The Mighty One

Introduction

As I was preparing this week to speak, I came across something by the early 1900’s pastor/theologian A.W. Tozer that struck me in a way I hadn’t really given much thought to before.

The Man who died on the cross died in weakness. But He arose in power.

Jesus died in weakness, but he arose in power. When we come to celebrate Christ risen from death, we come to marvel at the power and might that transcends all human understanding.

Not that we don’t wish we had it, of course. Humans throughout history have craved power, while at the same time recognizing its great potential to corrupt corruptible beings like ourselves. The greatest philosophers and authors throughout time have sought to make sense of the grip power has on us:

In the year 65, the Stoic Philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca declared, Most powerful is he who has himself in his own power.

19th century British poet, Alfred Tennyson: Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control; these three alone lead life to sovereign power.

His American contemporary, founding father and Declaration of Independence author Thomas Jefferson: Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.

The 20th century American moral and social philosopher Eric Hoffer: the only way to predict the future is to have power to shape the future.

Perhaps the greatest philosophers of all once said this: Everybody wants to rule the world. (Tears for Fears)

But once again, their American contemporaries countered with a less optimistic view: It’s the end of the world as we know it. (They Might Be Giants)

Why do humans crave power? I think it is because we feel the need to control our own destiny. Powerless people have the destiny handed to them. Powerful people choose their own destiny. Like Hoffer said, the only way to predict the future is to have power to shape the future.

This issue is that when humans wield power, they use it to bend the will of the world toward themselves, to subjugate, by force, their culture, the laws, and their fellow man. The Scriptures urge us to “choose this day whom you will serve,” and we say, without hesitation or irony, “I will serve me.” Chaos and injustice inevitably ensue. And yes, people take hold of their destiny. And it is a tragic one.

And here’s the thing: everyone who has pursued the path of power, every man and woman who has sought to remake the world in their image and defined good and evil for themselves has met the same fate. The reign of every ruler ends the same way. They died in weakness. The power they wield lasts but a moment, and then fades. Their power dies with them and their disciples are left wondering, what now?

But we are not left to wonder. Instead, let’s talking about the man who died in weakness, but rose in power.

PRAY

Power Displayed

I want to jump to the end of the book of Matthew today. A few days before, a man named Jesus was crucified on a cross. This man was a popular spiritual teacher around the region who spoke and acted with what peopled called a great authority. They said it was like he had control over things that no one else had. He spoke as if he was in charge, and then he backed it up.

The people in-charge really did not like that. They constantly questioned the source of his authority. Jesus calmly ignored them and continued to walk around, speaking and healing and doing incomprehensible, miraculous sort of things. So the rulers did what rulers do. They bent the will of the world toward themselves and did what was right in their own eyes. They used power to sow chaos and injustice, conspired to have Jesus arrested and tried and convicted, and traded his life for that of a convicted insurrectionist murderer. When the governor of the land protested, the religious rulers exerted their wealth and cultural influence and the people cried out, “His blood will be on us and our children!”

And so Jesus was flogged and spit on, a crown of thorns was mockingly placed on his head, he beaten and paraded about, and then was a crucified on a hill called the Place of the Skull. When he died, an earthquake shook the ground and rocks were split and zombies started walking out of tombs (Matthew 27:52, look it up!) and the soldiers standing guard were freaking out and calling their executed prisoner “the Son of God” (that’s the title given to Caesar, by the way, so that was treason they just uttered).

Yes, the Man on the Cross dies in weakness, but this time things are different.

Jesus was taken down from the cross and laid in a tomb. Evening, then morning, then evening, and then morning, the third day of his death. Two women, both named Mary, went to the tomb, and were shocked to find Jesus was not there, but the stone had been rolled back and and angel is sitting there and all the guards have fallen over like dead men. Jesus meets up with them and tells them to send his twelve closed disciples to a mountain in Galilee.

When they approach the mountain, they are filled with fear, worship, and doubt. And Jesus calms their hearts with this word.

Matthew 28:18 CSB

Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.

All authority has been given to me. In resurrection, Jesus shows us his power.

Now we’ve seen people wield power throughout history, and as Thomas Jefferson quipped, that usually does not end well. But Jesus displayed his power differently on the way to the cross.

