Matthew chapter 28, verse 18. That's in the New
Testament. Right at the beginning of the New
Testament, you'll find Matthew. That's going
to be in about the back third of your Bible.
Or if you're on your smartphone or tablet, scroll
down toward the bottom of the list. Matthew chapter
28, verse 18. Everybody in here should be happy
today. The half of you that like the heater to
be on was happy earlier, and now the half of
you that like the air to be on are happy now.
So we made everybody happy today. So those of
you who don't like the air to be on are hoping
I'll preach quick today. Matthew chapter 28,
verse 18. We'll read the verse, then we'll talk
for a few minutes. Matthew chapter 28, verse
18. Then Jesus came near and said to them, All
authority has been given to me in heaven and
on earth. Let's pray. God, we come to you and
we thank you for the privilege and the freedom
to be into your house, dear Lord. We thank you
for the love that you have for us. We thank you
for the love that is in this place. And I pray,
dear Lord, that your Holy Spirit would be among
us today, that whatever stresses and sorrows
and pains and bitterness and hardships that we
may have come into here with today, dear Lord,
that your Holy Spirit would give us peace, would
give us strength, God, that we would leave here
trusting in Jesus Christ and his authority. I
pray, dear Lord, that you would hide me behind
the cross, that I would preach and teach in a
way that brings glory and honor to you. And I
ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Jesus
had lived his life. He had served God the Father
to the very end. He was crucified and he was
resurrected and spent some time with his disciples
before he would ascend back to heaven. And here
in Matthew chapter 28, in verse 18, we see these
last words of Jesus before he ascends to go be
seated at the right hand of God the Father. And
he says to his disciples, All authority has been
given to me in heaven and on earth. Now, how
much authority did Jesus have? Before this point,
if all authority is given to him now, did Jesus
not have authority before this point in his ministry?
Well, I believe that Jesus did have authority.
I believe that Jesus had full authority throughout
his whole ministry. But Jesus used his authority
in a much different way than most humans would
use their authority. Now, Jesus is fully God.
But he's also fully human. Now we see authority
all over our world today. There are people in
authority all around us. And we see a common
theme often with people who have some authority
and who have some power. It's more times than
not when someone receives authority, that power,
that authority, it almost instantly goes to their
head. They almost instantly use it for themselves.
They use it very selfishly. They use it to promote
themselves. There's all of a sudden an air of
pride and arrogance that one day you worked in
the mailroom, and the next day you've made it
up to being a businessman two floors up, and
now all of a sudden you are so much better than
those measly mailmen that you were two weeks
ago because you have some authority. And you
are better than them and you speak down to them.
And oftentimes that is the trap that humans fall
into. It's a trap that we must be careful because
perhaps some of us in this room have authority
today. Perhaps some of you are owner of a business
or manager of a group of people, teachers in
a classroom, pastors of a church. These are positions
that come with... Some level of authority. Too
many times we see it in our government, in our
businesses, in our churches, that people get
a taste of authority. They don't use their authority
for good. They use it for evil. They use it to
build themselves up. They use it for their own
greed. And that's what separates Jesus from all
the other authority figures that there are in
this world. Now Jesus is eternal. He has always
been. And He will always be. And He is the greatest
authority. He had all authority for all of eternity.
But Jesus did something that is nothing short
of a miracle. Jesus left his standing in the
presence of God the Father. And Jesus chose to
come to this wretched and rotten world. Jesus
had all authority. And what Jesus chose to do
with his authority was to empty himself of so
many of the things that come with that authority.
Philippians chapter 2 verses 5 through 8 says,
Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus,
who existing in the form of God did not consider
equality with God as something to be used for
his own advantage. Instead, he emptied himself
by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the
likeness of men. And when he had come as a man
in his external form, he humbled himself. by
becoming obedient to the point of death, even
to death on a cross. The Son of God, who had
all power and all authority, he humbled himself
and he chose to come to this horrible world that
we live in and to be a servant to all. For those
of you who may be in a position of authority,
here's our example. Here's our example of what
it means to lead. That Jesus says, I have all
authority in the world. I have all authority
in the world to look at humanity and look at
their sinfulness and look at their disobedience
to God and the commands of God and I would be
a right and righteous judge to bring judgment.
