We’ve seen the breakdown of AUTHORITY in every sphere.
“God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’” —Genesis 1.28
An absence of authority usually causes
“When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at His teaching, because He taught as one who had authority [exousia = power, right], and not as their teachers of the law.” —Matthew 7.28-29
“‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.’ Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ He said. ‘Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.” —Matthew 8.2-3
“A centurion came to Jesus, asking for help. ‘Lord,’ he said, ‘my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Shall I come and heal him?’ The centurion replied, ‘Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.’ Then Jesus said to the centurion, ‘Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.’ And his servant was healed at that moment.” —Matthew 8.5-8, 13
“Jesus touched her hand and the fever left her…When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to Him, and He drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.” —Matthew 8.15-16
“The disciples went and woke Jesus, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!’ He replied, ‘You of little faith, why are you so afraid?’ Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, ‘What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey Him!’” —Matthew 8.25-27
“When Jesus arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met Him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. ‘What do you want with us, Son of God?’ they shouted. ‘Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?’” —Matthew 8.28-29
“Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, ‘If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Go!’ So, they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.” —Matthew 8.30-32
“I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Jesus: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon, or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” —C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Invitation: to make Jesus
- Making Jesus Lord is an
- Making Jesus Lord is not only a single decision but is also a