The Power and Authority of Christ

When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus *said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.” Jesus *said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed that very moment.

When Jesus came into Peter’s home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she got up and waited on Him. When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases.”

Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea. Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.” Matthew 8:1-22

This reading is from what we commonly know as the Sermon on the Mount. We will be looking at this sermon and finding.

This, of course, is Jesus speaking to the crowds gathered there on the mountainside. They had just heard Him preach this extensive sermon.

The last two verses, recorded following His sermon, tell us something about the power that had come from His sermon.

“When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.”

And, then the Scripture goes on to illustrate that “all authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” – that is to Christ.

Now, what does “All Authority over All Things” mean?

First, it means all authority over PHYSICAL ILLNESS

Look at the Scriptural account of the Leper, verses 2-4

In those days leprosy was a dreaded disease – no known cure – almost always led to death after much suffering.

It could only be cured by the intervention of Divine Power. The leper apparently knew and recognized about Jesus’ power, but perhaps, not about the love Jesus had for the down-trodden people in the world. (Mark 1:40: “And a leper came to Jesus, before Him, and saying, “If you are willing , You can make me clean.”

But the important truth here is that Jesus knew him and his condition.

The leper recognized the power that Jesus possessed, but he did not know the extent of the love that Jesus had for all mankind --- even to him, an outsider, a man banished from society because of the disease that had overtaken his body.

You know, Jesus’ power is so great – greater even than our human minds can comprehend.

As we look at verses 41 and 42, we can see that power at work:

Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and *said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”  Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

Note the “power words” in that passage: “moved;” “touched”; “said.”

Jesus touched him.

What we see and learn from this simple statement is this: The power to heal - that  is within our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – is greater than any disease and its power to defile or destroy our bodies.

Now, let’s consider this Roman centurion for a moment  - (vs. 5-13) – he knew what authority was about. He commanded soldiers and servants, and they obeyed him.

He believed that Jesus had the same power to command the disease and to cause it to depart the body.

Now, in also in this portion of the Scriptures - (vss. 14-15) we are introduced to Peter’s Mother-in-law – she is sick with a fever. Verse 15 tells us that Jesus touched her hand and the fever left her.

No medical treatment – just the touch of Jesus’ hand on her hand – that is His power.

So, we know Jesus’ power over physical illness.

But Jesus’ power isn’t limited to the healing of the physical body.

He also had power over the Natural World – vss. 23-27  

 When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.  The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

In this record we find a description of a storm coming up on the Sea of Galilee.

This storm must have been an unusually strong and destructive storm.

We can assume that because of what the Scripture says here: verses 24-27.

The Apostles, who, of course, were experienced at being on the sea, were afraid of this storm and feared for their lives. They called out to Jesus: “Save us, Lord. We are perishing.” They knew His power and they called on Him to save them.

The Scripture says that “He rebuked the wind and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.

The raging sea lay down quietly at the command of its Maker. He is the Master of the Sea.

But that isn’t all of the power Jesus possesses.

He is also the Master of the Spirit World.

Go to Matthew 8:28-34 – there we find Jesus casting out demons.

When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. And they cried out, saying, “What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”  Now there was a herd of many swine feeding at a distance from them.  The demons began to entreat Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.”  And He said to them, “Go!” And they came out and went into the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters.  The herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs.  And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they implored Him to leave their region.

The demons recognized Jesus – even called Him – “Son of God” – and they called on Him for help.

So – the raging sea laid down quietly at this command of its Master.

        the healing of the Gadarenes (28-34)

The demons recognized Him – they knew His power – they knew that He would defeat them – they hoped that it would be later – but, again, He was in control – His power overcame all other lesser powers.

His one word – “GO” was enough to accomplish the task of casting out the demons and destroying their power.

Even the demons obeyed Him without question.

Now, let’s look at the Authority Jesus has over Mankind – that is, US.

Matthew 8:18-20

Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea.  Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”  Jesus *said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

The lesson here is that – regarding the Authority of Christ – it must be accepted voluntarily by each person.

His reply to the Scribe indicated that He would not accept anyone who had been forced to follow Him.

In terms we can understand easily – Jesus recruits a “volunteer army,”

Jesus understood that to force a person to follow Him would be a path to the destruction of his humanity. There would be no real – or lasting commitment.

The practice of infant (so-called) baptism is an example of this – a baby is had some water sprinkled on its head – and he is saved for eternity without having made the decision of his own to be saved.

The Lord’s army consists of – and includes – only willing volunteers – there is no draftee plan.

The Authority of Jesus Christ is absolute (vss. 21-22).

It is more important than the claims of one’s own family.

It must come above friends, business, property, or life itself.

“The dearest idol I have known, whate’er that idol be.

Help me to tear it from Thy throne and worship only Thee.”

Because Jesus Christ has been raised from the grave, He can claim all power in His person, as Christ, both God and man.

He became a Mediator; the One who is authorized to stand between God and man.

He is Prophet, Priest, King, Mediator, Intercessor, and Savior of His people; He is Judge over all created things.

He is the Example, by which we must measure our lives.

Because He has all Authority and Power, He can give the command to all who follow Him – Go, Teach, Baptize, and continue to Teach.