Do We Live Under the Authority of Jesus? Tuesday 1st Week Ordinary Time
Breakfast with the Word Tuesday Week 1 in Ordinary Time of the Year
Mark 1:21–28.
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Do We Live Under the Authority of Jesus?
Authority is the right someone has or a right that an institution holds to enforce or expect obedience from others.
Someone in authority has legal qualifications, the right to judge and administrative guidelines for people to obey.
When an Authority speaks, his words are binding and demands obedience. Mark says today that Jesus speaks with authority. This left everyone in shock and amazement that even the evil spirit trembled.
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The Authority of Jesus Over Everything.
In the gospel, Jesus and his disciples go as far as Capernaum, and as soon as the sabbath comes, Jesus goes to the synagogue and begins to teach.
His teaching makes a deep impression on them. Mark writes that, unlike the scribes, Jesus teaches them with authority.
Then, in the synagogue, there is a man under the possession of an unclean spirit. Immediately the evil spirit encounters Jesus, the evil spirit shouts
“What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God”.
But Jesus hardly cautioned the spirit immediately, ‘Be quiet! come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit throws the man into convulsions, and with a loud cry, the spirit goes out of him.
This astonishes the people, and they start to ask each other what it all means.
In verse 22, the people were “astounded at his teaching”. This notion of amazement is a strong word.
It almost has the connotation of putting people into shock or even panic. Such was the strength and power of Jesus’ Authority.
People begin to say “this is a teaching that is new and with authority behind it”
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They were astounded that Jesus gives orders even to unclean spirits, and they obey him.’
The likes of this had not been seen before! Evil spirits go into panic and shock just at the mere presence of Jesus.
The evil spirit confesses who Jesus is and immediately submits to His authority when Jesus commanded it.
The point we have to know here is that an unclean spirit knows who Jesus is and immediately submits to His authority. But the people who are still confused about His personality were left at the level of astonishment.
Can you think with me that we are the ones who have refused to live under His Lordship?
Can you think with me that we do not obey what God says? Do we truly live under His authority?
If we do, we will obey whatever God says. If we live under His authority, following God’s word will not be a burden to me.
Whenever Jesus speaks to the mountain, it obeys, when He speaks to the trees and storm, they obey.
When He commands and speaks to evil spirits, they jump out immediately, but when He speaks to the Pharisees and Jews and people around Him, they only wonder, and some attack Him.
Today, when He speaks to us, we neglect Him totally but come back to say we love Him. The man with an unclean spirit was freed when the spirit obeyed and left.
Our freedom from sin, satanic bondage, depression etc. will come only in total obedience to the Word made Flesh.
Secondly, if we live under the authority of Jesus, we will always choose to love Jesus despite the problems and challenges. We will always choose Jesus every time, every day and every moment. We will always respect and show Jesus more adoration.
The people who encountered Jesus today were filled with awe because of Jesus. This is because they encountered Him.
When we truly encounter Him, our homage for Jesus will increase. We will love Jesus more than everything.
So, the question we have to ask ourselves is “do truly live under His authority?
When One In Authority Speaks.
When one in authority speaks, his words demand nothing but simple obedience. Do we truly live under His Authority?
Do we accept His lordship over us? Today we see God as nothing. Because of the desire for worldly things, we do not care again whether He exists or not.
Jesus has authority over every created thing. We can see that every other thing created hears him and obeys. The only creatures that disobey Jesus are me and you.
We have refused to live under the authority of Jesus. Therefore, only human beings that hear about him, feel astonished at what they heard, they may clap hands for the preacher and yet go back to square one.
Let us accept Jesus wholeheartedly and listen to Him.
May God have mercy on us dearest, and give us the grace to overcome all temptations drawing us away from God. Amen.
