Tuesday 19th April 2011
Rev. Simon J. Oriedo
Divine Authority:
Mark 11:20-33
Introduction
On Monday, when Jesus had finished laying bare the spiritual condition of the crowd and the Temple
which was responsible for that state, the chief priests and the teachers of the law were embarrassed
for the failure to maintain the purpose for which the Temple was built. For this reason, the chief
priests and the teachers of the law planned to have Jesus killed.
On Tuesday, Jesus again with His disciples headed back to Jerusalem for another round of His final
activities in Jerusalem. Today, the focus of Jesus activity is highlighting the Divine Authority:
1. Christ’s Divine Power.
As Jesus walked with His disciples to Jerusalem, Peter drew Christ’s attention to the fig tree, which
was cursed on Monday. According to Mark (21:19b), the fig tree did not wither instantly while
Mathew records (21:19) that “…Immediately the tree withered”. Whatever the duration it took for
the tree to wither, the underlying factor is that, there was a demonstration of Christ’s authority or
divine power. To the crowd who were following Jesus, without realising or aligning themselves to His
agenda, Jesus was proving to them that His kingdom and kingship was a spiritual one and not of this
world.
Further Jesus advices the crowd to have faith in God. Christ does not tell them to have faith in Him
because they already have a wrong perspective of Him. But this is not the only reason, Christ had
come to teach us who the Father is and this is the most appropriate time to reinforce that.
Miracles are performed in order to induce faith in God and not the miracle workers nor miracle
performers.
2. The Believers’ Unrealised Power
For the believers following Christ on His way to Jerusalem on this particular Tuesday, He makes them
realise that performing of miracles is not only confined to Christ but every believer has the ability.
Every believer has an unrealised authority. Every believer can heal the sick; every believer can raise
the dead. For Jesus, what the believers need to do is:
- Speak to the mountains
- Overcome doubt
- Believe
- Prayer
James 5:16-18 “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that
you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a
man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land
for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth
produced its crops.”
Why don’t we perfume miracles? Why must we run to miracle workers yet every believer have
power? Is it doubt? Is intellect and reason versus faith? Today, as Christians, in the advent of science
and technology, we have relied on science and reason than faith. Probably, when I go to pray for a
sick person, I may not start by praying but asking about the history of the sickness: i.e. when did the
sickness start? Have seen a doctor? And even, either before or after prayer, I will offer an advice:
even if I have prayed for you, make sure you see a doctor. By this, we even cancel the prayer of faith
we have offered.
What Jesus is doing now is separating the believers from the crowd.
3. The Authority of Jesus Questioned by the Leaders
Whatever acts Jesus had done, were reported to the chief priests, teachers of the law and the
elders. They noticed that Jesus was becoming popular with crowd. The spiritual revival and
the renewal of the institutions were connecting with the majority. Therefore, they turned to
intimidation; question His authority. As far as they were concerned, Jesus was not a qualified person
to do what He was doing:
- They could not remember seeing Jesus in their Bible School: so by what authority is Jesus
doing these things and who gave Him the authority to do this? - They could not remember ordaining Jesus: so by what authority is Jesus doing these things
and who gave Him the authority to do this? - They did not licence Jesus to preach: so by what authority is Jesus doing these things and
who gave Him the authority to do this? - They could not remember Jesus ascribing to their doctrinal position: so by what authority is
Jesus doing these things and who gave Him the authority to do this? - They are much older and more experienced in the law than Jesus: so by what authority is
Jesus doing these things and who gave Him the authority to do this? - They are the custodians of the Jewish teachings who were legitimately appointed: so by
what is Jesus doing these things and who gave Him the authority to do this?
Forgiveness; “…so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
Conclusion
Because of Calvary, we were set free. Because of Calvary, Christ’s power was made manifest through
us until today. Christians have unrealised divine power.
Tuesday in Holy Week
Rev. Simon J. Oriedo
- P. O. Box 14814– 00100 GPO
- Nairobi – Kenya
- Tel. +254 – 722838023 / 735621172 / 772838023
- E-mail : sjoriedo@gmail.com, sjoriedo@yahoo.com