on sinful humanity. And Jesus would have been
right to do so. In all of his authority, he could
have chosen to have done that. But he didn't
choose to do that. He said, I will empty myself
of my authority. And I won't use my power for
my good. I won't use my power to make my life
better in any way. Instead, I will empty myself
of my power and my authority so that I can go
and be a slave to the people of God. To go and
to serve the people of God. To go and to serve
God the Father. And what a beautiful Savior we
have. Jesus Christ knows all of the evil and
the darkness and the bitterness. And all of the
junk that we do and that we say, and then instead
of bringing judgment on us, he showered us with
grace. And so Jesus comes onto the scene unlike
any other person with authority. And it's obvious
that his authority is so much different than
that of those who are here before him. So different
that people instantly acknowledge when he begins
to preach and he begins to teach that the listeners
instantly know that he is not preaching and teaching
like those who have come before him. And his
audience says he is preaching like one who has
authority. But his authority was being shown
and exhibited in ways that were unlike any other.
For those who had come before him, many of them
had used their power and lorded it over the people.
There were many bad kings and many bad priests
and many bad leaders in the church that had used
their positions of authority to better themselves,
to put the spotlight on themselves. Jesus Christ
didn't do any of those things. He didn't come
as an oppressive ruler. He didn't come and say,
I am the Son of God. Therefore, bow before me.
Bring all your riches to me. Do everything I
command you to do or else. That was not the heart
with which Jesus came. Jesus came with a heart
of service. So he emptied himself. And he came
and in a, Totally different style and type of
authority that had ever been seen. Jesus begins
to love people. He begins to serve God by loving
people. Now this has always been what God desires.
It's pretty clear. You kind of cipher through
all the writings of the Old Testament and it's
a lot of words there and a lot of laws there
and a lot of commands there. Praise the Lord,
Jesus kind of clears all that up for us because
he says what's really important is the law of
love, to love God with everything that's within
you and to love your neighbor as yourself. That's
really God's command and God's desire throughout
the whole Testament. He used a lot of laws to
say that, but that's really what God wanted.
He wanted somebody that would love him. He wanted
people to love him. He wanted people to love
one another. And almost every other person, well,
every person failed at that. Some did better
than others, but that's why we needed Jesus,
because he came onto the scene, and he emptied
himself of all authority, and he came as an obedient
son, as a servant to God, to love all people.
And Jesus begins his ministry. He begins preaching
and teaching of the kingdom of God. And those
who would listen, they would hear. And they would
be intrigued. And they might not understand what
he said, but they knew there was something about
him. Not just in how he taught, but in how he
lived. That he didn't come to be served, but
to serve. And to give his life as a ransom for
many, the scripture says. And so Jesus began
to walk miles and miles, thousands of miles,
I suspect, throughout his ministry. Everywhere,
town to town, everywhere he could get to. He
would go and he would preach and he would teach
and he would show love and not ask for things
in return. He was a humble Savior. He would associate
with the ones that no one else would. certainly
not the other religious men of authority. He
would dine with the sinners. He would associate
with the prostitutes and the tax collectors.
He would heal the sick. He would cause the lame
to walk and cause the blind to see and the deaf
to hear. And he would bring healing to those
who would come to him and seek it. And so often
times that healing is followed up by a common
theme. That their faith had made them well. That
because they had trusted in Jesus, it is their
faith that had healed them. Because they acknowledged
that there was some authority in Jesus Christ
that was so much greater than anything that had
come before. Because they had the wherewithal
and the faith to come and to seek Him, there
was healing in their body. But guess what? The
other people in authority didn't care for that.
And Jesus didn't do anything wrong. He loved
people. That's not a sin. He loved people. He
was compassionate toward people. He was merciful
and He was gracious. And for that, those who
in authority rejected Him. Not only did they
reject him, they desired to kill him, and ultimately
they did. And Jesus was crucified, and he was
buried, and he was placed in a tomb, and God
raised him from the dead. And he tells his disciples,
all authority has been given to me. When Jesus
came and He was on this earth, He emptied Himself
of that authority to bring grace. But one day
we will all stand before Jesus again. A Jesus
who has all authority. And there is grace available
to us today. But judgment may await us in the
future if we don't come to Jesus Christ and seek
Him in faith. If we don't come and seek His grace
and experience His mercy, we will experience
the authority of Jesus Christ in its fullness.
So what of us today? Have you experienced the
grace of Jesus Christ today? Jesus uses these
words that all authority had been given to Him.
