All Authority Has Been Given To Me

Matthew 9:35-38

It’s good to be back.

I was in Japan August 3-13 [1].  I had a meaningful time with Michael and his family, who expresses his appreciation for 10 years of partnership [2, 3].

Japan is the largest unreached people group in the world.  It’s the large group of people (127 million) who have less than 1% Christian [4, 5].

It is considered to be one of the most difficult mission fields.  There are tons of shrines and temples.  Most people are not devout Buddhist, but it’s a part of their culture, part of being Japanese [6, 7].  People are very resistant.  There is a strong pressure to “remain Japanese.”

This is a place where prostitution and gambling are legalized.  There are huge Pachinko (a pinball slot machine) parlors; there’s one right across the street from where the Michael Oh’s seminary is.  Michael and I went down one ally, and there were men with pictures of naked women, invite you to pick your prostitute for the night. 

Men works crazy hours and are absent from their families.  Within my class, some students shared how their fathers were drunks and physically abusive.  Materialism is strong and the suicide rate is high.

There are some churches there, but the leadership is old and resistant to change.  Some pastors have poor theological training.  Some churches are quite legalistic.  They are not connecting with the younger generation.

In our passage today we see Jesus had been moving about teaching and healing as he went.  He saw crowds of people and had compassion because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  I can imagine Jesus saying he saw the crowds and had compassion on them.  Japan is of 127 million almost completely in darkness.

My main purpose was to teach a preaching class at Michael Oh’s seminary [8, 9].  In a land where they are so few Christians and so few pastors, these are precious pastors and students.  Three of them in particular had good potential to be very good preachers. 

The premise of my preaching class was that all preachers are not meant to preach the same.  Preaching in an individual art.  So much of preaching learned in seminary, however, focuses on the commonalities.  My class focused on using a person’s strengths toward his preaching.  They are not to try to be somebody else.  They are to preach out of who they are, not in spite of who they are.

I only found out as I was teaching the class how appropriate it was for these Japanese students. 

In Japan, conformity is emphasized.  People are not encouraged to develop their own style, they are encouraged to “fit the mold.”  “The nail the sticks out is hammered down.” 

And the mold is a very dry, dead, “read the manuscript” style of preaching.

There is a culture of modesty and self-depreciation.  People focus on their weaknesses and for many of the students who have come from very difficult backgrounds, they feel deeply inadequate.  Focusing on strengths was almost uncomfortable. 

Interestingly some of the student said, after their strengths were identified, that they initially didn’t like their strengths, they wished they had other strengths.  Even when looking at their positives, they saw negatives.

Externally polite, but people rarely tell you what they really think.  There is a strong distinction between your outer self which you present to others, and your inner self.  As part of the class, each student gave a talk and other students and myself gave feedback.  Honest feedback is rare.

I really enjoyed being able to serve the students, and Michael expresses his appreciation for releasing me to come and teach.

I’d like us to take a second look at Mt 9:35-38, but this time I’d like us to take a closer look at the context.  In particular, let’s notice Jesus’ authority.

Matthew 5-7, Sermon on the Mount

“You have heard it said . . . But I tell you . . .” (6 times)

do not murder              angry with his brother is subject to judgment

do not commit adultery      looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery

an eye for an eye         do not resist an evil person, turn the other check

“I tell you the truth” “I tell you” (Verily, verily I say unto you) (8 times)

“I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.”

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life. . .”

7: 28    “When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority and not as their teachers of the law.”

In the Sermon on the Mount, we see a display of Jesus’ authority in his teaching.

Matthew 8-9 is another section where we see Jesus’ healing ministry

I’d like us to notice again this authority theme.

8:5-13  A centurion pleads to Jesus to healing his servant.  Jesus says he’ll go to heal the servant, but then the centurion replies, “Lord, I don’t deserve to have you come under my roof.  Just say the word, and your servant will be healed.  (9) For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me.”

Jesus praises this centurion as one with great faith, faith to believe that Jesus indeed had authority over sickness.

8:23-27      Disciples are in a boat with Jesus sleeping when they hit a violent storm.  They wake Jesus, “Lord, save us!  We’re going to drown.”  Jesus rebukes the winds and the waves, and the storm is completely calm.

(27) The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this?  Even the winds and the waves obey him!”  Jesus has authority over the weather, over all creation.

8:28-34      Jesus confronts two demon-possessed men and the demons begged, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

The picture is that Jesus has authority over demons.  Demons have to ask for His permission and obey His commands.

9:1-8    Some men bring a paralytic to Jesus and Jesus says, “Take heart, your sins are forgiven.”

