Every sermon seems to have one extra special nugget of truth for me. Yesterday there was one.
In Matthew 28:19, Jesus said, "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples..." Why is his statement of all authority so important?
1. Jesus has the authority to give us a command to action. Jesus can tell you what to do.
2. Jesus has authority to tell us to get involved in others' lives. Today in our overly tolerant world, Christians are often told, "Stay out of my life." Jesus says, go get in.
3. Jesus has authority to tell the Jewish disciples to break their old traditions which limited their contact with other types of people. Jesus has authority to break the Old Testament regulations and traditions that limited contact and involvement with non-Jews. Break the racial and political boundaries of our world to share Jesus.
4. Jesus has authority to tell his disciples to break through geographical boundaries to carry the good news to people. What if a nation says that it is illegal to share information about Jesus in their land? They have some authority. Jesus has all authority and says go.
Let's be under the authority of Jesus who said "go," rather than the authority of culture and the world that says, "be quiet."
