With Authority - Poem by Raymond A. Foss

The message is unknown; unimportant
He spoke with authority.
Now that was the thing
The real message in the Word
why the story is recorded
left for us to ponder
and to cherish

He, though untrained, unschooled,
spoke with power, with authority
not like the elite
who spoke the cold words,
of their law, the unflinching rules

He came to teach
a new message
the true meaning, the spirit
discerning the heart of God
hidden in the words on the page

Speaking with power,
with authority, with wisdom
for those who will listen
to his words of parable,
of fulfillment, of love.

2/13/06 13:42
Mark 1:21-22
On 3/3/08 I received an email which asked,
“Hi, just wondering what is your meaning
behind 'With Authority' thanks”

Part of me wanted to say, “I have no idea; these are the words
God gave me to write.”

I responded,
“I wrote this one in a burst of activity 2 years ago, on Monday 2/13/06.
On the same day I wrote:

- With Authority
- Jesus' Eyes
- His Image
- The Rock
- Dipped Candles
- Carolina Summer

If I recall correctly, the poems The Rock, With Authority,
Jesus' Eyes, and His Image were all inspired by a sermon
by Pastor Lori Eldredge on February 12, 2006.
I liked some of the language she included. I think that is
where they came from. I think, if I remember right,
she was saying that part of the power in the Mark 1:21-22
scripture was that we didn't know what Jesus looked like,
or what exactly he said. What we know is that he must
have had something, that inexplicable quality of charisma,
something in his eyes, in the way he spoke, in the way he got
others to follow him, proving he was who we believe him to be.
He spoke with authority, with power because he didn't just learn
the scripture, the true commandments of God from the sacred scrolls.
He learned it from God; He is God made human here on earth.
He wasn't like the scribes or Pharisees who had spent a lifetime
in the Temple. He was a carpenter's son; but He spoke with authority.
There was power in his words, in the way he presented them,
that made all the difference. It wasn't merely opinion either.
Somehow, he spoke from God.”