The surpassing power of Christ's word

Summary:

According to Christian doctrine, Christ is the reflection of the eternal Father, "the refulgence of his glory" and "the very imprint his being" (Heb 1:3), the "logos" who "was with God" and "who was God" (Jn 1:1), that is, to use an inadequate but expressive translation, his "Verb". 

In this logic, everything Christ said on earth is truly the "Word of God", and obviously cannot resemble a human word, for, as the Lord explained to the prophet Isaiah, "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, my thoughts higher than your thoughts." (Is 55:9). 

And that's exactly what we observe: Christ's Word has a very special, unique quality, because he naturally speaks with the very authority of God, and everyone who heard him was aware of this. "The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes...What is this? A new teaching with authority." (Mk 1:22-27). "Never before has anyone spoken like this one." (Jn 7:46), his contemporaries said. "He began to teach them many things" (Mk 6:34) and "the people were astonished at his teaching" (Mk 1:22).

Christ's word is truly special for many other reasons: it is affirmative and full of assurance; it offers enlightening parables that the average, humble person can understand; it unveils new mysteries; it teaches new interpretations; it does not shrink from the powers of this world; it is never afraid of controversy; it speaks with authority on rites (Mk 2:28), the Law (Mt 5:21) the Temple (Mt 12:6) and the evil traditions of men; it casts out demons; it multiplies miracles. And throughout his public ministry, Christ spoke and acted in his own name: "Young man, I tell you, arise" (Lk 7:14), gradually revealing the unheard-of mystery of his identity: "You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world" (Jn 8:23).

"Why do you not understand what I am saying? Because you cannot bear to hear my word" (Jn 8:43). Christ affirmed that his sheep "recognize his voice" (Jn 10:4-8), for "whoever belongs to God hears the words of God" (Jn 8:47). And indeed, for 2,000 years, multitudes of "good and generous" men and women (Lk 8:15) have had the same fascinating experience, recognizing God's word and "leaving everything" (Mt 19:27) to follow Christ and live off his "treasure" (Mt 13:44), in poverty, chastity, obedience, and trials, in opposition to all the false values of the world, for, as he prophesied, "heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away" (Mt 24:35).

Beyond reasons to believe:

The word of Christ is the food of the spiritual life, and we are all called to draw nourishment from it every day.

Going further:

"Toutes les paroles sorties de la bouche de Jésus-Christ": An impressive re-enactment (2 hours 20 minutes) showing the power of Christ's words.

More information:

• Article "Jésus-Christ est-il vraiment unique dans toute l’histoire des religions ? " in Aleteia’s Crucial Answers.
• Article " Pourquoi le judaïsme nous est-il nécessaire pour adorer Jésus-Christ ?", in Aleteia’s Crucial Answers.
• Chapter 18 of the book Dieu, la science, les preuves (God: The Science and the Proof), entitled "Who is Jesus?"