The Authority of Christ

From our earliest years of life, most of us were taught to “respect” those in authority: parents, grandparents, teachers, coaches, police, etc. And yet, most of the defining moments of our lives are developed from those crossroads where we break away from “the nest” and go our own way and establish our own “authority.” It’s as if we’ve been trained so that we can establish personal authority in a responsible way at the appropriate time.

In fact, when we meet an adult who isn’t able to make a decision without the approval of a parent, most would agree that there was an over-dependence issue. In 1961, a trial was conducted in Jerusalem concerning the Nazi war crimes committed during WWII. One person in particular on trial was Adolf Eichmann, who played an integral part in the death camps. Yet, at the trial, he claimed that he wasn’t guilty because he was “just following orders.”

Long before that trial in Jerusalem, another trial was underway against Jesus, the son of God most high. The claim was that He claimed authority that He wasn’t authorized to claim (Luke 20:1-8). However, He’d been proving his authority over and over again throughout His ministry, from His beginning sermon (Matthew 5-7), where the people recognized that “He taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law” (7:29) to His own disciples who quickly learned that “even the winds and the waves obey Him!” (Matthew 8:27)

Jesus verified He was the Messiah to John the Baptist’s followers by doing things that demonstrated His authority. Luke 7:22-23, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of Me.” This happens to be a quote from Isaiah 61, and that entire book had a lot to do with establishing the authority of God through His promised redeemer of the world–the Messiah.

Although questioning authority is healthy if done respectfully and at the right time, the Pharisees didn’t have pure motives. When we read the Bible, we get a peek into the mind of God, and therefore we can begin to understand what His will is (Ephesians 5:17, Matthew 7:21). Jesus proved He had power even over death! That proof gives credibility to all His other actions and teachings that point to His authority over everything! It’s difficult to truly let God’s will be my authority, and not just my own interpretation of it.

Ephesians 1:18-23, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he Has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength He exerted when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority…”