Authority (10 minutes)

Matthew 28:18–20 CSB

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

Jesus gives us clear direction here in what is called the Great Commission. He says that those who are his disciples are to be on gospel mission, proclaiming that the kingdom of God has been brought near in him while helping those who do not know him to experience his beauty and experience his authority.

Though this call from Jesus is clear, research shows that many of us who apprentice under Christ have never been active in helping to make disciples by sharing our faith.

Might I challenge us and suggest this may be because we don’t truly accept the authority he claims he has been given by the father?

The word authority here is worth meditating on. It is the Greek word exousia. The word is used in Matthew 9 when he demonstrates that he has the exousia to forgive sins by healing a paralyzed man. It’s also used when Jesus teaches and the Pharisees ask where he got the training to teach with such exousia. Interestingly enough, Satan tempts Jesus with the promise of exousia over all the kingdoms of the earth, to which Jesus replies

Luke 4:8 CSB

And Jesus answered him, “It is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”

Where our authority comes from is important. Jesus shows us that in his response. He didn’t claim all authority on heaven and earth until it had been given to him by the ultimate authority.

That is why the Great Commission can be a challenging command in our culture. For our culture promotes individualism to the point that the rights and will of the individual have become the ultimate authority. This, however, is not a sustainable way to live. If we all walk in our own authority, then we truly have no authority. This is essentially what Jesus shows us when he denies Satan’s offer.

“Satan if you give me authority, I ain’t got no authority. All authority worth walking in belongs to my Father.”

But culture’s promotion of individualism has led to the embrace that we are the authority, it has led to the embrace of a philosophy called moral relativism.

Simply put, moral relativism is the belief that no absolutes in life exist.

The question our culture is asking today is what is “right?” Without absolutes, without an ultimate authority, how can I know?

Well moral relativism says that we each determine what is right. So long as your beliefs do not harm me, we can just live and let live. That works great until someone challenges your authority. When their authority and your authority disagree, then who’s right?

We have difficulty determining what is right, because we have difficulty trusting anyone outside of ourself for the truth. There’s many reasons for this, but typically it’s because people in our lives who have claimed an authoritative position have proved themselves to be unworthy of our trust for whatever reason. This is the basis for moral relativism.

And this is what determines how we filter our lives. It builds the lenses through which we see. These lenses have been formed by our experiences, education, beliefs, and upbringing.

I recently went to a 3D movie with my family. They give you these glasses before you go in and you must put them on to rightly see the movie, the way it is intended to be seen. But about halfway through I got tired of wearing the glasses. I took them off and literally couldn’t tell what was going on. Because it only looks right when you view it through the correct lenses. Only then is it clear.

So, For you and I and everyone else in this world, a foundational question to ask is “through what lenses am I looking at life?” Through whose exousia or authority am I attempting to live?

We, as Christians must train ourselves to put on biblical lenses. We must teach our hearts to know that God’s authority was at work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all earthly rule and authority and power and dominion (including Satan) and gave him a name above every name. It’s in that authority that Jesus commands us to GO and make disciples. It’s the same authority that raised Christ from the dead.

SO why doesn’t everyone just submit to this authority? That’s a good question, that the Bible answers. It’s because since the garden we have desired our authority to be the ultimate one. But A consistent longing for the world to be made “right” remains in the heart of every one of us. It’s our definition of right, viewed through our lenses that keeps us at odds with each other.

Dig this brethren, that person that you cannot believe is acting the way they are, at their core, they are wanting this world to be their version of right, just as much as you want it to be your version of right. And you can’t expect someone who is lost to act any other way. But Christian, you should expect much out of yourself because of whose authority you walk in.

We must remember that a story is behind every face. A reason exists why people believe and behave the way they do. If we can take the time to hear the story behind the face, we can begin to build God glorifying relationships. When we understand that people behave based on their stories it helps us to understand their words and actions. It helps us to see the world through their eyes.

Oswald Chambers said, “There is always one fact more in every man’s case about which we know nothing.”

Understanding this should help us have compassion for others. It should help us to realize that we all have the universal longing to see things made right, no matter the lenses we have on. The gospel redeems what is right and good and true. It doesn’t ask you to. May we attempt to understand what is right, and good, and true, through the belief lenses of our neighbor so the gospel of Jesus Christ, the ultimate authority, can proclaim redemption; for he has come to make all things right.