April 2, 2023 - The Impact of Understanding Jesus' Identity and Authority - Pastor Paul Vallee

Mark 11

There has never been more information poured into our lives than now. But what is actual reality and truth, and what is fiction? What do you believe? And why do you believe it? What we think shapes our decisions, ultimately affecting what we do and how we do it. Jesus, in talking to his disciples after they had witnessed many miracles and listened to Jesus explain many things, asked the most critical question, ‘Who do you say that I am?’ The answer to that question shapes a person’s life. Yet, that question needs to be understood in light of His authority and our response to that authority. If we believe Jesus is who He has revealed Himself to be, it will affect who we are, who we will become, and ultimately where we will spend eternity.

It’s interesting reading the gospel writers explaining the various moments in the life of Jesus. One of the more moving accounts is in the final days of Jesus’ life as He enters Jerusalem, which the church celebrates as Palm Sunday because of the Palm branches placed before Jesus as He rode into the city. Matthew described the event this way in Matthew 21:10: “When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, ‘Who is this?’”

Luke also reported that the city was stirred, and the term used there is where we get our term “seismic.” There is a sense from both of these writers of the amazing excitement and anticipation that Jesus was about to do something significant.