Power and Authority
Notes
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Introduction:
I’d like to tell you two stories this morning:
The first story is about a time when Christian Herter was governor of Massachusetts, and he was running hard for a second term in office. One day, after a busy morning chasing votes (and no lunch) he arrived at a church barbecue. It was late afternoon and Herter was famished. As Herter moved down the serving line, he held out his plate to the woman serving chicken. She put a piece on his plate and turned to the next person in line.
"Excuse me," Governor Herter said, "do you mind if I have another piece of chicken?"
"Sorry," the woman told him. "I'm supposed to give one piece of chicken to each person."
"But I'm starved," the governor said.
"Sorry," the woman said again. "Only one to a customer."
Governor Herter was a modest and unassuming man, but he decided that this time he would throw a little weight around.
"Do you know who I am?" he said. "I am the governor of this state."
"Do you know who I am?" the woman said. "I'm the lady in charge of the chicken. Move along, mister."
The second story is about C. H. Spurgeon,who, in his young days, got a 'penny-farthing' cycle, new and silver-plated, and was very proud of it. One day, riding along the road, he met another cyclist on a boneshaker.
`Difficult to ride a machine like that, isn't it?' said Spurgeon.
`Not a bit!' said the man, and off he started. Spurgeon did his best to follow, but was soon left far behind. Spurgeon had the machine, the man had the power.
These two stories demonstrate the importance of two things: Power and Authority. And while they are two different things, when it comes to social structures, it is key that we have both. Power without authority is tyranny. Authority without power is ineffective. In our passage today in the gospel of Mark, Jesus demonstrates that he has both and that his power and authority are life-changing for us.
When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. 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, four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. 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. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves, “What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!” Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? 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, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” 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!”
Pray.
This passage has so many spiritual truths buried in it but there are there three things that I want to draw your attention to this morning. The first thing to notice is how the whole scene is fuelled by friendship and faith.
Founded on Friendship
Founded on Friendship
22 years ago, or so, I, a somewhat recent convert to Christianity, volunteered as a youth leader at a baptist church in Vernon, BC. Back then, we strived for bigger and bigger in youth ministry so we played these extravagantly huge games. One game, and forgive me because the title of it dates me considerably, was called the KGB run. We would run all over the city in 40 min chunks while leaders drove in cars and would chase us down. The police loved it when we played this game!!
One time, we had so many leaders that I decided to run with the youth. I was with a few guys and then over time, it was just me and one other guy who I considered a friend and who eventually become my roommate in college. We were walking along, chatting casually when all of a sudden, we heard the screeching of tires sliding on the cement and then we heard a sound that terrified us. It was the clip clip clip of cowboy boots hitting the pavement and getting faster and faster and we both knew what that meant. We knew which leader was coming for us and we knew how fast of a runner he was so Dan and I started running as fast as we could and that’s when I realized that winning was more important to me than solidarity because although I knew I couldn’t outrun the other leader who was almost upon us, I could outrun Dan and that’s what I did. I abandoned him to get caught and kept going. Because I’m a good friend.
Being a good friend is, by no means, the exclusive domain of Christians. But I think we should be better at it than we sometimes are because the Bible, the functional foundation of our faith, says so much about it.
Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.
Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.
Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep.
There are dozens more passages that help us shape the kind of friend we are going to be. In our passage in the book of Mark, four people saw the need of their friend who was paralyzed, and decided to do something about it - they took him to Jesus. They were being good friends to this man. And one of the marks of being a good friend is taking them to Jesus. Of being aware of someone’s joys, pains, worries and hopes and bringing that person to Jesus in prayer.
Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.
What is the law of Christ?
Jesus says in John 13:34 NLT, “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.”
The law of Christ is to love one another like God loves us. So when you bring your friends to Jesus, like these four guys did, you are living out the love of God.
So here’s two big questions for us to think about:
How good of a friend are you? Are you carrying your friends to Jesus in prayer?
Who’s got you? Sometimes we are the friends carrying the paralytic on the mat and sometimes we are the paralytic. Who knows you enough to carry to you Jesus? Who’s in your life who knows your sin, who knows your pain, who knows your joys and takes it all to Jesus for you?
