“For you granted him authority over all people…”

Have you ever noticed that just because things are the way they are, they tend to appear “normal”?  You know, that’s the way they’re supposed to be because that’s the way they are now.  The longer I live, I find it increasingly difficult sometimes to fight this perspective.  And fight it we should, because that kind of thinking is wrong.  Completely wrong.  We don’t live in the world God made at the beginning.  Oh, he made it in the beginning, all right.  But in its current condition, it’s just not the way he made it.  He made it much better — indescribably better — than it is now.  That means what we see now is precisely not the way it should be.  Not even close.

Take humanity, for example.  Have you ever stepped back from the human stage and just looked at the vast variety of people comprising cosmic civilization?  What we find is that the overwhelming number of people are no better than ordinary, average or mundane.  They live routine lives, many on the planet just eking out their existence trying to find enough food for the day.  Others living in wealthier economies simply go about their business, often commuting to work in boring subways or buses, meeting their basic needs and a few wants, and in the end, dying.  They are not usually known to anyone except their families, some colleagues at work, and a few neighbors and friends.  That’s it.

Meanwhile, there are a very few individuals who, by good fortune or whatever, are blessed with a exceptional talent or skill, or born into a wealthy family, or are very attractive.  By hard work or “lucky breaks” they quickly rise to the top of the popularity food chain and become the darlings of our age.  We know them by the long speeding trail of the paparazzi at their heels.  They’re the ones on the cover of People magazine or appearing on the gossip oriented TV tabloids that pump a steady stream of glamorized drivel into our lives.  This very small minority comprises the “have’s”: they have what it takes to be famous or rich or powerful or influential.  The rest of us are the “have-not’s”, left to be wannabe’s who, for some ill-conceived logic, live vicariously through the antics and ravings of the have’s.  What amazes me is that this is the way it is, even though the most mundane have-not’s seem to have more dignity and meaning than those the paparazzi chase.  The glam factor comes up way too short way too fast.

So what is it about these have’s that make them so important?  What massively beneficial thing have any of them done that we might consider them such an influence on us or an authority over us?  I ask these questions to jar us from our sometimes-sloppy thinking.  The Bible says this description is reserved for Jesus alone.  In his high priestly prayer on the night Judas betrayed him, Jesus says that the Father granted him to have “authority over all people” (John 17:2).  And what did Jesus do with his authority?

First, it helps us to know that Jesus is neither from nor of this world (17:14), especially in the fallen and miserable condition it’s in.  In extreme and stark contrast to that, Jesus did not seek to be famous.  He did not appear on anyone’s “best dressed list”.  He was not voted as the sexiest man of the year.  He did not try to sell, promote, market or vault himself into the top any of the typical categories we see the have’s doing today.  No, his list was different.  He used his authority to become the most despised and rejected (Isaiah 53:3), the least desirable (v. 2) the most tested — by devil, man and God (v. 4), and the most sorrowful (v. 3, 4).  There was no one else in line who volunteered to deliberately go the cross and suffer unspeakable anguish of soul and torture of body to redeem us from our sins.  No billionaire however rich, no athlete however talented, no author however witty, no political leader however powerful, no genius however smart, no actress however good looking, could — or would — get in that line.  Not even world-renowned founders of religions did or could.  That’s because they don’t have the authority from God.  And look where he went and what he did with it!

We may not get this totally right, but if heaven will be the flipside of this world, imagine everyone making major contributions for the benefit of all, where no one is an unknown passerby, where everyone is a significant person in God’s will, where all are have’s and no one a have-not.  Heaven is the opportunity for everyone to be a part of a forever kingdom where the pains and sorrows of a world long gone are obliterated and the joys of God’s fullness indulged.  Jesus’ authority did that for you.  Are you ready to go?