A person in authority has the right (and even the responsibility) to set direction and tell you what to do. They can set expectations for your performance. They can issue orders and demand they be followed. They can do this because, whether right or not, they have the authority to do so. And there is no greater authority than Jesus.

Chances are, if you’ve been in the working world for very long, you’ve run across a boss or supervisor that you don’t think of with fondness. There might be all kinds of reasons for this – perhaps that authority had an abrasive personality. Maybe she was arrogant about her intelligence or accomplishments. Perhaps he was a micromanager who would periodically interject himself into projects or assignments only to criticize.

Or perhaps your negative experience with this particular boss was because he or she was simply aloof. This person wore their authority with great seriousness in the sense that they were never shy about issuing orders, setting deadlines, and demanding status reports. They wanted to see the results, and gave assignments accordingly, but never involved themselves with the day to day operations of what it actually took to achieve those results.

Part of that is the nature of authority. A person in authority has the right (and even the responsibility) to set direction and tell you what to do. They can set expectations for your performance. They can issue orders and demand they be followed. They can do this because, whether right or not, they have the authority to do so. And there is no greater authority than Jesus.

Jesus can set whatever expectations He wants. He is the rightful King of the universe, the very Word of God, and the Creator of all things. Whether we recognize His authority or not really makes no difference; His authority over the world, and us who inhabit it, is an objective truth. So when Jesus comes to His followers and makes demands of an extreme nature, He has every right to do so:

Therefore, everyone who will acknowledge me before others, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever denies me before others, I will also deny him before my Father in heaven. Don’t assume that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

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