Thursday's Devotion: Under Authority
John 5:19-29
March 5, 2015
When I was ordained as an elder in The United Methodist Church in 2012, Bishop Kammerer placed her hands on my head and told me to "take authority as an elder in the Church to preach the Word of God, and to administer the Holy Sacraments." Among other things, I was given a chart that looks a little bit like a family tree that shows who ordained Bishop Kammerer, and traces the line of authority all the way back to John Wesley.
We receive authority from someone who has the authority to give it in the first place. You can't give away authority that you don't have. That was true for Bishop Kammerer. It was true for Jesus, as well.
In today's Gospel Lesson, Jesus speaks about His authority. He told his listeners that "the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise." (John 5:19). That authority does not only give Jesus the ability to heal the sick and to cast out demons; that authority extends to judgment--"The Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father." (John 5:23). And yet, there is a catch here, for Jesus has already told Nicodemus, during their late night conversation, that "God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." (John 3:17).
Jesus has the authority to judge us, but He tells us instead that, "anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life." (John 5:24). Once again, that sort of believing is not an intellectual act, but it is an act of trust. When we place our trust in Christ, we receive eternal life--in the present. We don't have to wait for it. We have it on the highest authority! Thanks be to God!
Pray: Lord Jesus Christ, I place my trust in you! Amen.
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