Fuelled by Faith
Fuelled by Faith
While friendship is the foundation for this event, it’s fuelled by faith.
What is faith? - Faith is the beautiful convergence of belief and action. It’s the intellectual agreement paired with corresponding action. Our scriptures don’t just call us to agree that Jesus died, but to allow that truth to transform our lives.
You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?
Faith is when Noah built a giant ark because God told him too. Faith is when Abraham moved to another country because spoke to him. Faith is when David refused to assassinate Saul when the opportunity was in front of him because he knew that it would be wrong. Faith is Esther going to the King on behalf of her people. Faith is when the midwives of Egypt refused to kill the Hebrew children under the order of Pharoah. Faith is when the woman who bled for 12 years touched the hem of Jesus’ robe. Faith is always belief accompanied by action, otherwise, it’s not real faith.
This paralyzed man and his friends had a deep faith. They must have heard about Jesus’ mini ministry tour around Galilee where Jesus travelled around for a week preaching about the kingdom, casting out demons, and healing people. They believed that Jesus could heal this paralyzed man and so they grabbed some ropes and made a makeshift litter to carry him and his mat and walked like that through town to get to Jesus. Our passage says “Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” - Their faith, which delighted Jesus, resulted in spiritual transformation of their friend.
Their faith was manifest in action. For too many Christians today, our faith is, in actuality, mere intellectual agreement. We aren’t living by what we believe about.
American Author and Franciscan priest Brennan Manning said, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” ― Brennan Manning
And I believe that this hypocrisy manifests in two distinct ways:
It manifests by what we don’t do - when we fail to care for the poor, or advocate for justice. When our Christianity is only about going (or watching) church on Sunday. When our faith makes no difference whatsoever to our family, our friends or our community, we are living in hypocrisy.
It manifests when we live opposite to Jesus. - When our nationalism supersedes our Christ-likeness, when we pursue gaining power instead of humble service, when we are more focused on proving we are right than we are of loving others.
The world is tired of this hypocrisy. It’s time for us to put our money where our mouth is and actually live out this faith that we claim to believe. God calls us to be people who live by faith, not by sight.
So what’s that going to look like in your life? Is it time for you to live by faith, not by sight, with your finances? How about with your future? How about with your priorities? Will you get involved serving God as an expression of your faith?
What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
Let’s be people with a genuine faith that is lived out, like those friends in our story in Mark whose belief in Jesus led to the actions of bringing their friend to him.
Powered by Perseverance.
Powered by Perseverance.
Our story in the book of Mark may have been founded on friendship and fuelled by faith but it is powered by perseverance.
There was a young, American man who
Failed in business at 22 years old
Ran for Legislature--defeated at 23 years old
Again failed in business at age 24
Elected to Legislature age 25
sweetheart died age 26
Had a nervous breakdown age 27
Defeated for Speaker at age 29
Defeated for Elector at age 31
Defeated for Congress at age 34
Elected to Congress at age 37
Defeated for Congress at age 39
Defeated for Senate at age 46
Defeated for Vice President at age 47
Defeated for Senate at age 49
Elected President of the United States at age 51
His name is Abraham Lincoln and he became one of the most important presidents in US history. But the road to the presidency was not an easy road but through perseverance, he made it and through it, changed the face of American politics forever with the abolishment of slavery.
Lincoln once said in a letter “The fight must go on. The cause of civil liberty must not be surrendered at the end of one, or even one hundred defeats.
To accomplish anything of value, you have to have a sense of perseverance. When the young men who brought their friend to Jesus, they encountered the problem of the crowd. Because Jesus’ popularity was on the rise, a large crowd filled the house and the entryway and there was no way for them to accomplish their mission of bringing their friend to Jesus. But they didn’t let opposition or difficulty stop them.
They went around to the back of the house, climbed the stairs while carrying their friend on the mat still until they reached the roof. Houses then had flat roofs that were used as an upper porch and living space. The roofs were made of mud and straw so it was easy for them to make a hole big enough to lower the man on the mat through. For this group of friends, they weren’t going to let any obstacle stop them. There was no quit in them, because they were powered by perseverance.