That was a controversial move, for all Jews understood that only God has the authority to forgive sins.  (6) But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . .” Then he said to the paralytic, “Get up, take your mat and go home.”

The physical healing was a sign/evidence that Jesus had indeed forgive his sins.  It was the visible miracle to confirm the invisible miracle.

(8) When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.

9:27 Two blind men call out, “have mercy on us, Son of David!”

Jesus asks them, “Do you believe I am able to do this?”

(1)  There is an emphasis through out Jesus’ healing ministry that the people were healed by their faith. 

Centurion, celebrated for his faith (8:10)

As the disciples panicked in the storm, they are rebuked for their lack of faith (8:26)

They paralytic whose sins were forgiven was forgiven and healed because when he was brought by his friends, Jesus saw their faith (9:2)

Here in this encounter with the two blind men asking for healing, Jesus says, “According to your faith will it be done to you” (9:29).

Notice Jesus question is, “Do you believe I am able to do this?”

(2) This theme of faith goes hand-in-hand with the theme of Jesus’ authority.  Faith and Authority are two sides of the same coin.  Faith is the recognition and appreciation of Jesus’ authority.  Faith is to believe that Jesus is able.  Faith is to believe that Jesus really does have authority over blindness, sickness, sin, winds and waves.

Faith is rooted in Jesus’ authority.  Faith is not in a vacuum—“just believe.”  It is not blind faith.  Faith is based on the power, glory, supremacy, authority of Christ.

Let me pick up one thought.  We read in 32, Jesus encounters a mute, demon-possessed man and heals him.  The crowds are amazed.  (34) But the Pharisees say, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives our demons.”

I want to recall a recent sermon (Installing a Heart-O-Meter): the deeper issue is the condition of our heart.  If the heart condition is good, displays of Christ’s authority and compassions bring amazement and worship.  If the heart condition is bad, then the very same miracles bring hostility and rejection.  We can see Christ exalted in his glory and authority, but depending on our heart condition, we will bow in worship or we will rebel, defy, reject.  Have we been carefully monitoring our Heart-O-Meter?

You’ll notice that Matthew 8-9 are filled with miracles and healings.

Jesus displays his authority, in his teaching (Mt 5-7), in his miracles over sickness, demons, winds and waves (Mt 8-9).  We see his authority in word and deed.

We read a summary, conclusion of this section in 9:35ff

Jesus had been traveling around, preaching, teaching, healing.

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion, because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd.

Notice Jesus’ response to seeing all these needs: Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore to send out workers into his harvest field.”

For many years I read this passage as Jesus feeling compassion and desperateness.  Verse 38, There are so many needs, and so He calls for more workers.  In a sense Jesus is saying, “There are so many needs (subtext: “I can’t meet them all.”)  We need reinforcements, we need more workers.  I can’t do it alone.”  I would feel a sense of compassion, urgency, desperateness—what are we going to do with all these hurting people?!  We need more workers!

But that reading seems to clash with this authority theme that has been so pervasive throughout this section.  That reading sounds like how I or another person might respond, not like how the Son of God would respond.  Jesus has all authority over all creation, over all sickness and death, in his teaching.  Reading these verses in light of Jesus’ authority makes me see v. 38 as a display of His authority.  This is not his plea but his command.  Jesus is not saying, “I can’t do it alone.”  Jesus is saying with his authority, “I choose to involve my followers.  Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers.”

Consider how the Gospel of Matthew ends, Mt 28:18-20.

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority I heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The call for workers is not a sign of his limitation but a display of his authority.

Let me try to develop this thought.  A couple applications, implications

I think it’s interesting that vs. 38 does not read, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  How about you guys?  Are you going to sit on the sidelines or be a part of the solution?  There are so many needs.  What is your response?  Are you going to do anything about this?

He does not appeal to their compassion.  This is not a direct appeal to sign up for the job.

Christian ministry, Christian missions, although it involves compassion, must grow from faith, i.e., from a conviction of Christ’s authority. 

Christians are not just kind humanitarians.  We are primarily people of faith, followers of Jesus Christ, who believe He reigns over all heaven and earth.

Christian ministry is not man-centered by God-centered.

It is not about nice people helping hurting people.  Jesus has deep compassion on the crowds.  As wonderful as compassion is, Jesus does not ask his disciples to respond in compassion. 

Rather, He has a God-centered view of the task.  This is God’s mission.  This is God’s harvest field (notice “his harvest field”).  God is the One who sends out the workers.

