The Lutheran Hour
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"God’s Authority"
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Text: Mark 1:22
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Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed. Those words describing the resurrection of the Savior from Joseph of Arimathea’s empty tomb, tell all the world the earth has a new Authority. The Savior’s conquest of death, devil, and sin shout to all who will hear, say to everyone who will listen, that Jesus is victorious over our mortal enemies. Freed from their strangle hold, those who believe in the Messiah have a new hope, a new tomorrow, a new Authority as they live their lives here in hope of an eternal tomorrow.
Today on this broadcast, I’m going to ask, and hopefully you’re going to answer, a very simple question: “Who is the authority in your life?” Now understand, I’m not asking who has the power in your life. There’s a big difference between power and authority. Let me explain.
As a pastor, I drive a very sensible and dependable Chevy. But when a friend offered me a ride in his souped up Corvette, I jumped at the opportunity. That machine was beautiful to look at and impressive to sit in. Riding a few inches off the ground, my friend put that contraption through its paces. In first gear, I was thrown back into the seat. In second gear, it felt like the “g” force was stretching my face, like that of the astronauts during a blastoff. In third gear, we blew by an “18-wheeler” like he was standing still. It was fantastic. Then doing around 1,000 million miles an hour (I may be exaggerating there), we came up on a parked police vehicle. The ‘vette slowed down. The 18-wheeler slowed down. Everybody slowed down. And that’s the point. That ‘vette had power. The 18-wheeler with a full load and a big diesel engine had power. But that parked police car had authority.
So, we ask a very simple question: “Who has the authority in your life?” Your boss may have power, but who has authority? Who is the person–what is the thing–that makes you do what you do, say what you say, think what you think? Who is the authority in your life?
Almost 2,000 years ago, right after Jesus began His ministry, He spoke at the synagogue in Capernaum. Mark, who recorded that visit, doesn’t give record or reveal a single word that Jesus preached. What he does share is that the people, after it was all over, walked out, turned to each other and said, “Whoa, there’s a Man that preaches with authority. He’s not like all those teachers of the law.”
They understood the difference between power and authority. The teachers of the law, with all their book learnin’, had power. They had the power of hundreds of years of tradition. They knew the rules. You name the subject–they could roll out a baker’s dozen of rules that dealt with the situation. They had power. But they were missing something. They were missing something Jesus had: authority. And because Jesus spoke as One with authority, people listened. They couldn’t stop listening even if they wanted to. Jesus’ teaching–no, Jesus Himself–made sense. He was someone you could invest some time in. You might be able to invest your future in Him. That’s because in less than a day, they knew He was a Man who had authority.
It would take some time, of course, before any of them realized they were only half right when they described Jesus as a “Man” of authority. This was not just a man. No mere man could do the things Jesus did. Jesus had a special, unique, a one-of-a-kind authority. That’s because Jesus was, and is, the Son of God. Now, I wouldn’t have you take my word for such a claim. But you can listen to Matthew. He was there. He knew the Savior personally. When Jesus was tempted by Satan to sin, the challenge was laid down. “If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread” (Matthew 4:3). Later, the devil challenges, “If you are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from the temple and give the people a miracle so they will believe” (Matthew 4:6).
You only need to read the passages to see that Jesus resisted those temptations, just as He avoided every other stumbling block sin and Satan set before Him. He did what no regular human being could do. He led a perfect life. The book of Hebrews records Jesus “has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
Matthew continues. When Jesus is confronted by a man possessed by demons, it is the demons, not Jesus, who are afraid. Christ’s authority is seen as those demons are cast out and the man is cleansed, restored, and returned to his family, healthy and whole (Matthew 8:29). When the disciples are afraid because a storm is tossing them about on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus comes to them, walking on the water. After Peter has been rescued and the storm has abated, the disciples, in wonder, realize Jesus is a person of authority. They confess to each other, “Truly, He is the Son of God” (Matthew 14:33). In Matthew, the disciple, Peter, admits Jesus is a person of authority when He clearly confesses “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). When the high priest put the Savior on trial, the accusation that seals the Savior’s fate is His admission that He is the Son of God (Matthew 26:63). As He shed His life’s blood so that believers might live forever, the crowd mocks Him for His claim of holding divine Sonship (Matthew 27:40, 43). And although he had seen countless men die, the cynical centurion at the crucifixion confesses, “Truly, this man was the Son of God” (Matthew 27:54).