Back in Luke chapter 19, you can go back and
read that this week. In Luke chapter 19, Jesus
tells a parable. A very similar parable is found
in Matthew chapter 25. Jesus tells a parable
of a noble man. And in that parable, it says
of the noble man that this noble man went off
to a faraway land to be given authority. And
when this nobleman left, he gathered up his slaves
and he gave... Some of them, ten of them, ten
minas apiece. That's money. He gave them a little
money apiece. And there were some, it said, there
were some in the community that rejected him.
They were appalled that this nobleman was going
off to seek authority. And once this nobleman
had obtained the authority that he had gone away
to receive, he came back. He came back and he
went to his slaves to see what they had done
with what he had left them with. And the first
slave had done well. The first slave had took
the money that he had gotten and he had doubled
that money. The next slave that came, he had
done well too with what the master had left for
him. And then the third slave come. And he had
done absolutely nothing with what the master
had left him. He hadn't lost it, but he hadn't
used it for anything. One had made some effort
and done really well with what he was given.
Even the other, not as well as the first, but
he had made some effort and done something with
what the master had given him. But there was
one servant who had done nothing with what the
master had left for him. And the master was not
pleased with this servant. The master said, at
the very least, you could have put it in the
bank. You got a little interest off of it. You
could have got something. But instead, what I
left you with, you gave me nothing. I've returned.
I've returned with all authority, and you have
done nothing for me. Now, we don't see it in
the Luke chapter 19 passage, but in Matthew 22,
very similar passage. It says to take this one,
this good for nothing servant, and cast him into
the outer darkness where there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth. Now this parable, no doubt,
was about Jesus Christ. One who would one day
be given all authority. The one who had given
authority to his servants. The one who had given
responsibility to his servants were expected
to do something with what they had been given
so that when the one with all authority returned,
he could rejoice with them. So that he could
say to them, well done, my good and faithful
servant. And to some of them, he was able to
say those words. But to some, he was not. And
here Jesus uses the same language in Matthew
28. He was the one who went away to a faraway
land, so to speak. He was the one who was placed
in a tomb. He was the one who gave his life.
He was the one that God raised from the dead.
And it is in Jesus Christ that all authority
rests today. So Jesus tells his disciples before
he ascends to heaven, all authority in heaven
and on earth has been given to me. And the next
words he utters are, therefore, go. Therefore,
go. The one who has all authority has called
us in the same way as he has called his apostles.
He has called us to do the work. He has equipped
us to do the work. He has blessed us to do the
work. And one day we're going to stand before
the one who has all authority. And what will
he say to you and I? Will he be able to say to
us, well done my good and faithful servant? Or
will he say to us, Away with this one. May be
cast into the outer darkness where there will
be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Jesus has the
authority to save your soul. Jesus has the authority
to forgive your sins today. Will you submit to
that authority? There are lots of people that
are authorities in this world. There are a lot
of people who hold a little bit of authority.
And sometimes it goes to their head. The ultimate
authority, the ultimate example is Jesus Christ
and the love that he has shown for us. Will you
accept his authority today? Will you submit?
To him today. Is he the authority in your life
today? Is he the one you submit to? Is he your
master? The one we submit to. The one who is
our master. That's the authority in our life.
Who is that for you? Or what is that for you?
What or who is dictating your life today? Is
it Jesus Christ? If it's not, you're submitting
to the wrong authority. Let us pray. God, we
come to you today. We thank you for your good
word. We thank you for Jesus Christ for being
a better authority to us, God. We thank you for
your grace and for your mercy. We thank you that
Jesus came and he came with that grace and mercy
and love and gentleness and compassion. And I
pray, dear Lord, that if there are some in this
room today that do not know Jesus Christ, that
through your words, through the truth of the
gospel of Jesus Christ, that today that they
would humble themselves before him. That today
maybe there are some in this room or some listening
online that know that their life is not in a
good place and they are searching and they are
seeking and they are struggling. I pray, God,
today that they would know that Jesus Christ
is their only hope, their only strength. And
I pray that through faith they would humbly submit
themselves and seek Him today. That they would
seek Him for forgiveness of their sins, God.
That they would seek Him for strength. God, that
they would experience and feel the compassion
of Jesus Christ today. God, maybe... Maybe today
the authority that we are submitting to in our
life is, it's just not you if we're honest, God.
Maybe there are other things that have become
our master, other things that have become our
motivation, dear Lord. But God, I pray today
that we would just take a moment and repent to
humble ourselves before the authority of Jesus
Christ. God, we thank you for love and for mercy
and grace today, and I pray that each one here
would experience that love through Jesus Christ.
And I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.