True story. The crowds were abuzz over Jesus’ teaching and His works. “Surely this man is the Prophet,”1 some said. “He is the Messiah,”2 countered others. Either way, the chief priests and the Pharisees had had enough: Send the temple guards to arrest the man. Sometime later — perhaps days — these enforcers returned to their leaders emptyhanded! Let’s listen in.
Pharisees: “Why didn’t you bring him in?”3
Temple guards: “No one ever spoke the way this man does!” 4
Hysterical! And ironic, for it was not scholars and leaders who recognized otherworldly wisdom when they heard it, but the gatekeepers, “the muscle.”
Wherever He went, Jesus amazed the gathered crowds: “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?”5 A great question, wisely asked. “By [the Son] all things were created,”6 says Paul, and Solomon reveals the manner in which He did so: “By wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place.”7 So the Father’s Son possessed wisdom since before the beginning of time; in fact, it is His nature — “in [Christ] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”8 Moreover, Isaiah foretold the Messianic incarnation in like terms: “The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.”9 No wonder Jesus’ teachings — divine truth, every word — resonated so deeply among the people. No wonder they stir in us still today!
There is, by contrast, a glut of faux wisdom in the world — baseless, Christless, worthless. It tickles our ears but blinds our eyes. Laments Jeremiah of its purveyors, “Since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do they have?”10 And Paul warns us, “the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.”11 Human wisdom, according to James, is “earthly, unspiritual, demonic.”12 (How sobering! Be careful!) The apostle continues, “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”13 All of this because it is true.
Resisting the evil one’s temptation, Jesus spoke Scripture: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”14 May we also live entirely on God’s Word, for it is wisdom, and He is true.
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”15 — Jesus
Father, please fill us with Your wisdom, and lead us in the truth; your word is truth16. In Christ we pray. Amen.
1 John 7:40 NIV
2 John 7:41 NIV
3 John 7:45 NIV
4 John 7:46 NIV
5 Matthew 13:54 ESV
6 Colossians 1:16 ESV
7 Proverbs 3:19 NIV
8 Colossians 2:3 ESV
9 Isaiah 11:2 ESV
10 Jeremiah 8:9 NIV
11 1 Corinthians 3:19 NIV
12 James 3:15 ESV
13 James 3:17 ESV
14 Matthew 4:4 NIV (see also Deuteronomy 8:3)
15 Matthew 7:24 ESV
16 John 17:17 ESV
Tag: Son of God series
Categories
“Who Gave You This Authority?”
My boss, Don, stopped in one afternoon and said, “Bob wants to see us in his office.” Being summoned by the President was not routine, but seeing no signs of concern in Don’s face, I donned my suitcoat and we strolled together into C-Suite terrain. Bob wasted no time: “Paul, we’re promoting Don to Vice President, and we’re making you an AVP over commercial lines [business insurance].” Smiles and handshakes all around. “I accept!” As we turned to leave, Bob asked me to stay behind. “Paul, I want you to know that, from now on, your voice is 10 times louder.” I knew exactly what he meant: Your words and actions now carry greater authority; choose them carefully.
Underlying Jesus’ words and deeds was the matter of authority: the people were amazed at it and the Jewish leaders were threatened by it. “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?”1 demanded the chief priests and their posse. Indeed, the incarnate One’s authority was given — “All things have been handed over to me by my Father,”2 Jesus once declared. Yet His authority was also innate as the Son of God, “For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities . . .”3
Then let’s glimpse the eternal authority of the Son and its expression among us.
Truth. “The people were amazed at [Jesus’] teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.”4
Life. Jesus prayed to the Father, “You have given [the Son] authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.”5
Forgiveness. Jesus proclaimed, “That you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.”6
Healing. [The paralytic] rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.7
Evil. “[The people] were all amazed . . . saying, ‘What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’”8
All things. “God has put all things in subjection under [Jesus’] feet.”9
The Son, in turn, authorizes us. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”10
Our words and actions carry great authority; choose them confidently.
Father, You have given Your Son all rule and authority, and filled us in Him.11 Send Your Spirit to guide us in His will and power. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
1 Mark 11:28 ESV
2 Matthew 11:27 ESV
3 Colossians 1:16 ESV
4 Mark 1:22 ESV
5 John 17:2 ESV
6 Matthew 9:6 ESV
7 Matthew 9:7-8 ESV
8 Mark 1:27 ESV
9 1 Corinthians 15:27-28 ESV
10 Matthew 28:18-20 ESV
11 Colossians 2:10 ESV
Categories
“Are You Then the Son of God?”
“Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house . . .” — Hebrews 3:6 NIV
It was at an industry conference that I met an employee of one of our competitors. His company was founded in the 1800s and then led by four successive generations of the same family. “It eliminates the cut-throat political race to the top,” he quipped, “because everyone knows a picture of the next president stands somewhere among the family photos on the CEO’s credenza.” He proved prophetic: In the 25-plus years since our conversation, a son from the fifth generation has become that company’s leader. It was just a matter of time.
We have been beholding the Son of God through celestial lenses, “the glory [He] had with [the Father] before the world began”1 — His oneness with the Father even before He “became flesh and dwelt among us.”2 Today we glimpse Jesus’ sonship, itself, for David wrote of it in Messianic song long before Jesus’ incarnation: “The Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.’”3 David closed his poem with an imperative and a promise: “Kiss the Son4 . . . Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”5 Isaiah likewise foresaw divine sonship appearing in our midst: “For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us . . . His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.6 And introducing Jesus to the world, the Father proclaimed, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”7 It was this Son whom God appointed “the heir of all things.”8
So, Jesus once asked His detractors, “Why do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’?”9 After all, isn’t this what the prophets foretold? If Jesus fulfills what had been spoken of Him, how can this be blasphemy? Scripture affirms Jesus’ eternal sonship. Then consider this: “both the one who makes people holy [Jesus] and those who are made holy [us] are of the same family. So Jesus [the Son] is not ashamed to call [us] brothers and sisters.”10 Paul affirms, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”11 The eternal Son has made us to be His forever brothers and sisters. It was just a matter of time.
Father, You have blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. You chose us in Him before creation to be holy and blameless before You. You adopted us into sonship through Him.12 Receive our thanks; receive our praise. In Christ we pray. Amen.
1 John 17:5 NIV
2 John 1:14 ESV
3 Psalm 2:7-8 ESV
4 In this culture, a sign of homage, and in this context, homage to God’s Son.
5 Psalm 2:12 ESV
6 Isaiah 9:6 NASB
7 Matthew 3:17 ESV
8 Hebrews 11:2 ESV
9 John 10:36 NIV
10 Hebrews 2:11 NIV
11 Romans 8:16-17 ESV
12 Ephesians 1:3
Paul Nordman—Author 