Authority

2 Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. 3 They quarreled with Moses and said, "If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the LORD! 4 Why did you bring the LORD's community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die here? 5 Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!"

6 Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them. 7 The LORD said to Moses, 8 "Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink."

9 So Moses took the staff from the LORD's presence, just as he commanded him. 10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?" 11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

12 But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them."

13 These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the LORD and where he showed himself holy among them.

- Numbers 20:2-13

Recently, when I read this passage, I initially found it difficult to understand what Moses did wrong here. Why was God punishing him? Didn't he do what he was told? However, going back and reading over it again, more closely this time, I realised that, yes, he did what he was told but he also did more than he was told. Compare the LORD's instruction - "Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water." (8) - with what he did - Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. (11) As Walvoord and Zuck write:

The Lord told Moses only to speak to the rock for its flow must not be attributed to his own efforts but to the Lord's miraculous provision. Moses, however, at the breaking point of his endurance and patience... drew attention to his own authority as covenant mediator by striking the rock twice with his staff.

- Walvoord and Zuck, The Bible Knowledge Commentary - Old Testament (Cook, 2004) p. 238.

Consider again Moses words. "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?" (10, emphasis mine). Where God instructed them to act in such a way as to demonstrate his holiness, they instead proclaimed their authority. God brought the waters nonetheless, but he punished Moses and Aaron, saying, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy... you will not bring this community into the land I give them." (12)

Mark records the way that Jesus also commanded his disciples about a message they were to share and acts they were to perform:

13Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14He appointed twelve — designating them apostles — that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15and to have authority to drive out demons. 16These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter 17 James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder); 18Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot 19and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

- Mark 3:13-19

This is the first reference in Mark's Gospel to 'apostles'. The image is of "a person of merit sent as an envoy or on behalf of a master in an administrative role." (Mounce, Mounce's Expository Dictionary, Zondervan 2006, p. 26) A modern equivalent might be our governor-general, who is given authority to speak in the Queen's name, and to act on the Queen's behalf. Yet his authority is within strict limits: he can only proclaim what the Queen authorises him to proclaim; he can only act as the Queen permits him to. This is because the actions of the governor-general, as her representative, directly reflect on the Queen herself. You can be very sure that, with this in mind, the Queen is very careful in her selection of who will represent her.

Well, Jesus is no less careful. Luke records that he spent the night praying to God. (Luke 6:12) before choosing them to be with him and sending them out to preach and to have authority over demons (Mark 3:14-15). When he actually sends them out in Mark 6, he has very explicit instructions about how they are to behave (see Mark 6:7-13), which they obeyed. Although Mark doesn't explicitly record any instruction about what they were to say, we read that they went out and preached that people should repent (Mark 6:12) - no doubt the very message that they had heard Jesus delivering day in, day out during the time that they were with him (Mark 3:14).

For that matter, Jesus himself was an apostle, or representative, of God. Jesus says of himself, "What I have heard from him [the father] I tell the world." and that he does nothing on his own but speaks just what the Father has taught him (John 8:26, 28). Even though he was in very nature God, nevertheless he gave up equality with God to take the very nature of a servant (Philippians 2:6,7). He spoke not with his own authority, but rather with that of the one who sent him.

But here's the kicker... since God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name (Phil 2:9), Jesus says "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations... teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:18-20). So we are Jesus' representatives, his apostles. Jesus has taught us how to behave through his teachings and example. We have been given a message - it is spelled out in the Bible. We have been given authority to proclaim the gospel, but our authority to speak in God's name is limited to that message. If we are proclaiming a message other than that given to us in God's word, we are proclaiming a gospel other than the one preached to us, and are in danger of being eternally condemned (Galatians 1:8). Not without reason does John proclaim:

18I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. 19And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

- Revelation 22:18-19