I have shared what comes only from one of the Gospels. The other writers of the Good News record similar, yet separate, stories. Along with being able to defeat the devil, Jesus shows He has authority over sea and storm (Mark 4:39). He gives eye-witness evidence that He has authority over sickness (Matthew 9:2-7). On Easter Sunday, wondrous news, as the risen Christ departs the empty tomb, all who look come away convinced that even death must bow before Jesus’ authority (Matthew 28:6). Little wonder the people who first heard Him speak in the Capernaum service that day regarded Him as someone special; someone with power and authority. Jesus is someone whose authority can make a difference in this world.
But the question today is not who was the authority in Capernaum 2,000 years ago, or who had the authority on the Sea of Galilee when a storm arose? We are asking: “Who is the Authority in your life?” It’s an important question. If you have heard of Him; if you have looked at Him–I mean really looked at what He has done to save you, then I’m convinced that you, too, are ready to say, “Jesus is the Authority in my life. For Jesus is the Son of God, my Savior from sin, my Lord who has given His life for my life.” In this simple statement, you are joining millions of others who know in the halls of history there is no one else who has authority such as His. Assured of this unmatched authority, the disciples could proudly proclaim, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
But it is possible there are other authorities in your life. You may recognize other authorities that have shoved the Savior aside. Possibly, like Eve, the eye pleasing pleasures of this world are your authority. Maybe, like King David, lust has lured you away from the Lord and become your authority (2 Samuel 11:1ff). It is possible that you, like Ananias and Sapphira, are looking to advance your life by making shady business deals; or like Achan find yourself caught up in a sin separating you from God’s grace (Joshua 7:1). It makes little difference what your authority is. If your authority is not Jesus Christ, it is a false authority. Yours is an influence which will rob you of joy in this world, and the next. But when Jesus, by the Holy Spirit’s power, rules your head and heart; when Jesus is the Authority above anything and everything else, your life is changed immensely for the better.
Let me tell you what I mean. And before I continue, I want you to know I have asked the principal involved for permission to share this story. It begins over 25 years ago when I was pastor of Bethesda Lutheran Church in Hot Springs, South Dakota. There I met many wonderful people. But among those who remain in my memory was a postman by the name of Rudy Krein, and his wife, Arlene. They hailed from that town, went to school there–lived their lives there. They found themselves in love and were married. As such things often go, Arlene soon found herself pregnant. They gave thanks to the Lord for the gift of a new life she was carrying. Their baby was born. She was Caroline. Caroline was a beautiful baby but she had spina bifida, a birth defect. The hospital staff immediately placed her into an oxygen tent. The oxygen was turned on–but too high. By the time the error was discovered, their beautiful girl was blind, deaf and retarded.
The doctors said this young couple should go home and have another baby. They said to put Caroline into a home. Let somebody else take care of her. After all, they reasoned, “Statistics say she would die before the age of six.” But Rudy and Arlene knew Jesus. He was the authority in their lives. They didn’t think they could entrust their baby, God’s baby, in the hands of someone else. So, with Jesus as their authority, and not knowing what they were getting into, they made a decision. They would go home. They would have another baby. But Caroline was going to go home with them. If she was going to die by the age of six, they would take care of her. She will know, they said to each other, a Christian home with a Christian mother and father. They would love her. They would try somehow to take care of her and tell her of Jesus.
