Authority. Who gets to say which course gets changed? And where do they get that authority?

“You’re not the boss of me” “You can’t tell me what to do.” Especially in Western culture, where we are used to having the right to do what we want to do, it’s difficult to submit to authority.

But as Christians, the whole idea of Lordship involves submitting with the correct perspective of authority:

Matthew 7:28-29 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority— quite unlike their teachers of religious law.

In other words, there is a kind of authority that is not Tyrannical, but actually beneficial for those who are being led. The kind of authority Jesus talked with was different, obviously different than the religious rulers of the day. And in the next few chapters in Matthew flesh out this idea and show Jesus’ authority over sickness, over nature, and over demons. Then in chapter 8, we get the big picture about authority:

Matthew 8:5-10,13 When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, “Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.

Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.” But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!... Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.” And the young servant was healed that same hour.

Authority matters. The officer understood it. HE had authority over soldiers and could command them to accomplish certain tasks, and so Jesus was able to perform miracles because all things are under his leadership. He is the ultimate authority – not just in this world but in the spiritual world as well.

Reading through Scripture, there is a correct way to embrace authority in our lives…