The Authority of Jesus
Jesus and his followers went into Capernaum. Immediately on the Sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and started teaching. The people were amazed by his teaching, for he was teaching them with authority, not like the legal experts. Suddenly, there in the synagogue, a person with an evil spirit screamed, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are. You are the holy one from God.”
“Silence! Jesus said, speaking harshly to the demon. “Come out of him!” The unclean spirit shook him and screamed, then it came out. Everyone was shaken and questioned among themselves, “What’s this? A new teaching with authority! He even commands unclean spirits and they obey him!” Right away the news about him spread throughout the entire region of Galilee. (Mark 1:21-28)
Every Sunday, we come to the table as a church family to remember Jesus and his ultimate sacrifice: his death on the cross, his body broken, his blood shed so that our sins are forgiven.
As a disciple of Jesus, I wonder if he wants more from me in this moment than merely remembering, because Jesus is not only my Savior. He is my Lord.
He has the divine authority of the living God. He speaks with that authority. He teaches with that authority. He heals with that authority. He forgives sins with that authority. He has authority over the supernatural world; evil spirits obey him. He has authority over the natural world; the winds and the seas obey him.
In scripture, we are told that those who witnessed this authority were shaken, astonished, amazed, awe-struck. They could not help but spread the news quickly about this man with divine authority and radically new teaching.
But for me, it is not new. I have loved Jesus my whole life. But I honestly think that for most of my life, I have given more attention to Jesus as my Savior than Jesus as my Lord.
On Sunday when I come to the table, I receive the bread and the cup, and I think about the loving, patient, and forgiving Jesus, and I thank him for his sacrifice for my sins.
But I invite you to consider with me the authoritative Jesus, the one who owns the table.
And just like he emptied himself on the cross, as I approach his table, he invites me to empty myself of the authority I try to have over my life and open my arms to receive whatever it is that I desperately need.
It might look like this:
He has the authority to call me into a purpose greater than myself.
He has the authority to equip me with the gifts I need to answer that call.
He has the authority to fill me with the passion necessary to live into that call.
Whatever mess I have made of my life, Jesus has the authority to fix it.
If I am resistant to surrendering my whole heart to Jesus because of a hold Satan has on some area of my heart and, consequently, my life, Jesus has the authority to set me free.
When I am my worst enemy, Jesus has the authority to save me from myself. When my heart is broken, Jesus has the authority to bind it up again.
When I feel hopeless and in despair, he has the authority to plant hope deep in my heart. He has the authority to fix everything in the deepest part of my being, and no one can stop him. This is really good news, because sometimes I just can’t seem to get my act together.
If my salvation were dependent on me, I would never make it. But, thanks be to God, it is not dependent on me. It is dependent on the grace and mercy of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who has the authority to forgive me for my sins.
All I have to do is surrender authority of my life over to the authority of Jesus. Only then can he truly be the Lord of my life.
