Unchallengeable Authority
“A new teaching with authority.
He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.”Mark 1:27b
Prophets are the mouthpieces of God, speaking what God has commanded them to proclaim to the people for the salvation of their souls. The prophets we hear of in the Old Testament teach and preach under the authority of God; however, in the fullness of time, and according to His covenant and faithfulness, God raised up a prophet for the people who would save them from their sins once and for all, a prophet who would teach with His own authority, Someone with unchallengeable authority — the Son of God.
Some people think they have authority but in reality they do not. Others abuse the authority entrusted to them. Usually authority or power comes with “office” and not to the person holding that office. So, when we say the Pope has power and authority, he does as long as he holds the Office of the Bishop of Rome. All priests share in the ministerial priesthood of Christ, and so they share in the authority of Christ the Head as long as they carry out the will of God in accordance with their vocation. By virtue of our baptism Christians share in Christ’s threefold office of priest, prophet, and king. So in a very real way all the baptized are prophets in as far as we preach and teach what Jesus has taught and remain in communion with the universal Church. We preach and teach with the authority of Christ by virtue of our baptism, but Jesus teaches on His own authority.
When a man possessed with an evil spirit approaches Jesus, the evil spirit immediately recognized Jesus and they knew they had no chance whatsoever. The Lord does not dialogue with the spirit, He simply commands “Quiet! Come out of him!” and the spirit is gone. If the Pharisees or the other elders of the Law tried to do this with their own authority, it would not work because they have no authority apart from the Law. But now, the Law Himself was before them and they did not even know. Jesus is the Son of God and He is the New Covenant, the fullness of revelation, the Savior promised in the Garden of Eden (see Gen. 3:15).
Brothers and sisters, we must always remember to whom we belong. We belong to God. We belong to the One whom created all things and who commands all things. There is nothing that God cannot do. We live in this world but we do not belong to it. The enemy persuades that the authority of this world is what we ought to live under, but the truth is that apart from and out of conformity with the authority of God, the authority of this world is an illusion, a web of lies. Let us never find ourselves under the wrong authority. May love and mercy be our compass, guiding us towards the banner of the unchallengeable authority of Christ.
Watch this week’s reflection below.
