Tag Archives: authority

AMAZED!

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Luke 7:1-10 NLT‬
[1] When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people, he returned to Capernaum. [2] At that time the highly valued slave of a Roman officer was sick and near death. [3] When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some respected Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his slave. [4] So they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man. “If anyone deserves your help, he does,” they said, [5] “for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us.” [6] So Jesus went with them. But just before they arrived at the house, the officer sent some friends to say, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor. [7] I am not even worthy to come and meet you. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. [8] I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.” [9] When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!” [10] And when the officer’s friends returned to his house, they found the slave completely healed.

Two things amazed Jesus, faith and unbelief!

Strange, isn’t it, that the man whose faith amazed Jesus was a Gentile, a Roman, and the unbelief that also amazed Him was from His own people, the Jews. One would have expected it to be the other way around.

What made this Roman official’s faith in Jesus so remarkable? He recognised that Jesus’ authority was authentic, that He was submitted to an Authority greater than Himself and that that Authority authorised Him to speak the word that would be obeyed because higher Authority backed up that authority by His own superior power and position. (We must remember that, during His time on earth, Jesus voluntarily subjected Himself to the Father’s authority).

This Roman officer was obviously a military-trained man. He held a position of authority lower than the Emperor but higher than the soldiers under him. Therefore, he expected obedience from his inferiors in keeping with his obedience to his superior authority.

What a picture of real faith… and Jesus was amazed that he, a Gentile, got it! This man didn’t consider Jesus’ human origin as a reason not to believe in Him. He recognised Jesus’ power over natural situations as a reason to trust Him. He was convinced by the evidence rather than put off by faulty reasoning or prejudice.

This is exactly John’s purpose for his use of signs to confirm Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God. “Examine the evidence,” he said.

‭John 20:30-31 NLT‬
[30] “The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. [31] But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.”

On the other hand, Jesus’ people rejected the evidence in favour of their own reasoning and prejudice. They had a long history of unbelief in the God of their ancestors, and paid a high price for their disobedience. Despite God’s miraculous intervention in their times of distress, they still refused to believe the evidence.

‭Mark 6:1-3 NLT‬
[1] “Jesus left that part of the country and returned with his disciples to Nazareth, his hometown. [2] The next Sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. They asked, “Where did he get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?” [3] Then they scoffed, “He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him…
[5] And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. [6] And he was amazed at their unbelief… “

Instead of viewing the signs that should have convinced them that He was their Messiah, they looked at His human origin as proof that He was no more than an ordinary man.

It is natural to allow circumstances to colour our reasoning. Even John the Baptist’s faith wobbled when he was in prison and in danger of execution.

Matthew 11:2-6 NLT‬
[2]” John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, [3] “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” [4] Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen— [5] the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor…. “

Jesus sent John’s disciples back to him with this caution,

” [6] And he added, “God blesses those who do not fall away because of me.”

In times like these, we need to rein in our emotions and allow sane thinking to lead us to the truth. Like the three Hebrew men in danger of being thrown into Nebuchadnezzar’s fire for not bowing to his image, we need the kind of faith that will not be shaken by circumstances.

Our faith must grow to the point where we can say, ” But if not… we will not bow to your image.”

What demonstration of Jesus authority can be greater than this incident?

‭Mark 2:1-12 NLT‬
[1] When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. [2] Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them, [3] four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. [4] They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. [5] Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” [6] But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves, [7] “What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!” [8] Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? [9] Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? [10] So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, [11] “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” [12] And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!”

This remarkable miracle should have convinced His opponents that He is who He said He is, but it did not!

QED!

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – TRUE GREATNESS IS SERVING

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TRUE GREATNESS IS SERVING

41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:41-45

How tenderly and patiently the Master dealt with His foolish disciples! It must have been disheartening for Him to go over the same ground again and again but He never gave up on them. He couldn’t because He had invested so much in these twelve men and, they would soon be left to take over His mission. Each one of them was hand-picked, even Judas, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and He had to trust the Father for the final outcome.

Jesus used this opportunity to teach them one of the most fundamental and crucial lessons of the kingdom – servant-hood flowing from humility. His own life was the visual aid for them. Day by day, encounter by encounter, incident by incident, they watched the way of the kingdom unfold in the life of their Master. He was the embodiment of humble servant-hood.

The disciples needed to correct their understanding of true greatness. They were constantly vying for position. They all wanted to be at the top of the pecking order in Jesus’ government. For that they were quite happy to climb on each other’s heads. This was evidence that the “yetzer harah”, the attitude of self first, was still their inner motivation. Something radical and life-transforming had yet to take place inside of them. Ezekiel called it “taking out the stony heart and replacing it with a heart of flesh”. How would that happen? The Apostle Paul referred to it as “being made alive”.

This would be part of the great work of the Holy Spirit who would, firstly, raise Christ from the dead three days after His crucifixion. Then, one by one, He would raise people from their spiritual death in their trespasses and sins, to new life through faith in Him. Jesus trusted that the seed of the Word He was sowing in them now would spring to life as the Holy Spirit quickened that word in their hearts through their human experiences.

The way of suffering was the pathway of learning. It was for Jesus and it would be for each one of them. Sonship involved discipline; training in submission, and their response of obedience would teach them humility.

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – POWER AND AUTHORITY

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POWER AND AUTHORITY

Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 7 Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.

8 These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9 Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. 10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. Mark 6:6-13

For some reason and, at least for a little while, the disciples “got it”. Jesus sent them out in pairs so that they had each other for support. I wonder who Peter paired with; Judas Iscariot? James or John, “sons of thunder”? It was a joyful and exciting time for them. Equipped with Jesus’ power, “dunamis”, and authority, “exousia”, they went out to confront the enemy wherever he was lurking – disease, disabilities, deformities, death and even demon-possession gave way to the kingdom of God.

