"The Authority of Jesus Christ"

Hi there, this is Lon Solomon and I'd like to welcome you to our program today. You know it's a tremendous honor that God has given us to be on stations all around the nation bringing the truth of God's word as it is uncompromising and straightforward. And I'm so glad you've tuned in to listen and be part of that.

Thanks again for your support and your generosity that keeps us on the radio. And now, let's get to the Word of God. I want to talk to you this morning about the issue of authority. You say, oh boy.

No, listen, I really want to talk to you about that. And I want to talk to you about the authority that Jesus Christ has and how that impacts your life and my life because that's really what our passage this morning is all about. Luke chapter 7 verse 1. When Jesus had finished saying all of these things in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. If you follow the Gospel according to Luke, you know Jesus has just finished the Sermon on the Mount. And he's come down off that gorgeous mountain right overlooking the Sea of Galilee. He's begun the little two and a half mile walk up the quiet shore to the city of Capernaum.

If you've ever been to Israel, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's just beautiful. And right as he gets to the edge of the city, he has a situation that confronts him. Verse 2. There a centurion servant whom his master valued highly was sick and about to die. Now we have two new people that appear here, a centurion and his servant. What was a centurion? A centurion was a Roman officer. He was a member of the Roman military occupation forces that were in Israel. He was the commander usually of a garrison of men.

And what that means is that today in our army, we would basically say that he was equivalent roughly to a major or to a lieutenant colonel. He was obviously the commander of the garrison that was there at Capernaum. We find out also from this verse that this man was not just a Roman soldier who was tough, but he was also a man of compassion.

You say, how do you know that? Well, I know that because of the way he responded to a servant that he had who was sick. We learn from Matthew chapter 8 that this servant was a little boy, not a grown man. And that this little boy that he had was not only about ready to die, as it says here, but that he was paralyzed.

Most people think this little boy had polio, which seems to me to be a very likely possibility. Now in the Roman world, slaves were property. They were bought, they were sold, they were killed.

It didn't matter. You could kill your slaves and nobody even batted an eye about it. Nobody valued slaves, but this Roman centurion did. So much so that his slave, who was very dear to him is what the Bible says, he wanted to get help for this little boy. He was a man of compassion, not just a tough old soldier, but a man of compassion.

And so look what he did. Verse 3. The centurion heard about Jesus and he sent some elders of the Jews to Jesus, asking him to come and heal his servant. This man knew being a Roman that he really didn't belong going to a rabbi. I mean, there was no love lost between rabbis and Jewish leaders in the Romans.

They hated each other. So being a gentile and being a Roman soldier to boot, rather than go to Jesus himself, he got these Jewish leaders to go on his behalf. And when they came to Jesus, verse 4, they pleaded earnestly with Jesus on the man's behalf. You know, I think this is the only place in the Bible, it's certainly the only one that I could think of, where Jewish leaders ever have anything good to say about a Roman. And these Jewish leaders not only have something good to say about him, but they actually go and plead his case for Jesus. Now, why would they do that?

Why would they do that? Watch. And they said, this man deserves for you to do this, Jesus. He deserves it. Verse 5, because he loves our nation and he has built our synagogue. In those verses, we learn one more thing about this centurion. Not only was he a man of compassion, but he was a man of faith.

Here was a soldier who had been stationed at what they considered in those times the end of the world, Palestine. But he had become impressed with the God of Israel. He had become impressed with their faith in the one true God. And because of this, he had developed a love for the Jewish people. He may have been the only Roman soldier in that whole country who loved the Jewish people.

But not only did he love the Jewish people, but he put his money where his mouth is. And he built them, they say, a synagogue right there in that city. If you go to Capernaum today, and I hope if you've never been to Israel, you'll go sometime.

It'd be a life-changing trip for you. But if you go to Capernaum, there's an actual synagogue in Capernaum that the archaeologists have uncovered. And this synagogue that they've uncovered comes from the second or the third century AD. Now, obviously, that was not the synagogue this guy built, because this is all happening 200 years before that. However, underneath that synagogue, archaeologists have confirmed that there are the ruins of an earlier synagogue built on the same site that was built around the time of Jesus Christ. And it is very likely, and I'm personally convinced it is the synagogue that this man built for these people out of his own funds right in that city. And because of that, the Jewish leaders come on his behalf and say, Jesus, there's not many good Romans out there, but this is one of them. He deserves for you to heal this child for him.

You need to do this. Verse 6, so Jesus went with them. And he wasn't far from the man's house when the centurion sent friends to him saying, Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That's why I didn't even come to you myself.

He sends a group of people that says to Jesus, Jesus, you don't need to come any farther. Don't come to my house. I'm not worthy for you to come to my house.

