The Authority of the Author of Life

UV 3581/10000. The Authority of the Author of Life And began saying to Him, “ By what authority are You doing these things, who gave You this authority to do these things?” Mark 11 v 28 The episode of the chief priests and scribes questioning Jesus’s authority to preach, teach, cleanse the temple, forgive sins, heal diseases, multiply food and drink, bring the dead to life is reported in all four gospels. Jesus had in the preceding days cleansed the temple of money changers and traders, saying with righteous anger, “ My House shall be called a house of prayer and you have turned it into a den of thieves.” He had acted apparently with authority. They questioned Jesus’s authority to find a way to put Him to death for blasphemy. Jesus answered them with a counter question, “ By what authority did John the Baptist baptize people in the Jordan?” The priests and scribes debated among themselves and chose not to answer the question sensing they would fall in the trap that they themselves had set for Jesus. Jesus discerned the motive behind everything spoken to Him. Likewise, we should be discerning enough to get behind the thoughts or motives that undergird words of people. The events that preceded and followed confirmed that Jesus got His authority from the Father in heaven. The word “authority” comes from “author”. The Father along with the Son (the Word that is from the beginning) and the Holy Spirit had brought all things in creation into being. Only the Creator or Author has the power to bring about change in the destiny and character of the creation. Authority implies both responsibility and power. Jesus as the Author of creation and of human beings has both power and responsibility for the well being of all humans even as earthly authorities have both the power to rule over citizens and a responsibility to serve them, protect them, fend for them. Jesus proved through His many acts and words that He had authority over nature- He commanded the waves and winds and they obeyed Him to be still. He has authority over life. He commanded the dead to come alive. He has authority to forgive- He forgave the sinners. He has authority to heal- He healed people of all types of diseases. He has authority to rebuke, to chastise, to punish- He rebuked the Pharisees and teachers of the law who laid heavy burdens on the common people that they were not authorized to do. He has authority over death for He was Himself resurrected. He has authority to call people to serve God. He has authority to teach, to instruct, to lead, to deliver. We, ourselves who follow Jesus have no authority of our own other than what He has given us. We pray in His name, we exercise authority in His name. We command, rebuke, serve, bless, forgive, teach only in His name. Therefore, Paul wrote that we should fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, the One who began and perfects our faith. We need to focus on Jesus, the locus or center of history, of the universe, of heaven. Only an author has the right to change the story or script he is writing. Likewise, only Jesus has the right to alter our destiny, our character to bring glory to God.