Jesus, the Authority over our Life!
Jesus comes to the synagogue of Capernaum and comments on the scriptures in an extraordinary way. What scribes, teachers, and prophets would teach is based upon the great authority of Moses whose teachings are collected in the Torah. Contrarily, Jesus offers a different perspective. “The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes” (Mk 1:22). In Jesus' time, this was earth shaking! Jesus speaks in his own authority. The word for authority in Greek is “exousia”, meaning “from the being of”. Jesus speaks out of his own being, out of his own substance, and it takes people’s breath away. This reminds us of the prologue of John’s Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn 1:1). Jesus is not just another prophet, speaking for some reflective words of God, but rather He is the embodiment of the Word of God.
This authority also reveals its power when a man comes in the synagogue while Jesus is preaching. With an undaunted spirit, the man says, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” (Mk 1:24) The evil one, “diablo” in Spanish, means scatter and division. The scattering takes place on the outside when we are divided among ourselves; men against women, race against another race, and rich against poor. The scattering also takes place inside us, when we are divided within ourselves. Our mind desires one thing while our will desires another. As St. Paul said, “For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want" (Rm 7:19). A war is constantly raging inside us! This man, in the synagogue of Capernaum, bursts into the scene. In a way, this man in the synagogue represents all of us.
How does Jesus respond? He commands him, "Quiet! Come out of him" (Mk 1:25)! Here is the authoritative voice of Jesus. Let us reflect on this: If Jesus were only one more philosopher or another interesting cultural figure, He would just be one more little voice among many whom we may follow until we lose our interest. Nevertheless, what we have witnessed here is the power of Jesus’ authority. Through the power of the Word of Jesus, the person is kneaded. One’s mind, will, passions, feelings, and instincts are called to obedience to Christ. One’s outer and inner life, dreams, aspirations are called into a new unity and harmony. This is what Jesus Christ can work in us, if we allow his authoritative voice to reign in us, he would gather our whole self, so that we may become saints whose lives are no longer divided. Through Christ, we know who we are, and place our hearts towards pleasing God alone. This is the power of Jesus's voice.
Many of us may not realize how powerful we can be as the children of God. It is possible for every child of God to have the authority of the Father in the name of Jesus 1. In Jesus, we have “salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us” (Lk 1:71). We do have enemies that sought to rob us of our freedom. Do we want authority over the unclean spirits and the division in us? Are we becoming tired of living at odds with ourselves? If we want power over them, invite Jesus Christ to be the Lord of our life. By the authority of Jesus, we can take our stand against evil through repentance, forgiveness, and renunciation. Then we declare the truth of their defeat by saying, “In the name of Jesus, I command every spirit that I have renounced to leave me right now!” This command is an expression of faith that the enemy’s power has been broken in our lives, and we will find ourselves gathered, united, and around His authority.
Jesus is Lord of all, or he is not Lord at all.
1See “Unbound” (https://www.heartofthefather.com/) to understand more about the deliverance prayer ministry, whose mission is to overcome evil and renounce our enemies through prayers in the name of Jesus.