Page 26 - Grace Connections Magazine April

In the previous verse, He tells
Pilate that His kingdom is not of
this earth. In other words, His
authority supersedes any authority
that man could exert at that time.
Jesus could tap into that
authority through His obedience to
what God had commanded Him to
do. Think about how this is
different from the way men obtain
authority. Men crave power and
authority to advance their own
ambitions, to force their will upon
others for their own personal gain,
and to achieve the status that
power appears to bestow upon
them. This is the exact opposite of
the example that Jesus gives us.
He submits to the will of God and
humbles Himself so that others can
then be redeemed and given their
own authority and dominion. Jesus
obtains His crown of glory by
having the heart of a servant!
Lets go back a little bit further
in the story, to see another aspect
of the redemption that Jesus
bought for us.
Luke 2:8-14 – Now there were
in the same country shepherds
living out in the fields, keeping
watch over their flock by night.
And behold, an angel of the
Lord stood before them, and
the glory of the Lord shone
around them, and they were
greatly afraid. Then the angel
said to them, "Do not be afraid,
for behold, I bring you good
tidings of great joy which will
be to all people. For there is
born to you this day in the city
of David a Savior, who is Christ
the Lord. And this will be the
sign to you: You will find a
Babe wrapped in swaddling
cloths, lying in a manger." And
suddenly there was with the
angel a multitude of the
heavenly host praising God and
saying: "Glory to God in the
highest, And on earth peace,
goodwill toward men!"
Jesus arrived on Earth in a
humble manner, even though He
was the son of God, and destined
26.