Category Archives: Christian life

3 BY THE WAY…WHERE WILL IT END?

Christian life, ,

This is one of those “by the way” posts in which I try to set the record straight. You see, many Christians simplify their understanding of salvation to mean “accepting Jesus so that I can go to heaven when I die,” …like faith in Jesus is their passport to heaven, however they live now and wherever heaven might be then. 

Nothing could be further from the truth.   

There are many hints and many passages of Scripture that tell a very different story.  First, where is heaven? You may say, in reply, “Heaven is where God is,” as though God lives far away, in some place from where He reigns and to where we will go when we die. What does the Bible say?

Solomon said, in his dedication prayer…

“But will God really live on earth? Why, even the highest heavens cannot contain you. How much less this Temple I have built!”

‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭8‬:‭27‬ ‭NLT‬‬

David realised…

“I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭7‬-‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

So, where is God? God is everywhere. He cannot be contained or limited to a space. 

Second, God chose Israel to be His people and…He chose to live with them. His dwelling place would be a tent pitched in the centre of the camp where His visible presence would be with them in the wilderness, and later, in the temple in Jerusalem. 

“Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them.”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭25‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This was the beginning of where God was going, not His presence in a geographical place but in the hearts of His people. 

“What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭6‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God’s goal is to live in intimate union with His holy people forever. 

Where will this be? In heaven?

Amazingly enough, not “heaven” as some place far away but on the earth where God began the processes and…where He plans to complete it in a union between heaven and earth. 

The earth was corrupted by sin when Adam chose to go it alone. Jesus came to redeem…not only broken humanity but the broken earth on which humanity lives. 

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭18‬-‭22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Creation shares the pain of our brokenness and awaits the restoration of all things when Jesus returns. God made a perfect earth for human habitation. Therefore, a restored and renewed earth will be the place where God lives with His people forever but…and this is the marvel of His redemption plan…heaven and earth…the unseen realm of God’s dwelling right now…and the earth in its restored perfection…will be united into one. 

John saw the final result in his vision of the new Jerusalem…

“Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.” One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God…I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal… The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭21‬:‭1‬-‭3‬, ‭9‬-‭11‬, ‭23‬-‭26‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Paul said that God’s people will reign with Jesus on the earth…

“if we endure, we will also reign with him…

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭2‬:‭12‬a NIV‬‬

“Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭20‬:‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭5‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It was always God’s desire to live among and in His people. He is moving His redemption plan, slowly, meticulously, towards His goal…a perfect people…a perfect earth…a reunited heaven and earth…under His management…His people ruling with Him…order and harmony… forever! The circle of creation and history will be complete when Jesus returns to see up His kingdom on a perfect earth. 

LIFE LESSONS FROM PAUL’S HAPPY LETTER – 18b

Christian life, ,

Somehow, I’m reluctant to leave Paul’s letter to the Philippians without drawing some life lessons from this great old saint’s story… whose personal life shines through all of its pages. 

Against the backdrop of a servant of Jesus…old and worn out from years of travel, hardship, and sacrifice…we see a spirit honed and shaped by fellowship with the Master. We read the life story of a man whose passion for the gospel…the message of life, salvation, and a glorious future…and his obedience to his calling…beckoned him past and through every hardship towards a goal and a prize greater that anything he ever imagined or anticipated in this life. 

i think that the first great lesson we can learn from Paul is that he learned! He was not stubborn or resistant. His heart was never closed to the meaning and purpose of the trials he endured. He yielded to the lessons God intended for him to learn…like pliable clay in the Potter’s hands. 

Paul’s whole letter was full of the lessons he learned…like a student sitting at the feet of the great Teacher…both absorbing and  passing on to his fellow students the deep truths that would prepare him for the final exam. The day would come when he would be called on willingly to lay down his life on the altar of sacrifice for the sake of the One who had saved him and called him to a life of suffering. 

“But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”

‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭9‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Paul made clear his reason for endurance…

“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The second lesson I glean from Paul’s letter is his perspective of life. Like a golden thread running through this tapestry of truth and experience, Paul viewed all of life from its destiny. This present life, for him, was going somewhere. There was a goal and a reward so compelling that anything he was called to endure was trivial and transient compared with what was to come, though he could not see clearly what it was. 

With his eyes on the reward, Paul was willing to trust God, to anchor his soul to His promises, and to keep going through the darkest of days because of his hope. One of his many favourite expressions was “we know”. 

Let’s look, for example, at…

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28‬ ‭NLT‬‬

How did Paul know that God was painting every circumstance in his life into a picture that would be beautiful, perfect, and of infinite benefit to him? Imprisonment? Want? Persecution? Shipwreck? Beatings? Conflict? All of this and much more…

Yes! Paul walked through every detail of his suffering, reliving it from God’s perspective, and came out convinced that every bit was beneficial for him. Why? His heavenly perspective focused on the goal…to be recreated into the image of Jesus. If Jesus learned obedience through suffering, so should he. 

“Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The third great lesson I learn from Paul is that Paul was not a “Lone Ranger”. He conducted his ministry in partnership with many others. He commended and honoured those who worked with him. He relied on others to help him, to go where and when he could not go. He journeyed with a partner or a team across the Roman Empire, preaching the gospel, establishing churches, and training and leaving spiritual leaders who would nurture the infant believers towards maturity. 

When Paul finally departed, lifeless at the hands of Roman executioners…he left behind a network of churches, connected through his tireless efforts to keep them in touch.  They, God’s people, in turn, travelled and visited…knew each other by name…recognised and acknowledged their leaders…and exchanged letters full of teaching and exhortation…a vast family of people who needed each other against a backdrop of hostility and persecution. 

There is much more we could glean from this one letter from the greatest of the apostles but…let’s take to heart these three observations as of infinite value in our walk with Jesus. These lessons alone can transform our lives from mundane to sharp and useful in the Master’s hands.  

GOD STILL SPEAKS…TRANSFORMED -2

Christian life, ,

Sunday, 1st 1956…the day God spoke…the day that changed me forever…but let me go back a few weeks. 

My dad has decided to sell our home but this entailed my family living in a hotel for three months while our new house was being built. 

My room in the hotel was at the back of the building, a small room with a window facing north. 

I was fifteen years old, a lonely teenager with few friends but… I had a deep emptiness inside that not even a friend could fill. 

One morning before school, in my desperation, I knelt at my bedside, with the warmth of the sun on my back, and I prayed. I had no idea how to pray so I prayed the only words I knew…the Lord’s Prayer. 

God was listening. He heard my heart, not my words. 

A few months later, the answer came…not in neon lights or a booming voice. It came at an Easter camp, organised for the young people in our area by the leaders of my church denomination…at a seaside resort, under canvas…rough and rustic. 

Our meeting place was a marquee tent…the floor, the field grass…our seating, rows of hard, uncomfortable chairs. Our preacher was a short man of Scandinavian origin, his subject taken from Isaiah 53. The title of his message was,”I wore my oldest shirt”!

It was Sunday, April 1…April Fools’ Day on the secular calendar but…not for me. I have no recollection of his sermon…not the words…not the content… not the point of what he said but… the Holy Spirit was drawing me. After the message, at the preacher’s invitation, I knelt on the rough field grass at my chair and allowed the Spirit to finish what He started. 

I don’t know what the Holy Spirit said. I don’t know what He did but…I stood up in that marquee tent a changed person. The deep inner loneliness was gone. In its place was a peace, a certainty that I was new inside, a joy that made no sense except that I knew I was a different person. 

The Bible tells me what had happened in those moments on my knees. 

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I was “in Christ”.  I belonged to Jesus. I was a new person. My old life had gone. 

“Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” …Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.”

‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭3‬, ‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I was born again…of the Holy Spirit. I was born into God’s kingdom. 

“Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬, ‭4‬-‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I was alive. God raised me to new life from sin and death because of His mercy. He didn’t snuff me out because of my sin. Instead, He answered my prayer and made me His own beloved daughter. He gave me His love, His joy, and His peace…a lasting legacy that has never left me…not even in the darkest moments of my life…

Wow! Did I know it! I was so filled with joy that I could not stop talking about what God had done. 

Seventy years have come and gone since that day…seventy years of learning to follow Jesus…of failing, falling, and getting up again, wiping the dust off my knees, the guilt of my soul, and going on. 

In those seventy years, my story has many episodes, many times that God has spoken…in clear words…in my spirit, words that rebuked…explained…redirected…even forgave, comforted and reassured me after I  had fallen…hard…!

There are two promises I hold dear, promises that have steadied me in dark times…times of failure, loss, rejection, betrayal, deep hurt, and despair. 

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28‬-‭29‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Nothing happens without God’s purpose…

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God always finishes what He started. 

And so, the journey into my new life began. Was I an “April Fool” on that day? A thousand times “No!”

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

“This famous quote comes from the American missionary Jim Elliot. He penned it in his journal in October 1949, years before he was martyred while attempting to share the gospel in Ecuador.” (Source: Google AI)

To be continued

JOHN’S GOSPEL…HIM THERE – 26

Christian life, ,

“Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle…. Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” …When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

‭‭John‬ ‭19‬:‭16‬-‭18‬, ‭28‬, ‭30‬ ‭NIV‬‬

How inconceivable that this glorious, supremely perfect, unequalled human life should end like this! What had Jesus done to deserve this ignominious death? Naked, bloodied and battered beyond recognition, helplessly skewered to a Roman torture stake, suffocating under the weight of His own body, insulted and mocked by His tormentors, He died! 

Luke inadvertently expressed in two words the absolutely outrageous nature of this event…

“When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified HIM THERE, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭23‬:‭33‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What was He, Jesus, the Son of God, doing there…on a cross…outside Jerusalem…His own royal city…the King of heaven crowned with thorns?

From a human perspective, this was the worst possible way to end any life, let alone the life of God who came from heaven as a man to serve mankind! Was this the most terrible mistake ever made by the God of the universe? Did He lose control of an impossible situation? Did Jesus push His enemies too far? Did He end up the victim of His own ego?  

The Bible has a very different interpretation to an unintelligible event!

