[RE]FOCUS Day16
Week 3: Restoring
Day 2: Spiritual Authority
By Pastor Chris Troxel
READ:
Matthew 15:28 – Then Jesus answered her, ‘O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.’ And her daughter was healed instantly.”
Authority can be tricky. A mission or assignment can give you power and focus. You are given authority by someone to go and do a certain thing. Many things can be done to finish the mission, and sometimes it’s difficult to stick strictly to the authority the mission gives you. There are always other things, good and bad, you want to do along the way. Example: buy a washing machine. You have power to get it done, but do you have the power to buy the equipment to get it done? If you think you do, what else could you buy while you’re at it? Somehow it gets to the point where you come home with a kegerator and no washing machine. Authority can be tricky.
Jesus sticks to His mission. The Messiah’s Mission, the prophecy proclaimed, was from people God sent to His chosen people Israel, for God’s Chosen people Israel. Yet there are always those outside God’s chosen people who receive and believe in God and what He reveals. The woman understands and stays within the metaphor Jesus uses: she recognizes she is not one of God’s chosen people Israel. Through faith alone, she also recognizes how abundant and good God is. She knows enough about Jesus to call him, “Lord…Son of David.” These are core titles for Jesus’ identity. However, it’s not the depth of her knowledge that moves Jesus, or her argumentation skills. It is her faith alone, the same way God somehow provides faith to the magi and Roman Centurion, that allows her to cling and plead to the One so focused on His mission. He encourages that humble, relentless, courageous faith that is not distracted by all the reasons why she shouldn’t. In Jesus, she sees every reason why she should seek His help. Yes, Jesus was sent directly for the lost ones of Israel. This woman’s faith reveals what that means for the rest of the world: Jesus has all the Spiritual Authority He needs for His mission, and for you.
PRAY:
Jesus, Your grace gives us a place and a family to whom we belong. By the faith You work in us, continue to refocus and restore Your authority over everything spiritual and otherwise at work in our life. For You live, Your reign, You make all things new. Amen.
LIVE:
What shocks you about Jesus’ words to the woman in this event? What encourages you?