He was a humble man, as well as a compassionate man, as well as a man of faith. But there was another reason why this man said, Jesus, you don't need to come to my house. Look, he said, but verse 7, you just say the word and my servant will be healed. Jesus, you don't need to come to my house. You don't need to come here and lay your hands on this child. You don't need to come here and touch this child. You don't need to come here and see this child.

You don't need to come here and do anything to this child. All you need to do, Jesus, is say the word. And I know this little child will be healed. Look at Jesus' response, would you? Verse 9, when Jesus heard this, he was amazed. When Jesus heard this, he marveled at this man.

The Greek word here means to be astonished or to stand in awe or amazement of something. Interestingly enough, this is the only time anywhere in the New Testament that the Bible ever says that Jesus was amazed at somebody's faith. Mark chapter 6 says that Jesus was amazed, same Greek word, at Israel's lack of faith. He was amazed at their unbelief. But this is the only time the Bible ever says Jesus was amazed at somebody's faith and it wasn't even a Jewish person.

It was a Gentile, a Roman, no less. What he was amazed at is the grasp this man had on who Jesus was. The grasp he had on the authority that was at Jesus' command. The grasp that he had on the power that Jesus had.

And then his willingness to trust Jesus to do through that power and through that authority what he needed. The Bible says when Jesus heard this, he was amazed. And turning to the crowd that followed him, he said, I tell you, I haven't found this kind of faith, not in all Israel. I haven't found one Jew anywhere, not even you, Peter, who know how to believe in me like this.

He was amazed. Matthew chapter 8 says that he said to the people, go on back home, I'm not coming. When you get back, you'll find the servant well.

And it says here in verse 10, then the men who had been sent returned to the house and they found the servant well. Did Jesus finish going to the house? No. Did he simply speak the word and it happened?

Yes. And the important thing is not that he did that, but what he proved by doing that. He proved the centurion was right.

He proved that he had the kind of authority the centurion believed that he had, didn't he? And some angel or some seraph or some heavenly creature went to that house and healed that kid in direct response to the orders of Jesus Christ because he had authority. I love decorations. This is a gorgeous plant here right in front of us, isn't it? If I were to lean over and say to this plant, go water yourself. And this plant were to suddenly kind of levitate right down the middle aisle and doors were to open out. And then 30 seconds later, you'd see that plant coming right back down, water dripping out the bottom of it and come back around and sit down and plant itself right here. I'll bet I would have your full attention for the rest of the message. You wouldn't get hungry.

In fact, I bet we'd sell more tapes as well. But I can't do that. Watch.

Go water yourself. I told the people in the second service, don't dare put a string on that and pull it and have that thing move. Or I'd faint right here on stage. I can't do that.

I can't do that. I don't have that kind of authority. But Jesus Christ right here in Luke, chapter seven, demonstrated he does have that kind of authority. He demonstrated it in every miracle he worked.

And the greatest demonstration of all was in his resurrection. Remember what Jesus said in John chapter 10? He said in verse 18, I have the authority to lay my life down.

Now, so do you. You can step in front of a bus. You can take a revolver and blow your brains out. You have the authority to lay your life down. But Jesus went on to say, and I have the authority to take my life back up again.

Now, whoa, that's a different story. You don't have that kind of authority, and neither do I. But when Jesus Christ laid his life down and then rose from the dead by his own power and authority, he demonstrated to us he was telling us the truth. He has a kind of authority that nobody on this earth has. And that's why Jesus said after the resurrection to his disciples, all authority is given to me in heaven and in earth.

I've got it all. And if you don't believe me, just check out the resurrection, guys. If you don't believe me, check out the resurrection. This is what this passage is trying to teach us. It's not trying to teach us that Jesus healed a centurion's servant.

He did. But the way he did it, based on the understanding that centurion had of him, proves to us that the kind of authority that centurion believed Jesus had, he's really got it. But all that leads us to ask the question, so what?

So what? If Jesus has all that authority, what difference does it make for my life here in the 20th century? I have three suggestions I'd like to give you to answer the question, so what, if he has all authority in heaven and in earth. Suggestion number one, if Jesus has all authority in heaven and in earth, then what that means is Jesus has authority over who gets to go to heaven and who doesn't.

In fact, he even said that. He said, John chapter 17, that the Son of Man, meaning himself, the Son of Man has authority over all flesh, listen, that he, Jesus, should give eternal life to whomever he wishes. Do you understand what this is saying? It's saying that Jesus gives eternal life to whomever he wants to. He's the one who has authority over eternal life.

He's the one who has authority over heaven, and he gives it to whoever he pleases. Friend, if Jesus tells you that you're going to heaven, you're going to heaven. And if Jesus tells you you're not going to heaven, you're not going to heaven. And it doesn't matter what your priest says, what your pastor says, what your mother says, what your teacher says, what your friend says, or what your husband or wife or co-worker says, because they are not the ones who have authority over heaven. It matters what Jesus Christ said. He said, well, Lon, he gives it to whomever he wants.

I mean, that's pretty fickle, isn't it? No, because he didn't hide who he gives it to. He made it very clear in the Bible. Listen, Jesus said in the Bible, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

Nobody comes to the Father except through me. Jesus said in the Bible, John chapter 3, unless you are born again, you will not see the kingdom of God. Jesus said in the Bible, John chapter 3, he who believes on me, he who relies on me, has eternal life, and he who does not rely on me will not see eternal life. Jesus isn't hiding the basis on which he decides to give eternal life out.

He is making it very clear. People who are willing to trust him and rely on him and what he did for them on the cross, not rely on their own effort or their own work or their own good personage and character, but rely on the death of Christ in their behalf, they are the ones who get eternal life. Jesus didn't hide that. For God so loved the world that he sent his only son, that whoever would rely upon him, believe in him, would have eternal life and not perish. You know, I meet people every day in this world who are determined to try to go to heaven their own way, who are determined to try to get eternal life their own way. They are going to try to get it through their good works, and they are going to try to get it through their church membership, and they are going to try to get it through the fact they were baptized, or the fact they sang in the choir, or they took the sacraments, or they are out there doing their best, or they gave some money to the church, or they worked out in the church parking lot, or they planted some grass for the church. And folks, all those are nice things.

There is nothing wrong with any of those things. The only problem is the person who is running heaven didn't say that's how you get in. That's the problem. He said you get in not by trusting yourself or anything you do, but by relying on what he did for you on the cross. That's how you get in. Maybe you are here this morning and maybe you have spent your whole life trying to figure out how you are going to work your way in. I am here to tell you, you can't. You try and you have bought a ticket on the Titanic.

It's not going to work. The one who runs heaven says you don't work your way in, you trust your way in. And what you trust is what I did for you on the cross as payment for sin. Not anything you do for yourself, and I will let you in.

I am going to give you a chance a little later if you have never done that to do it this morning. I hope you will think about it if you are here and you have never trusted Christ in a real and personal way like that. But there is a second so what, and that is for those of us who have already trusted Christ as our savior, those of us who are already Christians, there is a big so what here if Jesus really has all the authority he says he has, and that is that Jesus' authority demands an obedient lifestyle from us. Now listen, if Jesus has no authority in this world, if Jesus really isn't going to evaluate us when we get to heaven, if there really is no judgment seat of Christ the way the Bible tells us about it, if there really is no performance review for Christians when we get to heaven, if Jesus does not have authority over our lives and over the rewards we get when we get to heaven, then we ought to go live any way we want and everything is hunky-dory.

But if all authority in heaven and earth belongs to Jesus Christ, and if there really is a judgment seat of Christ the way he tells us, and if every one of us as Christians really is going to stand in front of that judgment seat of Christ to give an account of the things we've done in our body whether good or bad, if all that's real, remember our premise? A wise person figures out who has authority, brings themselves in line with that person and submits, right? Stupid people say, I don't care who's got the authority, I'm going to do it my way.

That's stupid. And I don't want you to be a stupid Christian. I want you to be a wise one. Folks, Jesus Christ has the authority. He proved it through miracle after miracle and through his resurrection. If you're a Christian and you're on your way to heaven, there's going to be a performance review when we get there. A smart person says Jesus is the one who's got the authority if he says there's a performance review, there's a performance review and if I'm smart, I'll live now in light of the fact I'm going to have that performance review. And I'll also live in the way that makes him happy because he's the one that has authority in this world. If you're here and you're a Christian and maybe you've taken control of some areas of your life and you've been living in the way you want to live them, I want to challenge you.

It's time to come back under the authority of Jesus Christ. You know, you don't have to be real smart to read the Bible and figure out the way God wants you to live. You don't have to be a rocket scientist. It doesn't take a whole lot to read the Bible and figure out the way God wants you to run your sex life. It's pretty simple. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to read the Bible and figure out the way God wants you to run your business ethics. It's pretty simple. You don't have to be that smart to figure out the way God wants you to handle your money or the way God wants you to talk, the way he wants you to work and the way he wants you to act and the priorities he wants you to have in life and the attitudes that he wants you to portray in life.

Attitudes of love and forgiveness and compassion instead of bitterness and malice and revenge, you don't have to be that smart to figure that out. The issue is not whether you can figure it out. The issue is whether or not you and I are going to submit to His authority and with His help whether we're going to try to live that way or whether we're going to decide we're the authority for our lives and we're going to live the way we want to.

