At the Feast of Tabernacles, many among the multitudes believed in Jesus (John 7:31). They could not imagine that the long-awaited Christ would perform more signs than He, and they eagerly listened to His words. Rather than similarly responding to the ministry of the Son of God, the Chief Priests and Pharisees sent officers to apprehend Him (John 7:32). Their desire was to have Christ stand before them so that they might find cause to accuse Him. Instead of returning with Christ as their prisoner, the officers came back empty-handed. The manner of Christ’s speaking had so impressed them that they could not apprehend Him in good conscience. When questioned by the Chief Priests and Pharisees, the officers justified their failure to bring Christ by saying, “Never did a man speak the way this man speaks.” Let us consider five ways in which these words of the officers apply to Christ.

Christ spoke with absolute authority. The great men of the world exercise leadership over others (Mark 10:42), and their words carry authority in proportion to the greatness of their positions. With men, such authority is relative, for even the greatest of men possess very limited power; but with Christ, authority is absolute, for He is the Son of God, and has authority over all things in heaven and earth (Matt 28:18).

The religious rulers of Christ’s day often quoted other sources in their teachings, seeking to bring the weight of another’s authority to bear. Not so with Christ: He could say, “You have heard that it was said…but I say to you” (Matt 5:21-22). His manner of speech was so unprecedented that “the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes” (Matt 7:28-29). Christ even set His own words as the standard by which men will stand or fall in the final judgment: “He who rejects me and does not receive my words has that which judges him-the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day” (John 12:48).

Christ spoke the creation into being (John 1:3), and He upholds all things by the word of His power (Heb 1:3). He cast out demons with a word and healed infirmities with the command of His voice. When standing before the tomb of the deceased Lazarus, Christ said, “Lazarus, come forth!” (John 11:43), and although he had been dead four days, Lazarus came forth alive. When standing in a storm-tossed ship with His disciples, Christ rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace, be still” (Mark 4:39), and there was a great calm. His disciples responded, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him” (Mark 4:41). Who indeed. He is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Have you bowed to His authority? “Never did a man speak the way this man speaks.”

Christ spoke absolute truth. Men often speak words that are true, but none could ever claim to be the source of absolute truth-except for Christ. Christ said of Himself, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), the very personification of truth itself. In the Gospel of John, Christ is referred to as “the Word” (John 1:1)-that is, the Word of God. His very essence is that He is the Word of God, the embodiment of absolute truth.

So great is Christ’s claim to absolute truth that a person’s integrity is measured by response to His words. When standing before Pilate, Christ said, “You say rightly that I am a King. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice” (John 18:37). Have you received the truth of the Son of God? “Never did a man speak the way this man speaks.”

Christ spoke in parables. Parables were Christ’s primary method of teaching the multitudes and His disciples, “and without a parable He did not speak to them” (Matthew 13:34). It is the glory of God to conceal a matter (Proverbs 25:2), and God does so using parables. He does so to blind the unbelieving, that “seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand” (Luke 8:10). He does so to challenge and to instruct His disciples, for “to them it has been given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God” (Mark 4:11). He does so to perfectly illustrate spiritual reality.

Christ took the most ordinary occurrences in life and used them to illustrate the greatest of truths. He used parables to hide truth from the wisest of scholars and yet reveal it to the lowliest of babes: “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty” (1 Cor 1:26-27). Have the parables of Christ opened your heart to the things of God? “Never did a man speak the way this man speaks.”

Christ spoke with perfect wisdom. Men may speak words of truth that are not words of wisdom, and even men who often speak wisdom do not speak it perfectly; but Christ always spoke the pure and perfect wisdom of God. The Queen of Sheba came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, but Christ is greater than Solomon (Matt 12:42). His wisdom exceeds that of men more than the light exceeds the darkness for brightness. Christ is wisdom itself; as it is written, Christ is “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:24).

A man can speak words of wisdom for himself; but Christ spoke words of wisdom to meet the needs of others. To the Samaritan woman, He was gentle, gradually leading her to see His identity. To the Pharisees, He was firm and rebuking. To the weak, He showed Himself gentle, kindly offering to give them rest, never breaking the bruised reed. To the proud and covetous, He gave warning and the demand to humble themselves before God. He always knew when to speak and when to be silent, what to say and the time to say it. No hearer could leave His presence unchanged. Has the wisdom of Christ changed your life? “Never did a man speak the way this man speaks.”

Christ spoke the words of eternal life-and these are the most important words of all. The words of men will come and go, but the words of eternal life endure forever. Christ said, “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). They are the words that give life to the dead, transforming our lives and making us whole. They point the way to salvation and give the hope of new life in God. They bring eternal life to those who believe. As Peter said, “‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Have you received eternal life through the words of Christ? “Never did a man speak the way this man speaks.”

Let us seek Christ’s Word today in the scriptures. In the mercy of God, He has given us the scriptures so that we can hear the words of the living Christ. Christ said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Luke 21:33). These are the words that will endure forever; these are the words of life.

Have you listened to Christ? Do His words pierce your soul? Will you humble yourself before His words and give your life to Him? Will His words be your guide for time and eternity? If you know these things, happy are you if you do them. “Never did a man speak the way this man speaks.”