First, this situation…detail by detail, was planned before time…

“All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭13‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

…and prophesied centuries before it happened. 

“Just as there were many who were appalled at him— his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness—”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭52‬:‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭53‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

On the day of Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and His glorious ministry of revelation, caused the truth to spill out of Peter’s mouth…

Quoting an ancient prophecy, Peter declared…

“ ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭17‬, ‭22‬-‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Yes, dead on Passover…but alive three days later!

This Jesus, whom the Roman soldiers hung by nails on a cross and watched HIM THERE, is the same Jesus who sits on the throne of heaven, exalted to the right hand of God, the Father. To Him was given the title, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. 

No, the cross was not the end of a beautiful life but the beginning of a new species…sons and daughters of the living God through His mercy and grace. 

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭13‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

All this is possible only because the Jews condemned Him to death, and the soldiers carried out the Roman governor’s order, and Jesus was crucified there…on Golgotha…for our sins…and rose again…for our justification, and they watched HIM THERE!

  1. My song is love unknown– 

my Savior’s love to me; 

love to the loveless shown, 

that they might lovely be. 

Oh, who am I, that for my sake 

my Lord should take frail flesh and die?

  1. He came from His blest throne 

salvation to bestow; 

but men made strange, and none 

the longed for Christ would know. 

But oh, my Friend, my Friend indeed, 

who at my need His life did spend!

  1. Sometimes they strew His way, 

and His sweet praises sing; 

resounding all the day 

hosannas to their King. 

Then “Crucify!” is all their breath, 

and for His death they thirst and cry.

  1. Why, what hath my Lord done?

What makes this rage and spite? 

He made the lame to run;

He gave the blind their sight. 

Sweet injuries! Yet they at these

themselves displease,

and ‘gainst Him rise.

  1. They rise, and needs will have

my dear Lord made away.

A murderer they save; 

the Prince of Life they slay.

Yet cheerful He to suff’ring goes,

that He His foes from thence might free.

  1. In life, no house, no home

my Lord on earth might have;

in death, no friendly tomb

but what a stranger gave.

What may I say? Heav’n was His home;

but mine the tomb wherein He lay.

  1. Here might I stay and sing–

no story so divine!

Never was love, dear King,

never was grief like Thine.

This is my Friend, in whose sweet praise

I all my days could gladly spend.

(Author: Samuel Crossman, source: hymnary.org)

SOME TANDOM THOUGHTS…AUTHORITY – 7a

Christian life, ,

Why is Jesus’ authority so important for us? What does His authority mean to us as His disciples in our daily lives? For a few days, we’ll be digging into this fascinating topic. 

The ongoing conflict between Jesus and His earthly opponents was the issue of authority. His words and works baffled them because, despite what they saw and heard, they refused to accept His claim that He was the Son of God and that His authority came from His Father. To them, this was blasphemy and blasphemy was punishable by death. 

Authority was everything in the Jewish religious system. The religious leaders claimed their authority from Moses except that the laws they tried to enforced came, not from Moses but from their esteemed ancient rabbis who had added protective prohibitions to the Mosaic law contained in the Mishna, a written collection of the Oral Tradition, called the Oral Torah. 

For example…

Jesus and the Pharisees clashed in their interpretation of Sabbath. To the Pharisees, Sabbath was about work, to Jesus…mercy! He claimed authority over the Sabbath, which did not sit well with them.   

“For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.””

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭12‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.” Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

In Paleo-Hebrew, the ancient pictographic written language of the Hebrews, the  basic meaning of the name of God, “el” or “Elohim” (plural), was depicted in two pictures, an ox and a staff, signifying “strength and authority”. To the Hebrews, strength and authority summed up who God is and what He does. 

When Jesus claimed authority, by sound what H did, He was claiming to be God. 

In this first section, let’s examine Jesus’ claims. In what way did Jesus’ actions confirm His claim to be the Son of God?

  1. Jesus had authority over nature

He calmed a storm…

“He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭4‬:‭39‬-‭41‬ ‭NIV‬‬

He walked on water…

“Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭14‬:‭25‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  1. Jesus taught with authority

“They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭1‬:‭21‬-‭22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  1. Jesus had authority over the demonic realm

“Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.””

‭‭Mark‬ ‭1‬:‭23‬-‭27‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  1. Jesus had authority over sickness, disease, and disability

“When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭8‬:‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus healed a man born blind. 

“As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth…After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.”

‭‭John‬ ‭9‬:‭1‬, ‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus also delegated His authority to heal to His disciples. 

“Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭10‬:‭1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  1. Jesus had authority over death

“After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”…When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.””

‭‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭11‬, ‭43‬-‭44‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  1. Jesus had authority to forgive sin

“Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!” Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” Then the man got up and went home.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭9‬:‭2‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  1. The Father has given all authority to Jesus

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭28‬:‭18‬-‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The gospel records show us that Jesus had complete authority over the earth during His earthly life and has been given, because of His obedience to the Father in His life and death, supreme authority over everything in heaven and on earth,  in His exaltation. 

“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭9‬-‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

In our next section, we shall examine the implications of Jesus’ authority over His followers. 

To be continued…