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Mar 05, 2024 18:30pm

The Unquestionable Authority of God

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“On whose authority?”

It’s a line we’ve heard countless times. Whether it’s from a movie, a board room, or Capitol Hill, authority is always in question.

Essentially, they’re asking, “Who gave you the right to do this? Who has that much authority to override my decisions and power?”

John 2:18-22
“Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?
19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
21 But he spake of the temple of his body.
22 When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.”

The religious leaders were furious at what Jesus had just done. He was destroying everything they had worked hard to accomplish! In their mind, He was taking money from the temple, which meant right out of their pockets.

And they demanded to know, on whose authority do you do this? Show us a sign that you have this authority.

Jesus’ response confused them, thinking He was even crazier than they had initially thought.

“Destroy this temple, and in three days, I will raise it up.”

I can hear them questioning- “Three days? That’s all it would take to rebuild a temple that took forty-six years to build in the first place. You’ve got to be mad!”

And even though they didn’t know it then, in just a few short years, the disciples knew exactly what He was talking about.

Jesus was crucified and buried, and three days later, He rose from the grave.

HE was the temple.

When Jesus rose from the dead, He fulfilled this prophecy. He proved He was the authority needed.

Jesus proved that He is God.

When we consider scripture, salvation, and a life lived in surrender, many will ask, “On whose authority? Who gives God the right to tell me what to do? What authority does He have over me?”

Listen to what God said to Job.

Job 38:1-18
“Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
2 “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone—
7 while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?
8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place,
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt’?
12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place,
13 that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it?
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features stand out like those of a garment.
15 The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken.
16 “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this.”

Read the rest. You’ll see just how small and insignificant we are compared to the authority and the expanse of God.

He is God. All authority is His alone.

Period.

And yet, God chose you. As vast as His knowledge and power are, He thought to create you. And He wants a relationship with YOU! Can you even fathom that? The King of Kings asks you to dine with Him, but we’re not worthy to even eat the crumbs that fall from His table. Yet, He calls us by name and says, come.

Forgiveness awaits.

Redemption, restitution, deliverance, freedom, and rest can all be found in His arms. What are we waiting for? Run to Him! He is waiting to pardon you of all your sins!

He has all the authority to do so.