A challenging verse of scripture is Matthew 28:18 — “All authority is given to me in heaven and on earth.” It precedes what we know as The Great Commission — “Go then and make disciples of all the nations…” “ALL authority in heaven AND on earth”! Nothing oblique about these words. So, why then have we not exercised this all-powerful authority to the absolute?
It’s instructive to go back to verse 16 where we read “the disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them, and as soon as they saw him, they fell down and worshipped him, yet some hesitated. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority is given to me…”
We see that although the disciples obeyed the Lord’s instruction and went to where he had said he would reveal himself, some of them were doubtful when they arrived there and saw him. Doubt brings indecision. The disciples found the reality of the risen Lord difficult to cope with. So, Jesus assured them that all authority in both heaven and earth was now his, and that the responsibility to disciple the nations was now theirs.
The late great evangelist Reinhard Bonke accepted this all-powerful authority of Jesus, and in the name of Jesus Christ led seventy-eight million people to the Lord. That’s correct, seventy-eight million — each and every one having signed a personal decision card that affirmed his or her commitment to Jesus Christ. How many millions more will do so when we too accept that the all-powerful authority of Jesus empowers every believer to disciple nations?
Either most believers have never really understood that they have the Lord’s authority on earth through his name — which would explain why the world has not seen it to the degree that it should have — or the church has been too busy with its internal affairs to accept the responsibility Jesus has given it to reach out to the nations.
Muslims make it clear that they are intent on conquering the world. The choice for Christians is clear: either implement the worldwide authority of Jesus or watch from the sideline as a worldwide Islamic caliphate is introduced. Indecision on our part will permit this.
We need to rid ourselves of all doubt. We pray for our heavenly Father’s kingdom to come, and for His will to be done “on earth, as it is in heaven” — little thinking that we have the authority here on earth in our Lord’s name to help to bring about this very thing.
Unlike a rhetorical question, this one deserves an answer. More than that, it compels a response. Not in the form of a huge I WILL exclamation, but in you and I actually using the Name that is above every other name.