All Authority

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Matthew 28:18 

Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth. Our text is His articulation of that fact. This has far-reaching implications. The immediate context is His Great Commission to the disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. They would spend the rest of their life carrying out this commission. Thus His statement regarding His authority applies to this immediate context. If we consider the rest of the Scriptures, we arrive at the conclusion that His authority extends far beyond this. It means, for example, He has authority over death and the grave. One of the texts we have recently considered is Revelation 1:18. The last line of that verse are His words, ‘And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.’ Again this is a definitive, categorical statement indicating His authority. To have the keys is to have the authority to open and close anything according to the will of the one who holds them. This is only one of the areas over which Christ has authority. It is a significant one because death and the grave are such an inevitable part of life for us. Christ’s authority over these is only one of the areas over which He rules.  

High King of heaven, 
we rejoice that You reign. 
We praise You, that because You do, 
we have confidence.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning