Mat. 28:18 ... "And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.'"
Jesus made a claim in this statement that could be made by no one less than the Son of God. Many people obtain power and exercise it in various spheres of life. Some wield great power in politics, or in finance, or in professional skill, or in wisdom, or perhaps in combinations of these. A few people become so powerful that their decisions and actions greatly affect the lives of millions of people and many nations. But there is a difference between any power that men might possess and the power of Jesus. His power is total, but human power is always limited. Jesus declared that "all authority (or power) is given to Me." No one among men has held that kind of power; in fact, no aggregation of men, such as a government or economic cartel, has ever been able to seize and hold all power.
There is a second significant difference between Jesus' power and that of men. The power which comes into human hands is acquired through skill, sagacity, or perhaps sheer fate. But Jesus' power was given to Him by His Father, who created everything. It is power, therefore, to which He is entitled and which cannot be taken from Him by any earthly force. It is power that He shall hold and exercise until the end of time, when He shall hand it over back into the hands of His Father. As he was inspired to look into the future, Paul wrote that "then comes the end, when He (Jesus) delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. ... When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to Him who put all things in subjection under Him, that God may be all in all," (I Cor. 15:24,28).
The New Testament contain numerous references to Jesus' total power and demonstrations thereof. For example, when Jesus was on trial before Pilate and did not reply to the governor's question, Pilate said to Him, "Will You not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You and authority to crucify You?" Pilates's claim, "I have authority (power)," provoked Jesus to break silence and speak. He was not about to let these words from a representative of Rome pass. He quickly exclaimed, "You would have no authority over Me at all unless it had been given you from above," (Jno. 19:10-11). Pilate's power was derived from the Roman government and its military machine that had been gradually developed for several centuries. Little did Pilate, or the Emperor, know that God had given them license to have such power to accomplish His own objectives. Neither did they realize that when they had served their purpose in God's plan, He would remove that power and permit the Roman Empire to fall. Pilate had no idea that the seemingly impotent prisoner before him actually had the power of the universe in His hands but was restraining Himself from using it in compliance with God's will.
Because Jesus our Lord has all power, as His disciples we should have complete confidence that we stand on unshakeable ground in our allegiance to Him. He Himself assures us, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand," (Jno. 11:27-28). Jesus' power extends from heaven, and with it He cordons off an area of security for His disciples. As long as we are wise and faithful enough to keep ourselves within that perimeter, nothing can harm us. It is only when a disciple strays outside the sanctuary of Jesus' power to face life on his own that he exposes himself to the power of evil. Nevertheless, Jesus' power can penetrate even there. When a wandering disciple becomes mired in the morass of sin, Jesus will rescue him if he will repent and appeal to Jesus for help.
