DR. LUKE ON THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS, PART 6

Our text is from Luke 9:1-6, 10:1-4, 10:16-20.

Whatever complicated circumstances you might be facing in your world, Luke wants you to know for certain that Jesus has all authority in this world.

Here in these two stories, Jesus delegates his authority to his friends. How should we look at these stories of Jesus passing on his authority to his friends? As isolated incidents in history in that time for those people only? Or as Jesus delegating his authority to all of his followers throughout all time? 

This sermon examines those questions.

Conclusions:

1. Like the disciples in our story, our mandate is a kingdom mandate—that is, to express what it looks like to surrender completely to the King and to invite people to repent and turn to him themselves (see Acts 1:8).
2. Jesus is the one who holds all authority, and he may choose to delegate that authority to his followers for specific instances and seasons.
3. We are called to pray earnestly with faith and with humility but not with presumption. That means we know for certain that Jesus does hold all authority and can do what we ask him (that’s faith), we realize that the authority is not in ourselves at all (that’s humility), but we don’t dictate to God what he must do for us (to do so would be presumption).