The Authority of Jesus - King of All

Each and every day that we awake, we awake to a conflict zone. I’m not referring to breakfast time on Monday morning before school, I’m referring to our struggle against what theologians call the enemies of the human soul, the world, the flesh and the devil.

The human race staggers under the tyranny of this unholy trinity. Jesus Christ has breached the gates of this evil rule and set the captives free. He has raised the flag of a new Kingdom and invites all to leave their chains and follow him to freedom. As Matthew unfolds his presentation of the King and His Kingdom, he teaches us in three encounters, how Jesus has authority over all three of our ancient foes who still seek to do us harm even though their fate is sealed. Jesus is the captain of our salvation. His Holy Spirit has been given as our guide and guarantee. He has given us His Holy Word before which Satan himself flees. All authority has been given to Him and in His name we are send into a conflict zone to rescue the perishing.

Matthew wants us to be convinced and emboldened by the authority of Jesus over the world, the flesh and the Devil.

The Apostle Paul referred to them

“You once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience — among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh” (Eph. 2:2–3a).

Jesus met them personally in the wilderness

Satan offered him the nations of the world

Satan offered him the desires of his flesh - bread

Satan offered himself as the object of Christ’s worship

1. Authority over the world :23-27

… even the winds and the waves obey Him

Unlike the other Gospel accounts, Matthew uses the word SEIZMOS which means earth quake., suggesting that it could mean more than a mere natural disturbance. The raging sea is how Isaiah describes the nations in their opposition to God.

Isaiah 17:12-13 Alas, the tumult of many peoples— they rage like the roaring seas; the uproar of the nations— they rumble like the crashing of mighty waters. The nations rage like the rush of many waters. He rebukes them, and they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills, like tumbleweeds before a gale.…

The world is a KOSMOS - an organised web of nations that are are unwitting partners with Satan in opposition to the Rule of Christ.

if Matthew is using the tumultuous sea as a metaphor for the fallen world as in opposition to Christ, and his authority over it, we need to talk about the world for a few minutes.

The world and its systems are not neutral.

We hear a lot about systemic injustice today. Our systems are among the best in the modern world. We have come a long way since the Magna Carta was proclaimed and the legal systems that began to form out of it. But there is a systemic problem, it is a problem in the heart of mankind. There is a root of selfish pride and lawlessness that permeates our whole being. We are systemically messed up and the systems we create, while sounding enlightened, will be administered imperfectly by people who are systemically evil or as a good theologian might say “Totally Depraved”. That’s why lady justice is blind, because if we peek, we will mess up justice every time.

So this world is fallen and is in opposition to Christ’s rule.

The notion of a worldly secular government is not neutral. Atheism is not a neutral scientific position. Secularism is not the sheet that holds an otherwise multicultural and pluralistic society. It is itself one of the views, and not a very good one, in a pluralistic society. The sheet that holds us all together is tolerance,freedom of conscience and speech and the rule of Law and democracy. In that sheet we would expect to have principled discussion. But more and more we are told that the biblical position is unwelcome and hurtful to the progress of Canadian society.

Ill Stan fowler expressed a contrary but biblical position on sexuality in our local newspaper and was told by the author of the article he critiqued, a well placed educator in our city, that his people lost the war and that they should be quiet.

Make no mistake, there is a cultural war going on for the identity of our society. The world believes they are progressing to a higher level of enlightenment but it is a blinding light they follow that plunges them into darkness. A darkness that Jesus says is great. A darkness they perceive to be light. They are moving in lock step with the god o this age away from the light if one could say they were ever near to it.

We when we are told by the powers of the world to be quiet, that our gospel is hateful, narrow, homophobic, misogynistic, bigoted - remember that they called Jesus a consort of Beelzebub. I don't know which is worse.

But Jesus has authority over them. He is over the so called human rights commissioners. He is over the supreme court of Canada. He is over the administration of the academy.

And we must obey God rather than man.

Some of you wonder why is a faithful Bible teacher like John MacArthur viewing California Governor Gavin Newsom as an enemy. The governor has shut down all gatherings including churches. MacArthur believes that Satan wants to muzzle the church and that COVID is a convenient excuse for him to manipulate his unwitting minions to do his bidding in the name of safety. I don’t think that our government has any thought but the safety of our people, but that's not to say that Satan is going to waste this crisis. He will attack the church as an angel of light. What he means for our demise God will work for our good and His glory!!!

So we find ourselves more and more being maligned by the world.

Ill. Parkdale Maronite Church Statue of Mary was decapitated.

Jesus has power over that. With one word he can stop the raging sea just as he stopped the mouths of the lions in Daniels den.

But if he does not… we will not question his authority but be glad that we can suffer for his name and then rule with him in glory.

NB The problem with the disciples is that they didn't understand what manner of man this Jesus was. The fact that fishermen woke up a carpenter to help navigate their boat suggests some faith, but it was so little.

Matthew 3. Paradigmatic Healing (8:1–9:35)

But the focus of this passage remains squarely Christological—on who Christ is, not on what he will do for us. One who has this kind of power can be no less than God himself, worthy of worship, irrespective of when and how he chooses to use that power in our lives. Sometimes he leaves storms unstilled for good and godly ends (cf. 2 Cor 12:7–8).

Nature was created by Jesus to be in full harmony with itself. Sin has destabilised the harmony Matthews main point is to demonstrate Jesus authority over nature even in its fallen state.

2. Authority over the devil

3. Authority over the flesh