Our Dislike of Authority

"Authority" is not a favorite word, at least of anyone I know.  We chafe against authority in our lives at all different stages.  As a kid it was never tops on our list to subject ourselves to the dictator-like directives that mom and/or dad gave us.  Their known authority, or self-proclaimed authority was nothing more than a limiting factor on all that we felt entitled to do.  We just never seem to find any respite from the authorities over us at various stages of life.  Your boss, the police officer trailing your car down the freeway, the IRS and an endless list of others are ever imposing their authoritative grip on your time, your mind, your bank account and there is nothing you can do to change this.  We instead cry out for autonomy, and live as though we have it.

Near the end of the earthly life and ministry of Christ, just prior to His resurrection He left His disciples with a command. They were simply told to "make disciples."  This is seemingly a pretty tame command, but the gravity is felt when one considers the scope of it.  They are to make disciples of "all nations."  Hard enough and time-consuming enough to have to do that of friends, and family members, and co-workers around these first disciples, but now we are talking all nations.  There is suddenly an immense burden of language and cultural barriers, there is the obstacle of demanding physical travel to reach some more distant people, and of course there is the absurdly awkward reality of taking a message to this world and commanding their belief.  After all, what Jesus was commending to these disciples of His was that making disciples was every bit based on "teaching them to observe all that [He] had commanded."  

Can you imagine the uproar from the hearts of the disciples?  "This message is not easy to deliver." "Nobody's going to believe it anyway."  "I have a job here to maintain."  "I don't speak THAT language of THOSE people."  "I just don't have time."  "That is just TOO far away."  The list of potential objections is endless.  And at the core of every spoken and unspoken objection lies a fundamental question: "What AUTHORITY do YOU have to command this of us, and of them?"

As it were in Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus covered this.  In fact the entire commissioning that Christ was giving them started with these words: "ALL AUTHORITY in heaven and on earth has been given to me."  And it is upon giving these words that He then drops the word "therefore" (as in "therefore go and make disciples").  In other words, what Christ is relaying is that the command to "make disciples" is every bit contingent upon authority, the authority that Christ Himself possesses.  There is then no questioning as to whether it is optional for the world to believe in Jesus.  There is no questioning then as to whether these disciples of Christ can decide to go and make disciples or just stay placed where are are and do nothing.  That is, there are implications for both the world and for the disciples regarding disobedience if they are not to do as Christ, in HIS AUTHORITY, demands of them.  We are not so sure we like THIS Jesus.  

But consider the vast expanse of His authority.  It is summed up in the word "all."  You need to realize He didn't say, "I have most authority, so go and make disciples."  And neither did He say, "In just a little longer I will secure full authority over everything, but for now, go and make disciples."  He had it all then, and He has it all now.  Further, it's spans over heaven and earth.  From the most distant of known or unknown galaxies in our universe, to the smallest subatomic particles, Christ has authority over all.  From the piece of dust floating through your living room, to the largest storm system venturing across the country.  From the harmless worm creeping onto the sidewalk during a rain, to the ferocious lion in the plains of Africa, Christ has authority over all.  And in worlds known and unknown, matters spiritual and physical, things temporal and eternal, all matters past and all matters present, and those yet future - CHRIST HAS ALL AUTHORITY.  

One day death will flex its authority over you and over me and over everyone who lives.  There is no escaping it.  Death has a certain authority over us and there is no escape from it.  Nobody likes the authority of death.  It breaks apart families, it leaves matters unresolved, it comes at times unknown, and it leaves a vacancy in our hearts that causes us lament.  And yet, there is no escape from this.  It is the greatest seen blemish on the canvas of humanity and is a reminder of a deeper problem: sin.  The autonomy any of us thinks we have, or we deserve is quickly dissolved by all those lesser authorities around us now (parents, teacher, boss, IRS...), and even more completely dissolved by sin and its rule over us, and finally by death. 

But it is in all of this that the brilliance of Christ's authority is seen.  See, He condescended from His throne in heaven to come to earth, to become a man.  And He flexed His authority over the greatest temptations to sin.  He never submitted to its tug at His heart.  He OVERCAME sin.  And then Christ gave up Himself on the cross and died.  This was not because death overcame Him, but rather, that in dying HE MIGHT SHOW HIS AUTHORITY OVER DEATH.  It was just three days later that He rose from the dead.   Christ proved to His disciples that He had authority, over these other "authorities" in their lives (sin and death).  And His promise to them became one of everlasting hope and peace and joy found in believing in Christ.  And that belief in Christ also meant that these lives would come to conformity with Christ's authority.  They were now subjecting themselves willfully to His complete control and authority over them.  

When will the authority of Christ, our understanding of it become something internal, something personal?  Yes it expands to the greatest parts of the universe.  Yes it is down to the most minute of details.  Yes it involves worlds spiritual and eternal as well.  And yes it has huge implications for every person in our world.  But too, Christ's authority over all is every bit true for ever disciple of His.  And so when will you and I begin ceaselessly proclaiming the same authority by which we have been compelled and changed?  Christ will one day flex His authoritative muscle so all will see He really does have ALL AUTHORITY.  You and I and everyone else will see it then with our eyes.  In the meantime though we are called to believe this and see it by faith.  Let the AUTHORITY OF CHRIST compel you this day to become a disciple, and/or to begin making disciples.  His authority demands this of you and I. 

The greatest news of Christ's authority is that He defeated those authorities of sin and death.  His authority trumps over them and gives us an eternal hope.  And so His authority is the greatest news we will ever know.