Jesus’ instructions were in line with His disposition and His yoke. “Keep it simple. Keep calm. This is not about you.” And the disciples discovered that, when they did it His way, there was a release of power and joy. According to Luke, they were ecstatic because even the demons bowed to Jesus’ authority in them.

Jesus’ yoke had a two-fold effect on those who were in partnership with Him. It strikes me that His invitation is not to put on His yoke as a single entity, but to wear it with Him. His yoke is an alternative for people who are tired of religious rigmarole. He offers an answer to the hard labour of self-effort. His is a partnership.  No-one has to wear it alone. His yoke brings a person into soul rest – no more fear, anxiety, guilt or shame – all those things are removed, not increased when we wear His yoke.

His yoke restores the image of God. It shares His disposition of gentleness and humility, exposes the false power of the enemy and releases one into the freedom of making right choices. His yoke empowers a person to overcome selfishness and greed and to express the righteousness of God by doing the right thing when confronted with alternatives – Jesus or me.

What was the one ingredient that made all this possible?  Confidence in Jesus, expressed in boldness. The spark had to jump the gap to ignite the fuel and get the engine going. Is this what is missing in us? Moving from confidence that Jesus can do it to Jesus will do it – through you and me!

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – HE TAUGHT WITH AUTHORITY

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HE TAUGHT WITH AUTHORITY

They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 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

This was the new disciples’ first “fishing” lesson. What did they learn? Jesus was a Jew. He was quite happy to live this God-drenched life within the boundary fence of His Jewishness. He did not do anything to buck the system or to be revolutionary in His attitude to the parameters of the Law. He did what every other devout Jew did – He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath. He used the ordinariness of His situation to present the extra-ordinariness of the Father.

The record in Mark’s Gospel says that the people were astounded at His authority. He spoke to them as though He knew what He was talking about. And why shouldn’t He? He had just spent forty days alone with God in the most austere and dangerous of environments, hemmed in by physical and spiritual enemies, and yet He had experienced God’s presence and love so strongly that it had overwhelmed every scary moment.

He knew who He was; He was soaked in the power of the Holy Spirit and He carried with Him the environment of heaven. So steeped was He in the heavenly dimension in which He lived that He filtered every earthly experience through His awareness of God. He viewed life through God’s eyes and nothing human or natural fazed Him; not sickness, not adversity, not opposition, not misunderstanding, not even demons or death caused Him to wobble in His security in God. He was in charge and everything not of God had to give way in God’s presence.

How does this affect us? If we are not so sure of God’s presence and loving purpose in the face of everything that is a challenge to His perfection and His purpose, we will be affected by the environment of earth, not of heaven. God wants to challenge our faith by putting everything in our path that will try to deflect our awareness of Him to an awareness of the roadblock. Faith becomes purer and stronger every time His presence overcomes earthly encroachments.

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – YOUR TURN IS COMING

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YOUR TURN IS COMING

“‘Who would you rather be: the one who eats the dinner or the one who serves the dinner? You’d rather eat and be served, right? But I’ve taken my place among you as the one who serves. And you’ve stuck with me through thick and thin. Now I confer on you the royal authority my Father conferred on me so you can eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and be strengthened as you take up responsibilities among the congregation of God’s people.'” Luke 22:27-30.

Of course we would rather sit down at the dinner table and be served than watch others eating while we serve! But once again, we belong to a kingdom where all the values are a reversal of this world’s values. In the present order of things, “sitting at the table” implies occupying an important position in society.

Serving is a menial job and is reserved for the “nobodies”. In the world’s eyes, Jesus is a “nobody”. In fact, even believers often treat Him as a nobody – It’s “Jesus, do this; Jesus, do that” as though we were the masters and He the servant.

Once again Jesus is teaching us to view this life as part of a bigger whole. Being a servant in the here and now is a necessary part of our apprenticeship for our task in God’s kingdom. It would be foolish to employ an untrained person to do a responsible job, especially one that handles people’s lives. No airline company would employ a rookie to pilot their passenger planes.

There are examples in Scripture of people who were placed in responsible positions without first being taught to be a servant. The most glaring would be King Saul, Israel’s first king. He had great potential but he was never put through his “servant” training before he became king. When the tests came, he failed dismally because he did not know how to submit to God’s authority.

He was disqualified and replaced by David, a shepherd boy who had learned to serve as the youngest son in a family of eight. His trust in God carried him through many dangerous situations and equipped him to be a true leader of God’s people because he submitted to God’s authority and ruled wisely under God.

Having a servant heart is a necessary part of being a disciple. It teaches us how to live in submission and obedience to our Master and equips us to be imitators of Jesus. Without this training, we would be liabilities to God in His kingdom just like Satan was, taking the bit between our teeth and causing chaos through disobedience and self-will.

There will be a time when we reap the reward of faithfully serving others through our obedience to God. Jesus assures us that, if we stick with Him, we will share the honour of a place at His table if we have passed the test of humility and self-sacrifice. Joseph spent thirteen years in slavery and imprisonment in preparation for his great task although he was not guilty of wrongdoing. God found him faithful and promoted him to a place of honour and authority where he could “sit at the table” because he had served well.

Our turn is coming. Our years of training may be long and tedious but they are intended to prepare and test us for great responsibility and honour. If we stick with Jesus and serve others with humility, we shall also share in the reward of “a place at His table”, taking up our responsibilities among the congregation of God’s people.

Jesus is the perfect pattern God has given us to follow. “Although He was a son, He learned obedience from what He suffered and, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him and was designated by God to be a high priest in the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 5:8-10 (NIV).