A proper understanding of Church is that we are God’s people on God’s mission to build God’s Kingdom by God’s power for God’s glory.  It is not enough to have compassion on people, Christian ministry must be based on a passion for God.

Let me take it another step.

I think one problem we face is a shallow, watered-down understanding of authority.  We live in a society that is suspicious of authority.  Authority is dangerous.  Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.  And so we resist authority.  We don’t like hierarchy, and we definitely don’t like submission.

But that blinds us from a proper understanding of who Christ is.  The centurion instinctively understood Jesus because he understood authority.

Perhaps one of the blindspots we have, for ministry, for missions, for our Christian lives is a failure to recognize or appreciate Christ’s lordship and authority.

We fail to recognize Christ’s authority over nature, sin, sickness, finances, traffic, etc.

We worry about our health, our careers, our marriage, our hopes to get married, our kids, our money, etc.

We worry like the disciples in the boat in the storm.  There are real storms, threatening storms.  All we see are the storms, and Jesus rebukes us, “O you of little faith.”  We do not recognize that with us is the Lord of the storm.

A pastor friend, at the birth of his first child, was freaking out with worries and nervousness.  He calls an older pastor friend, who confronts him saying, “Would you act like a Christian!”  That is, would you act like you believe the Almighty God who loves you and your family is in control?  Don’t worry.  “O you of little faith.”

When 10 spies complained about how the Israelites would be slaughtered if they tried to take Canaan, Joshua replied, “The land is exceedingly good.  If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land . . . Do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up.  Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us.”  (Nu 14:7-9).

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Ro 8:31).

Demons shutter at the name of Christ, but we fail to recognize Christ’s power.

Let me remind us that our Jesus is Lord over all!  All authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him.  Last spring we studied 1 Cor 15, where we read that Christ has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.  All enemies are put under the feet of Christ, even death itself.

There are beautiful passages like Isa 40: the nations are like drops in a bucket, dust on the scales.  He brings out the stars one by one.  He never grows tired or weary.

I believe it was a story of Martin Luther who was awoken one night, lit a candle, and saw a demon right beside his bed!  He calmed blew out the candle and said, “Oh, it’s only you.”  !!  Do we believe there is nothing we should be afraid of?

If we had faith, if we more fully recognized Christ’s authority and ability, we would not be afraid, we wouldn’t worry, storms would not threaten us.  And we’d probably be more bold, more adventurous in ministry and missions.

Maybe some of us would be more willing to go to the hard places, places like Japan, Afghanistan, or Pakistan.  It takes more than just compassion to do ministry in such hard place.  It takes faith.  You need the eyes to see a might God beyond our human frustrations and limitations.  Maybe we’d be more willing to give our money, our time.  Maybe we’d be more willing to share Christ with our co-workers and neighbors.

We fail to recognize Christ’s authority over us.

Concepts like obedience and submission are just so un-American.  Unlike the Roman centurion, we do not live in a world where we have clear and uncontested authority nor where we submit to clear and uncontested authority.  Ours is a post-modern world where authority structures are questioned or leveled.

And so Christ’s commands do not land on us as they ought.  We do not hear His commands as commands. 

Christ says, “Ask the Father to send out workers” and we say, “I’ll see if I can fit prayer into my schedule.”

Christ says, “Go and make disciples” and we say, “Well, I’ll see how serious I really want to get about this Jesus thing.”

In the words of one commentator, we have domesticated God.  Instead of God sitting on the throne of heaven and earth, God is our pet put on leash.  We think church is just a place to hang out with friends, and Jesus is there to make us happy.

But that cannot be.  Christ sits enthroned over all, and one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. 

Our (Christian) worship must involved a bowing down before His kingship, an exaltation of His glory and power, an acknowledgement that He is our Creator and we were made for His glory.

If you’re not a follower or believer in Jesus, we’re glad you’re here today.  We want to make it very clear that our Jesus is not a pet, a little charm we use to for our convenient purposes.  We believe that He is King of kings and Lord of all.  He rules all creation and sits enthroned over heaven and earth.  He is God.  We don’t define who he is or what he can or should do.  He defines us, and calls us to trust and follow Him.  He is God, and to be quite frank, anything less would mean He is not God.

And the beauty is that this God has compassion on people.  He cares.  He came down to serve the poor and weak, the hurting and the harassed.  And He cares for you as well.

For those of us who are believers and followers of Jesus, we worship Him, we acknowledge His rule, His authority over all creation and over our personal lives.  And we hear him as He says in compassion, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field.”  “All authority in heaven and earth has been given me.  Now go and make disciples of all nations.”