“Why should I listen to you?”
If you’re a parent or a grandparent you have probably been asked this! Or, you may not have been asked it in so many words, but you’ve had one of your kids or grandkids look at you in a way that begged this question.
A few days ago one of my children said to me, “Papa, why are you so bossy?” To my defense (and obviously I’m biased), I was not being “bossy” in our usual usage of the word. I had simply asked them to carry out a simple request.
Most of us have had our authority questioned or challenged. What we know for sure is that at the end of the day someone will emerge as the ultimate authority. Someone will be in charge. Someone will be “the boss”.
This is precisely where we are so early on in Mark’s story of Jesus. Mark wants to show us Jesus’ authority. In fact, we could even say he wants to “show off” Jesus’ authority. But Mark showcases Jesus’ authority not to just show us that he has authority, but that he might become the authority in our lives. There is a tipping point here, between just having authority and becoming an authority.
Listen in as we wrestle with where this tipping point occurs in our relationship with Jesus. The conclusion might surprise you!