S121P16 – The Savior’s many faces: the encouraging general
Mt. 28:18-20
And Jesus came and spoke to [the eleven disciples], saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
She was only a lady’s maid, so there were not many people in society below her in status. She understood her place and was gracious in her position, which required humility daily. One day, her lady sent her on a mission to deliver a message to a member of the aristocracy who resided at the royal family’s summer palace. When she arrived at the first gate, she initially was not permitted entry. They did not know her, and she certainly did not look like someone who would be acquainted with royalty. Then, she showed the scroll with her lady’s seal on it. That emblem is all it took for the gates to be opened and her carriage to be led to the palace.
I am nobody. Regardless of what I accomplish in this life, that remains true. What I really mean is that I am nobody more or better than anyone else. There is nothing about me particularly that gives me any privilege or authority to carry any gifting of God’s. It is all by his grace. When an illness bows to me and leaves, it is bowing to Christ. When a demon flees at the sound of my voice, it is fleeing the words of Christ. If there is anything that gives me the power to accomplish these and others things, it is that I carry his seal. He has tall orders for us, but that is okay because He backs us up every time. We do nothing alone or of our own might. We do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
When Jesus tells his disciples to go into the world and do his work, and then tells them that He will be with them, this means many things. One thing it means is that his power and authority will be with them. He is encouraging them and us to enter the battlefield with confidence because we carry what He carried. It is not some knockoff or watered-down version of power and authority but everything He received from the Father. He is with us because He is in us and working through us; He goes before us yet stands beside us. Father, remind us of the encouraging words of your Son to all who follow him, that we would walk in the same power and authority.