The surpassing power of Christ's word

For 2,000 years, Christ's words have had a unique impact on people's lives. "Never has a man spoken like this man" (Jn 7:46), people would say after listening to him. He spoke "with authority" (Mt 7:29) and "the people were astonished at his teaching" (Mk 1:22). Christ asserted that his sheep "know 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.

Reasons to believe:

Anyone can personally experience the power, driving force and particular strength of the Word of God through the reading of the Gospel.
From St. Benedict to St. Francis, countless saints and religious have been touched, converted and drawn to follow Christ, overwhelmed by the sublimity of his word.
Joseph Fadelle, a recent convert from Islam, recounts in detail this extraordinary experience of discovering the beauty of the Gospel in his autobiography The Price to Pay (Ignatius Press, 2012).
From the outset, "many began to believe in him because of his word" (Jn 4:41), and many have come to ask: "Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?" (Mt 13:54). A superior wisdom does indeed emanate from the words spoken orally, over three years, by this young carpenter from an obscure provincial town on the fringes of the Roman Empire, and it does indeed raise questions.
Although he never wrote anything, Christ generated the greatest "bestseller" of all time, in accordance with what he had prophesied: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away" (Mt 24:35).
There is every reason to believe in the words spoken by this extraordinary man, who divided History into two ages, and who remains the most talked-about, thought-about and written-about subject (60,000 books) in 2,000 years.

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).