Good morning,
Complete authority?
What we call Easter is the most important event in all of time and eternity. When God created time and our world and all the life that would be living on it, it was all based on the event of the life and death of his Son, Jesus. For thousands of years from that time he gave us pieces of the puzzle and then sent Jesus as a human child to live and die for all of mankind who would ever live on earth. Although Jesus was a human, he never stopped being the Son of God at the same time. Jesus never sinned during his entire life time(1Pet.2:22) and as a teen knew why he was there when he told his parents, “Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?”(Luk,2:49) As an adult, when Jesus was baptized, God spoke from heaven and said, “This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with him.”(Mat.3:17) At another time, when Jesus was training his disciples, he told them, “My Father has given me authority over everything.(Luk.10:22) When Jesus was eating with his disciples at their last supper together he told them, And just as my Father has granted me a Kingdom, I now grant you the right to eat and drink at my table in that Kingdom.(Luk.22:29,30) When Jesus was praying to his Father in the garden before he was captured by his enemies he prayed, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine.”(Luk.22:42) The Bible tells us, Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him.(v.43) When his enemies were moving in to grab him and Peter tried to protect him with his sword, Jesus told him to put his sword away and explained, Don't you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly?(Mat.26:53) Jesus knew exactly what was going on. so he said, But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?”(v.54)
When Jesus was being tried by his enemies, the leading Jewish priests of his day, they tried to trap him so they could claim that he was a lying leader. They said, “Tell us if you are the Messiah.”(Luk.22:67) Jesus answered them, “If I tell you, you won't believe me. Then Jesus went on to tell them very clearly who he really was. But the time is soon coming when I, the Son of Man, will be sitting at God's right hand in the place of power.”(v.69) Soon after that Jesus was turned over to the Roman governor, Pilate, who felt trapped by the priests and, deep down, afraid to sentence Jesus to die on the cross. One of the questions that Pilate asked Jesus was, “You are a king then?” And Jesus answers,“You say that I am a king, and you are right, I was born for that purpose. And I came to bring truth to the world.(John 18:37) Pilate gave into the priests and ordered that Jesus die on the cross. While Jesus hung on that cruel cross he did many eternally awesome things that only God could do. At the beginning of his suffering he asked, Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing.(Luk.23:34) During those long dark hours that he hung there, he paid for our sins. Christ also suffered when he died for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners that he might bring us safely home to God.(1Pet.3:18) Jesus broke the power of the Devil, who had the power of death(Heb.2:14) Paul’s response was what we need to do now, I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else in this world or in the world to come.(Eph.1:19,21) Dear Lord, may that be us today?
Matthew 28:18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth.
Roy Wisner
