All authority

What do you think would happen if I walked into my local school and announced to
the pupils that they were being given the day off? It might be popular with the
children, but I doubt they’d get very far! Someone would soon put a stop to the
idea - I simply don’t have the authority to go around declaring holidays.
Teachers would be muttering, ‘Who does she think she is?’ I’d be escorted from
the premises, probably into a hastily-summoned police car!

‘Who does he think he is?’ they muttered about Jesus. ‘Only God can do that!’ (v
21) And, of course, the Pharisees and teachers of the law were entirely correct.
Priests and prophets were allowed to declare God’s forgiveness, when the
necessary conditions had been met, but no human being had the authority to say,
‘Your sins are forgiven’. Until God came in Jesus, that is.

Elsewhere, we read that Jesus has been given ‘all authority in heaven and on
earth’ (Matthew 28:18). Sounds enough authority to me! What do you think?

Jesus chose to die on the cross, where he paid the full penalty for the sins of
the whole world (1 John 2:2). As a result, once we confess our sins, we can be
forgiven and cleaned up (1 John 1:9). That’s great news, and a promise on which
Jesus has both the power and the authority to deliver!