As we continue looking at Jesus, who He is, and His characteristics, we find in our Scripture today that Jesus has been given all authority. Matthew 28:18 says, “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” (NASB 1995) The King James Version says, “And Jesus came and spoke unto them saying, ‘All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.’” God, the Father, gave Jesus all the authority, all the power, and all the glory.
The book of Matthew was written to the Jewish people. Matthew shows them that Jesus came to them as King, not the king they were looking for who would overthrow the Roman rule and dictatorship like they wanted, but King over their hearts, King of eternity, and the King of the world. Not only was Jesus God, but He also had supreme authority over everything. Throughout the book, we see the Kingship of Jesus, from His genealogy to the sign posted on the cross by Pilate proclaiming Jesus as King of the Jews. Matthew is letting the Jews know that Jesus was their King, whom they rejected.
His authority isn’t only in physical ways we can see, but it is also in Spiritual ways. For example, He has the authority to heal the sick, lame, deaf, and blind, but He also has the authority to forgive sins and cast out demons. Many times, those listening to Jesus marveled at the things He said. “They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, ‘What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.’” (Mark 1:27 NASB) Jesus showed His authority in many instances, from the miracles He performed to the parables He spoke. He told them and showed them so many times and in so many ways, who He was, and yet they rejected Him and His Kingship.
Satan would have us believe that Jesus is not all-powerful, that He really doesn’t have authority over us. The enemy of our souls wants us to believe that we can control things and that Jesus can’t be trusted. But the Bible says that Satan is a liar. (John 8:44) The Bible gives us his true nature. It says he is a thief, a killer, and a destroyer. (John 10:10) He doesn’t want us to know the power Jesus holds. He doesn’t want us to relinquish control of our lives to Jesus because once we do that, we can be saved and walk in victory.
Because Jesus has all authority, He has granted authority to those who are His. Luke 10:19 says, “Look, I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy; nothing at all will harm you.” (CSB) Because He lives in us, we also have the same power He has. “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 KJV) Jesus told the disciples that they would do the same things He did! “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12 NIV) He extends that to us also when we fully trust in Him and surrender the authority of our lives to Him. Because of this, we can have victory over the enemy. We don’t have to fall victim to Satan’s schemes, we can tell him to leave. We can tell him, “Jesus has given me authority to tell you to leave, so go!” Because Jesus is God and has authority and rules in our hearts, Satan has been conquered, both at the cross and in our lives. For that, Christ deserves all glory and honor!
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