SHOW US YOUR CREDENTIALS
Opening Prayer
God, What does it mean for me to live under the authority of Jesus today?
Read Luke 20:1–8
The Authority of Jesus Questioned
20 One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. 2 “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?”
3 He replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me: 4 John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin?”
5 They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”
7 So they answered, “We don’t know where it was from.”
8 Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Is listening to Jesus and seeking to obey His Word a key goal of your life?Public reaction demonstrates that Jesus is a compelling speaker and leader. Crowds follow him and hang on his every word, fascinated by his message. His preaching is electric, unconventional, disturbing. And as we saw yesterday when he entered the Temple, so are his actions (19:45).
No wonder the religious leaders are angry, jealous, challenged. They would give anything to be able to “put him in his place” whether by their wit or their wise words. They challenge Jesus about the source of his authority (2). Or, as The Message has it, his “credentials.” Is Jesus going to say his power is from God and risk a charge of blasphemy?
Jesus always speaks and acts with full authority as God’s own Son. Think of him as a 12-year-old in the Temple at Jerusalem sitting among the teachers: “Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding…” (Luke 2:47). The apostle Paul describes him as “the head over every power and authority” (Colossians 2:10).
Apply
How many other titles of Jesus can you recall? What “credentials” do they give Him? What do they mean to you? Write down the names and say them over to yourself through the day.
Closing prayer
Jesus, King, Lover of my soul, remind me who You are today.
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