“Why are the nations so angry? Why do they waste their time with futile plans? … The Lord scoffs at them…” (Psalm 2:1, 4).
How should Christians use their positions of influence and power? Let’s consider our Savior…
When Jesus arrived, powerful people received him as a threat, and he certainly was to their comfort and inflated egos. Reminiscent to Psalm 2, the Roman government and religious establishment, “Plot[ed] together against the Lord and his anointed one,” (2:2) and eliminated Jesus. Little did they know, that when they nailed Jesus to a cross on a hilltop outside Jerusalem, they fulfilled God’s word: “I have placed my chosen king on the throne in Jerusalem, on my holy mountain” (2:6).
Jesus’ cross is a throne that exemplifies genuine authority without eliminating his enemies. Rather, he redeemed them by willingly laying down his life under his own authority to his Father (John 10:18, Luke 23:46).
Only genuine authority has the power to transform enemies into someone new as opposed to someone destroyed. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy to a friend.” Nearly two thousand years earlier Jesus saw those who were crucifying them and prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).
Followers of Jesus are invited to participate in genuine authority. Our power is not a tool for self-promotion or eliminating perceived threats. Instead, we follow Jesus, using our influence to demonstrate mercy, forgiveness, and transformation. May our authority as Christians be a force that reflects the selfless and redemptive nature of our Savior.
Questions for reflection:
- What does it mean for the Lord to “scoff” at the angry nations who waste their time with futile plans?
- How does Jesus’ use of authority challenge conventional notions of power and authority in today’s world?
- What are some practical ways we can utilize the genuine authority of Jesus in daily life?