That's the real issue. All authority belongs to me, Jesus said, in heaven and in earth, even to the authority to conduct your performance review. Jesus says, now be smart and live in light of that. And I believe there's probably some of us here this morning who need to make some changes in our lifestyle because we've taken over the authority and we're way out from under the umbrella where Jesus wants us to be.

Third, and finally, if Jesus really has all authority in this world, then what that means is that we have to as Christians accept His plan for our lives, that we as Christians have to be willing to let Him be the one who runs the show if He has all the authority and if He loves us, then we're wise to let Him run the show. I walk into churches all the time where we sing, you know, He is Lord, He is Lord, and people often have their hands up, you know, singing, He is Lord, He is Lord, He's risen from the dead and He is Lord. And by raising your hands, what are you trying to say? You're trying to say, I admit that, I accept that, I submit to that, I want you to be Lord. But then as soon as God takes them up on what they're singing, the hands go from being like this to being like this. True?

True? I mean, if you're going to sing and tell Him to be Lord, He's going to take you up on it. He is Lord. And as Lord, He reserves the right, if you're a Christian, to run your life His way. I believe that Jesus Christ has authority over every virus and every bacteria, do you? You believe that? I believe Jesus Christ has authority over every cancer cell in the universe, do you believe that?

I do. I believe that Jesus Christ has control and authority over every boss's heart, over the stock market, over every contract you're involved in, and over every twist and turn your career has taken and will take, do you believe that? I believe that Jesus Christ has authority over every pregnancy, and I believe that He has authority over every child that results, I believe He has authority over every one you got, whether they're mellow or whether they have a stogie in their mouth. He had control over that, and you got the right one, trust me.

You're matched up just perfect. I believe Jesus Christ has control over every event in every life and that everything that touches your life He has authority over, do you believe that? Now folks, listen, there are so many Christians who are mad at God and bitter with God and angry with God because they got their little apple cart, they had their little apple cart just laid out and they had their little future laid out and they had it planned for years and God comes along and He rattles their little apple cart and they're mad and they're angry and they don't like it. They said, I was happy to sing, He is Lord, as long as you don't do anything I don't like, but you did something I don't like.

Well, I tell you something, people with authority often do things we don't like, don't they? But you know what? God knows what He's doing. God hasn't made any mistakes in your life. Sure, God sometimes brings heartaches and He sometimes brings reverses and He sometimes brings losses and pain, but God's in the process of molding character and character doesn't get molded just from success. I mean you don't get to grow up and be a big strong person just from eating snickers and three musketeers. I mean I wish it were that way, don't you? I'd love to eat nothing but snickers and three musketeers, but you can't grow up to be a big strong person like that.

You need some hard stuff that your body's got to work on. And you know character is the same way? It wouldn't be good for God to send you nothing but little successes that fit into your little apple cart. God knows what He's doing and if He has all authority in heaven and in earth and He loves you, folks, we need to let Him run our lives His way and trust Him. We need to drop the bitterness and drop the anger because the person we hurt the worst is us. When we feel angry at God like that, the joy in our Christian life dries up, our relationship with God shrivels up.

We're the losers, not God, we are. God doesn't want you to live that way and you shouldn't even live that way. If you could stand on the shores of heaven and see everything, God sees you to agree with everything He's doing with you. You say, but I can't.

Great. That's where you got to trust Him. And if He's got all authority and He loves you, you can trust Him. God wants you to lay your rifle down, wave your white flag and let's surrender. What have we learned this morning? What we learned in Luke chapter 7 that Jesus proved He has authority and that from His resurrection He proved He has ultimate authority and that if you and I are wise people, remember my premise, if we're wise people, we will submit to His authority and obey it. We'll submit to His authority over how we get into heaven. We won't try to go our way, we'll be happy to go His way. We'll submit to His authority over the way we live our lives as Christians. We won't take our lives under our own authority, we'll leave them under His authority and do what He tells us with His help. And finally we'll submit to His authority when it comes to how He chooses to orchestrate our lives.

We won't accuse Him of wrongdoing, we'll trust Him and follow Him and bless His name. This is what God's looking for from you and me and if you and I really understand His authority the way this centurion did, then these responses make all the sense in the world. May God help you do that. You've been listening to So What with Dr. Lon Solomon. So What is an outreach of Lon Solomon Ministries. To listen to today's message or for more information, visit our website, lonsolomonministries.org. Thank you for your support. If you would like to contact us, please visit our website or call us at 866-788-7770. We hope you will join us next time when Lon seeks to answer one of life's most important questions, So What.