The Apostle Paul encourages us in Galatians 6:9 when he says, “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” And I don’t know who needs to hear this but this isn’t the time to give up. Don’t give up on that marriage. Don’t give up on praying for that friend or family member. Don’t give up on the church, despite our many failings. Don’t give up on reading and studying the Bible. Don’t give up being forgiving, loving and don’t give up pursuing Christ-likeness
The Power and Authority of Jesus
The Power and Authority of Jesus
While this whole scenario is built on a foundation of friendship, is fuelled by faith and powered by perseverance, and there is lots we can learn from this group as they bring their friend to Jesus, we have to keep this in mind: the main character of this story isn’t the paralytic or his friends. It’s Jesus and this passage shows us both his authority and power.
The issue of authority was what offended and bothered the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. When Jesus forgives the paralytic’s sin, the religious people got their theological knickers in a bunch. They became defensive because they didn't believe that this man who stood before them, Jesus, had the authority to forgive sins. Only God can forgive sins. So they started thinking evil things about Jesus - that he was a blasphemer and therefore should be put to death.
But they were wrong about who they were dealing with. When people heard his teaching, it astounded them because they heard the authority in his voice.
When he gave the great commission at the end of the book of Matthew, he says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
The Apostle Paul says of Jesus in Colossians 1:15 “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,”
Jesus may have been fully human, but he was also fully God and as such, he has both unlimited power and supreme authority - that’s why we call him the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And as God incarnate, he uniquely has the authority to forgive sins. Which is good news for you and I because like the paralytic, we may come to Jesus wanting him to do one thing, but he knows that the real issue in us is our need for forgiveness.
Many Christians are familiar with the verse in Romans 3:23 which says, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” but it’s worth being reminded of it again and again - not to beat someone down with negative labels but to remind ourselves of who we were and what God has done. Because it’s true that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God but that’s only half the picture. The other side is that God “”He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.” - Ephesians 1:7 NLT
For those who put their faith in Jesus, we are forgiven of our sins, just like the paralytic man was and if you want to experience that forgiveness as well, then today is the day. Today is the day that you get on your knees and pray to God, confessing your sin before him and receiving his forgiveness by faith.
But we have to remember that the major conflict in this story is that the religious leaders didn’t believe that Jesus had the spiritual authority to forgive sins. So he backs up his authority with a display of power.
To prove his authority to them, he asks them which is harder to say, “You are forgiven” or “Stand up, pick up your mat and walk.” One is unprovable - anyone can declare forgiveness with words because it is something that can’t be seen. But to tell a paralytic person to get up and walk requires that you back that up. You have to be able to prove that. So, to prove he has authority to forgive sins, he reveals his power to heal.
Jesus had this tremendous power that came through the Holy Spirit that enabled him to do amazing miracles. There is no sickness that he cannot cure, no miracle that is beyond his reach. The Jesus we put our faith in is not impotent and weak. He is strong and mighty to save. He is the one who walks on water, who feeds the multitudes, who heals the sick and who raises the dead.
And this is important for two reasons: first, it gives us confidence in our future that the almighty creator is on our side
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.
Our God is powerful and he is on your side.
High school dance story.
Jesus’ power and authority gives us confidence for the future. The second thing it does is it informs our worship. When we come to worship God by song, or prayer, or anything, we need to remember that our God is mighty and powerful and has done amazing things - like rescuing you and me from the kingdom of darkness and giving us a new life that is by faith.
Look how the psalms lead in worship:
You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done. O Lord, what great works you do! And how deep are your thoughts.
Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.
On and on in the psalms, we are encouraged to worship God for all that he is doing for us because our God is powerful. My hope for you is that your worship of God goes beyond our Sunday gatherings, but infuses every part of your life every day.
Conclusion
Conclusion
This story has much to teach us. About the kind of friends we are, about faith and about perseverance. But it mostly points us to the power and authority of Jesus to forgive us. So as we sing our last song and praise God for all he has done for us, may your heart reach out to God in authentic worship and may God help all of us to be better friends, to walk in deeper faith and with stronger perseverance.
Pray.
