Our Authority

What if we have been living as though we have no power, when in reality we have been entrusted with something far greater than we can imagine? In Luke 9:1-5, we encounter a moment that should reframe everything about how we see ourselves and our place in the world. Jesus gathers his twelve disciples and does something remarkable: he gives them power and authority over demons and disease, and sends them out with nothing but that authority. No money, no extra clothes, no provisions. Just the weight of what he has placed in them. The Greek word at the heart of this passage is exousia, a word meaning something that comes from beyond our own being. It is not something we manufacture or earn. It is given. And the stunning claim of this passage is that the same authority given to those twelve has been given to us. We are not bystanders in the story of redemption. We are not window dressing. We have been called, sent, and equipped with a freedom to act that sin cannot ultimately contain. The question this passage presses on us is whether we actually believe it.