I said they didn’t know what they were getting into. They soon found out. Caroline was unable to feed herself. Throughout her life, she ate baby food. She never got control over bodily functions. She needed to be burped every four hours. Rudy and Arlene settled into a grueling, daily cycle. They could not leave her alone for any length of time, so one went to early church, the other went to late. There were no vacations as a family. They cared for Caroline full time, 24-7. Three other children came into their marriage, Tim, Jocey, and Pam. Rudy and Arlene cared for them as well. The children’s home during those early years, during the crucial teen-age time was hardly normal. But, the love they received was more than normal. Jesus was the authority at the Krein house. When times were tough, and there were such times when it looked like they would lose their baby, for Caroline always was their baby, they turned to Jesus, and He gave them the courage and ability to care that they needed. Jesus was the Authority.
Eventually, Rudy and Arlene found out Caroline wasn’t deaf. As the years past, she learned to talk. She knew only three words that I, a quarter-century later, can remember. “Da-a-a-a-a.” That was daddy. When Rudy came home from delivering mail, she said it–D-a-a-aaa. “Maaaaa” was the other word. If memory serves me, it was not used as often because Maaaa was always around. Oh, yes, there was a third word Caroline knew. That word was “Geeeesis.” Jesus. It was always said with a smile. Geeeesis. Both Arlene and Rudy sang and talked to Caroline about Jesus; His love, always about His love. And, even as Jesus was an authority in the life of Daaaa and Maaaa, so He was for Caroline.
I don’t pretend to know what went on in Caroline’s mind, but I know Geeesis was there in her heart. He was there as the young couple took care of her. He was there for the six years the that doctor’s predicted, and He was there for the seventh, eighth, twelfth, eighteenth, twentieth, and twenty-seventh year. Jesus was there when they burped their baby every few hours and changed her diapers. The couple was never at church together or on vacation together. Never. But there was love there. I know, because when a young pastor, his wife, and small son came to town, there was enough love left over for Rudy and Arlene to become adoptive grandparents for that Pastor’s child who had been born so far away from family.
Caroline, after 27 years, eventually left Daaaa and Maaaa and went home to Geeesis. And there, in heaven, Caroline was healed and whole. That was how those who knew her thought of her–running, learning, talking, healed and whole. All because Jesus had been her Authority. After all they had been through, Rudy and Arlene decided to travel. Rudy took an early retirement, but before they left, he had a physical. Before he was 60 years old, Rudy Krein was told he had Alzheimer’s. He died only a few years after his little girl. He, too went home to Jesus. He saw his little girl healthy, healed and whole.
I tell you this story not to make Rudy and Arlene special. They wouldn’t let me say it that way then. Arlene, listening this morning in Hot Springs, would not have it that way now. Too many times, both husband and wife said, “God gave her to us. We only did what He wanted us to do. We were nothing special.” They had served a most special Savior. They had a most special Authority in their lives. And, as far as being special, I tell their story because they’re special to me. As far as the Lord is concerned, He sees them and a great many other people as special, unassuming, regular people, who with Jesus as their Authority, do things that are extraordinary and most irregular. They don’t want any applause. They don’t do what they do to have their story told on “The Lutheran Hour.” They do what they do because even as they have received love from the Lord, so they share it with those around them (1 John 4:19).
Dear friends, having Jesus as the Authority in your life, knowing Him as Savior, doesn’t mean you won’t ever have problems. Difficulties will come your way. But, when you have Jesus as the Authority in your life, you are able to do more, be more, care more, and forgive more, than you ever thought possible. If you are still in the darkness, if you are still without the Savior, these words might not make any sense. That’s because, as long as you remain in darkness, you have no choice. It is only when you are in the light that you are able to see things differently. Today, the Lord is saying, pleading, “Come into the Light. Come to Christ.” My colleagues here at “The Lutheran Hour” can help you do that. For a great many years they have been helping people who have heard the call of the Lord, who want to have Jesus as their Authority. Call the number given before this broadcast ends. Let Jesus be the Authority in your life, as He should be.
A good many years ago, during a Massachusetts winter, a brother and sister were walking on the ice. He was nine and she was 11. They hit a thin patch and fell through. Kicking to the surface, they yelled for help. Summoned by their screams, a man came running, dived into the icy water and tried to help them both. Seeing his difficulty, the nine-year-old boy shouted: “Never mind me, save Annette.” That’s what happened. The man saved Annette. The boy died. I’ve often wondered, why did the boy call, “Never mind me, save Annette.” Was it a rational decision? Did he debate the matter? After weighing the pros and cons, did he conclude he would rather see his sister saved than himself? There was no time. No, that boy, a Christian boy, did what he did because it was part of him. From home, from church, from parents, or a teacher, he had learned to have Jesus as his Authority. It’s not normal to say, “Never mind me, save Annette.” But it is possible when Jesus is the Authority of your life. May God grant that Jesus be your Authority before this day concludes. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for February 2, 2003
ANNOUNCER: Who is my Bosnian neighbor and how do I share Christ with him? I’m Mark Eischer and here to talk with me again about this is Pastor Tony Boos, missionary to the Bosnian community in St. Louis. Pastor Boos, what cultural considerations should I keep in mind while I’m getting to know my Bosnian neighbors?
BOOS: You should keep in mind that they are very friendly. They want to have you in their home and they want you to taste their Bosnian coffee. They want you to eat their Bosnian food and they are proud of where they come from. And as an American, you want to do the same thing with them, invite them. So, hospitality is such a key in developing friendships that will last.
ANNOUNCER: If I’m invited to my Bosnian neighbor’s house, are there things I should bring, or a way I should conduct myself in order not to offend them?
BOOS: Yes, it is always good to bring a gift the first time you meet a Bosnian. It’s OK to bring something not so expensive, like flowers or dessert. Be careful not to bring any kind of alcohol, because the majority of them are Muslim. They might be offended by alcohol.
ANNOUNCER: And also for the same reason, I wouldn’t want to bring a smoked ham over.
BOOS: That’s right, no pork.
ANNOUNCER: As you’re working with the Bosnian community, what do they think about Jesus or about Christianity in general? Do they have any pre-conceived ideas of who Jesus is?
BOOS: No.
ANNOUNCER: How do you bring them the Good News of what Jesus has done for us and all people?
BOOS: The most important thing is to develop that friendship. When you are at a point in a relationship with a Bosnian where you can just come over without even calling, that’s when you can share their faith and talk about what you believe and your relationship, not your religion, but your relationship with God.
ANNOUNCER: Why is it important to talk about this as a relationship and not as a religion?
BOOS: Again, it goes back to the war. Religion, they believe, is what started the war and they want to stay away from that.
ANNOUNCER: Pastor Boos, could you share with us a story of your experiences in working with the Bosnian community?
BOOS: Yes. There is a boy who’s in eighth grade now. He goes to St. John Lutheran School in south St. Louis. He was born in Bosnia, grew up in Germany, and at age four or five studied in that school system, and now he’s in the United States. His parents wanted to bring him up in a good moral, ethical and a good place for their boy. So they sent him to this Lutheran school and because of the language barriers, he is having difficulties and needs a tutor. So here I am. I was able to be his tutor in the months leading him through his schoolwork. One day I asked him, “What are we going to study today? Geometry, social studies, math–what would it be?” He said, “I want to learn the Catechism.” And I thought, “Oh, my goodness!” I was so excited to share with him all he is learning through the relationship he’s built with the teachers and his friends. This was the point now where we could really sow some seeds. And through that relationship, we were able to hear his confession of faith.
ANNOUNCER: Pastor Boos, why is it so important and so urgent that we share Christ, not only with our Bosnian neighbors, but with anyone the Lord has placed in our midst?
BOOS: It’s so important because the Lord commands us to go and make disciples of all nations. And we do so by way of relationships with them, by being friends, as I said earlier. And it’s important because we understand that there is only one way that leads to God. And He says in Acts 4:12, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Of course, there’s also John 14:6 where Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
ANNOUNCER: We’ve been talking with Pastor Tony Boos, missionary to the Bosnian community in St. Louis. Pastor Boos, thank you for being with us.
BOOS: Thank you so much.
ANNOUNCER: The next Lutheran Hour message is titled, “Your Destiny.”