The Authority of Grace

October 1, 2023

Matthew 21:23-32

Jesus, it turns out, is a third kind of son, the one who both agrees to and does the will of the Father. In John’s gospel that last-yet-first son tells us exactly what the will of the Father is, that we believe in him.

The King and the Kingdom are one and the same; but also, we are the Body of that King and so we are deputized to make promises with the authority of God, “All your sins are forgiven.”

Faith in this Jesus tends to open things including our hearts, our minds, our doors, and our wallets. Opening possibilities, we did not know were possible and leading us into lives we would not otherwise have. Lives devoted, heart, mind, wallet, and strength, to living under the authority of Christ.[vi]

God’s plan for you, for me, is for us to have faith, to place our trust in Christ’s authority; nothing more and nothing less. And so, we worship, proclaiming Jesus’s authority over creation, accepting his invitation to the table, and expecting that our lives are and will continue to be transformed, all for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven.