Jesus Isn't Decaf (By Naomi Meyers)

Perhaps you are acquainted with the phrase military police use to exercise their authority when someone of higher rank balks at their enforcement of laws. Maybe you’ve heard it in movies. Perhaps you’ve heard it personally. I’ve occasionally seen it on plaques or bumper stickers as I strolled through shops on military installations. I’ve used it in jest with my husband. It simply says, “Don’t confuse your rank with my authority.” 

That seven-word phrase is telling. It says a lot about humanity that we even need such a phrase. It speaks to our arrogance, our ignorance. It points out the glaringly obvious issue besetting society today–the complete confusion between rank and authority. Somehow, we have decided that power, influence, and rank automatically carry authority. Some stalwartly believe their job title gives them ultimate authority to remove parameters on their actions. They commit crimes, violate ethical standards, and flout societal norms under the mistaken belief that their rank makes them untouchable, their standing limits the reach of legal authority. 

It is not a new problem. It’s been thriving for centuries, possibly since the dawn of time. Pharaoh was certainly confused about it. Why wouldn’t he be? As the highest rank in Egypt, everyone obeyed his decrees and adhered to his ideals. He had only to speak the word. His advisors didn’t try to balance out the scales of justice. No one questioned his judgment. No one tried to change his mind. No one except Moses, an adopted nobody, without rank or authority of his own, sent by God to lead the Israelites out of captivity. 

All Pharaoh saw was some crazy guy and his brother trying to argue a case to take away his slaves. He wasn’t having it. His slaves were going nowhere. Not to worship their God on the edge of the desert. Not out from under his authority. Not to freedom in another land. So when Moses and Aaron came and asked, Pharaoh flexed his bulging muscles of authority, and tightened the reins on his slaves. He increased their workload. Withheld supplies. Had them beaten. Made them more miserable than they already were. 

Seems it would have been a great time for God to whisper, “Don’t confuse your rank with my authority.” God knew Pharaoh wouldn’t listen. He needed physical evidence of a power greater than his own. He got it. Separated only by time for a chance at repentance if he chose it, God unleashed one plague after another on Egypt. Bloody water. Frogs. Boils. Locusts. Hail. Pharaoh wouldn’t budge. He still thought he held the winning hand. He refused to release God’s people. Only the indiscriminate death of every firstborn Egyptian male across the nation convinced Pharaoh his rank was under Someone Else’s authority. He learned the hardest way possible that no finite rank on earth can possibly hope to transcend God’s infinite authority. (Exodus 3-14)

King Nebuchadnezzar never seemed to fully comprehend God’s all-encompassing authority. Even after Daniel’s interpretation of his dream and the king’s own admission that their God was the God of gods, he still built a 90-foot statue of gold to be worshipped. He required its worship, in fact. When the music sounded, all the people were to fall on their faces and worship the statue. Those who refused would be escorted to their death in a blazing furnace. Servants of the true God who commanded them not to bow down or serve any gods except Him, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego wouldn’t bow. They knew they could trust the God they served. They knew His authority surpassed any earthly rank. (Daniel 2-3; Exodus 20:3-5)

In incandescent rage at their refusal to bow and their conclusion that rank does not equal ultimate authority, Nebuchadnezzar bellowed, “Who is this god you think can rescue you from my power?” He gave them one more chance. Played the music one more time. They didn’t bow because their God, the King of the universe who holds all things together, in whom they lived and breathed and had their being, has always, will always, carry more authority than any rank on earth. (Daniel 3:15; Psalm 47:7; Colossians 1:17; Acts 17:28)

Wildly angry and bursting with hate, Nebuchadnezzar ordered the furnace heated seven times its normal temperature. He ordered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego bound and thrown into the furnace. It was done. The men who carried out his orders were killed by the heat and flames. Yet inside, surrounded by raging flames, stood three untied men, fully clothed and unharmed, and a fourth man who looked like an angel. In a grand exhibition of the undeniable, unmatchable authority of God, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego walked out of that blazing furnace without a singe. (Daniel 3)

In the time following the birth of Jesus, King Herod, terrified someone would usurp his throne, ordered the Magi to send him directions to the Christ child. It wasn’t part of God’s plan. He warned the Magi to keep that location to themselves and travel home another way. They did. Angry at having his plan to find and kill the Christ Child thwarted by the non-reporting Magi, Herod ordered the killing of every Bethlehem boy child under the age of two. Surely that would take care of his problem! But God had already sent His Son out of harm’s way, because no king, queen, prime minister or president can ever supersede God’s supreme authority. (Matthew 2:1-16)

As part of a series of brutal attacks on the church, King Herod, arrested and imprisoned Peter with the intention of killing him. No one thought it wouldn’t happen. He’d already killed James. The night before his execution, bound by two chains, sleeping between soldiers, guarded by sentries, the angel of the Lord came and released Peter. He walked away from the chains that bound him, past the men who guarded him, through the doors that imprisoned him, because God still had work for Peter to do. (Acts 12:1-18) Herod shouldn’t have confused his rank with God’s authority. There is absolutely, unequivocally no comparison between the fragile ranks of earth and the indisputable authority of Heaven.

The victorious authority of God is not solely written at the back of the Book, it is exhibited countless times throughout the entirety of its pages. From the beginning words of Genesis to the final syllables of Revelation, God never once surrenders His authority. Kings and queens have tried to usurp it. Nations have tried  through war to expropriate it. Satan has tried to abscond with it. No one has ever made off with it. Because that Baby born in the humblest circumstances, treated as the lowest ranking citizen from the lowest caste, having no beauty or status or wealth, is still the omniscient, omnipotent, sovereign God of the universe!  

Didn’t you know? Haven’t you heard? God, the One who created the beginning of the earth, the end of the earth, and everything in between is still God! His authority can never be stunted. He will never relinquish His position. He is not weary, doesn’t faint from exhaustion, doesn’t fall down on the job. And you can trust Him. He’s never botched a plan. He’s never been outfoxed. He’s never had to resort to plan B. His power is eternal. His authority is unparalleled. His care for His children is meticulous. (Isaiah 40:28-30; Isaiah 44:6-8; Isaiah 45:6-7; II Chronicles 20:6; Isaiah 43:13; Psalm 91:1-12) 

So rest in Him. Don’t let the ranks of this world cloud your knowledge of Who holds all the authority. Trust Him. Find comfort in the fact that the just and righteous God who has kept this planet spinning for so long is not asleep, uninterested, or tired of looking after His people. He’s still God! He has not relinquished His position. He never will. So be still. Rest in the safety of His singular authority. Allow Him to renew your strength and infuse you with courage. Boldly cast your faith in the only One actually able and willing to do all He has promised, and rest assured that He will. (Isaiah 40:31; Psalm 46:10; Deuteronomy 31:6; Psalm 9:10)

There are a lot of things going on in this old world. There’s an enormous power struggle between right and wrong, good and evil, man and God. Often it seems evil is winning. It’s not. It never will. Just as He did in every Biblical account, at just the right time, God will step in. Earth is still His jurisdiction. His authority cannot be stifled, repressed, or canceled, and no rank on earth can ever compare or compete with His authority. (Isaiah 46:9-11) So, if you are concerned about who has what rank and holds what authority in this world, relax. The indomitable God of the universe who holds all things together can never be supplanted by the ranks of earth. He’s still sovereign and you can trust Him!  (Isaiah 45:7-9; Job 42:2; Nahum 1:7; Psalm 27:1; Zephaniah 3:17; Romans 5:8; Psalm 16:8)