciples
as a whole). And in the third, he addresses the apostles as a group
(the word "you" is second person plural). "Binding and loosing" was a
rabbinical term describing the authority to declare something lawful
('loosing') or unlawful ('binding'), permitted or not permitted. When
referring to giving Peter "the keys of the kingdom", Jesus was
using the language of Isaiah 22:20-23, where God promised to give to
Eliakim the authority of the key of the house of David, authority to
open and shut entrance to the King.
So the question is appropriate: Has Jesus delegated part of His
authority ('all authority in heaven and on earth') to the Governing
Body of Jehovah's Witnesses as they claim, or was some form of that
authority given by Jesus to the first-century Christian Church and
passed on via apostolic succession (including papal succession) as
claimed by the Catholic Church? Let's examine the facts and see if we
can come to any conclusions ...
- Which religion has a better historical and Scriptural claim to apostolic authority: Jehovah's Witnesses or the Catholic Church?
I invite your engagement with me on these questions. You may leave
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