Jesus, the God-man, chose to wield power in submission. He chose to become a servant. He chose to straighten out a twisted and perverted world and bend it to justice and truth. He chose to wash feet. He chose to touch lepers, disease stricken, and others the world had exiled and abandoned. With a word, Jesus calmed raging seas, drove out demons, and raised the dead. And when he was unfairly accused and condemned, Jesus chose silence. When he could have commanded angels to fight, Jesus chose humility. He chose the cross. He willingly surrendered his life. As Paul says in Philippians 2, the Son of God, who was the exact image of God, full of all power and strength, chose to empty himself of that power and strength, to pour himself out in weakness and in suffering servanthood, to die in our place and bear the crushing weight of our sins.

Jesus displayed a power unlike we had seen before. And when he dies, his power died with him. Or so we thought. But now, Jesus stands on the other side of death. Not entombed, but on a mountain, not dead, but alive, and alive forever. And as the eternal Son of God, he wields an eternal and unending power to bring kingdoms to their needs and reign forever as the king above all other kings. Death took its best shot and came up empty. Death has now been emptied of its power, and the power now lies with the risen one.

This morning, we do not gather together to celebrate the crucified Jesus, though we marvel at his sacrifice. We come to celebrate the Resurrected Son of God. We celebrate victory over temptation, over sin, over death, over the powers of darkness that once ruled every human heart. Like the disciples, we come to worship and stand in awe. And yes, many will doubt, but to the doubts, Jesus draws near and says, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Ephesians 1:20–23 (CSB)

He [God the Father] exercised this power in Christ by raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens—far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he subjected everything under his feet and appointed him as head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.

Power Applied

So we celebrate the Mighty One today. We, like the Roman guards, declare with a fearful awe that this man truly is the Son of God. He is King, He is Lord. But I also urge you to recognize two more things today.

First, if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, you will see his power in a whole new way.

Colossians 2:13–15 CSB

And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive with him and forgave us all our trespasses. He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him.

The Mighty Resurrected one now sits at the right hand of the father, and Christ now wields his power to raise you from the dead. In Christ, you now live. You were dead, and he has made you alive.

Power means the ability to overcome. And in the power of Christ, We do not come to commiserate hopelessness, but to access hope.

Are you struggling with addiction? Jesus is there, and only he has the power to overcome.

Are you wrestling with broken relationships and messes of your own making? Only Jesus triumphs over that.

Are you consumed by fear and the weight of expectation? Jesus nailed that to the cross.

Even now, Jesus is working to show you his power displayed in your life. You do not need to seek this power. All you need to do is surrender, and let him rule.

Too often, we live as though resurrection lies before us, instead of behind us. We speak and act as though sin and death still rule, Jesus is still in the tomb, and power must still be gained, not given.

But we do not journey to the grave. We journey from it!

Tozer: Why should we in the church walk around in black and continue to grieve at the tomb when the record clearly shows that He came back from death to prove his words: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth!”

Christian, you have been raised with Christ! He has taken it into his power to raise you up, to clear your name, to heal you from your sin sickness, and lavish upon you the comfort and joy that only he can provide. Jesus, who claims all authority in heaven and earth is his, only he has the power to shape the future, and he has chosen to shape yours. The cross is defeated, resurrection has come, and he has placed you on the journey toward life, full and overflowing.

Power Transferred

Now, Jesus applies his power to you, but he also transfers it, that the world might know him and bow before him, that the whole world might declare that this man truly is the Son of God. After Jesus makes his powerful claim of authority, he tells his followers:

Matthew 28:19–20 CSB

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.”

We do not make disciples of a crucified Christ. We make disciples of a resurrected Christ. Disciples of Mohammed follow him unto death. Disciples of Buddha follow him unto death. Disciples of Gandhi follow him unto death. Disciples of American presidents follow them unto death. But disciples of Christ follow him unto life, overflowing and abundant and full of eternal victory and glory.

Christ has been given all power; therefore we are to go and evangelize, discipling all nations. All of the implications of the resurrection add up to the fact that the Christian church must be a missionary church if it is to meet the expectations of the risen Savior!

Tozer: Resurrection is not a day of celebration—it is an obligation understood and accepted!

Because Jesus Christ is alive, there is something for us to do for Him every day. We cannot just sit down, settling back in religious apathy. We dare to fully trust the Risen One who said, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth… go therefore… and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.

PRAY