Jesus Revealed Pt. 5 - Reflecting the Glory of GodSample

The Authority of Jesus  

Thoughts on the Passage

The Jewish leaders are upset with Jesus.

He breaks the Sabbath day rules by healing a man – and making him work by carrying his bed (their rules were so silly!). Even worse, He now claims to be equal with God by claiming to be God’s Son. 

Jesus takes the opportunity to talk to these people.

First, He does what the Father does – a son learns from his father and does the things his father does. Jesus can be identified with the Father because He does the same things the Father does – He heals. This man was waiting at the pool because God sent angels down to stir the waters – the first person in was healed. Jesus went to the same pool and healed one man – just like the Father did.

Second, the miracles Jesus did testify to the Father’s approval. God will not honor people who dishonor His name. The Father allowed Jesus to heal in His name – because He loved Jesus as a Son. The rulers needed to see the miracles as a sign of the Father’s blessing on Jesus.

Third, Jesus gives life. Jesus gave this man his life back – he could now become a normal person and worship God like other people. He got life. Jesus releases that.

Fourth, the Son has the authority to judge. In Daniel we see that the Son of Man comes and is given authority over the nations. Jesus has this authority. He has authority over sickness, authority to release life and He has authority over the nation [this must have made the rulers – authorities over the people – very angry].

Jesus will describe this authority more and we will look at it over the next couple of days.

Application

A son does what they learn from their father. How well do we follow our heavenly Father? Do we act like He would act in our situations? Or do we act like disobedient children? Do we abuse authority, or ignore spiritual authority, or bypass spiritual authority?

Let’s act like our Father today.

Time to Pray

Father, I need to read Your words more carefully. Sometimes, I find that I am doing things that You would never do. I get frustrated when I do not know what Your word says and do wrong things. Some things I just do not understand either. I need Your wisdom so much more than I think. So today, I ask for Your heart as I talk to people. I ask for Your heart when I respond to needy people. I know that I will see many needy people today, so I need Your heart, Your wisdom and Your authority to release blessing to them. In Jesus’ name, Amen.