QUESTION: WHAT DID JESUS MEAN WHEN HE SAID “I GIVE YOU AUTHORITY”?

 

WHAT DID JESUS MEAN WHEN HE SAID “I GIVE YOU AUTHORITY”

The Bible repeatedly teaches that God and Christ delegate authority to His people. While the exact phrase “I give you my authority” does not appear, Jesus clearly says “I give you authority” and describes believers acting under His authority.

Here are the clearest examples.

1. Luke 10:19 – Jesus explicitly gives authority:

“Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.” (NASB)

This is the most direct statement.

Jesus says, “I have given you authority.”

The authority is over the enemy’s power.

It is delegated authority—not independent power.

2. Matthew 10:1 – Authority over demons and disease

“Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.”

Jesus delegates His authority to the Twelve.

3. Mark 3:14-15:

And He appointed twelve… so that He might send them out to preach, and to have authority to cast out the demons.“

Again, Jesus grants authority.

4. Mark 6:7

“He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.”

Notice the pattern:

• Jesus possesses authority.
• Jesus delegates authority.

The disciples minister under His authority.

5. Matthew 28:18-20 – The Great Commission:

Jesus begins with His own authority.

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore…”

Notice the sequence:

1. Christ possesses all authority.
2. Therefore He sends His disciples.
3. Their mission operates under His authority.

He does not say, “I give you all authority,” but He commissions them on the basis of His authority.

6. John 20:21

“As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

The Father sent Jesus with divine authority.

Jesus now sends His followers in the same representative capacity.

7. John 14:12-14:

“The one who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also…”

This is another example of delegated ministry under Christ’s authority.

8. Acts 1:8:

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…”

Here Jesus promises power (dynamis), which is different from authority (exousia).

Authority is the right to act.

Power is the ability to act.

Believers receive both:

Authority from Christ.

Power through the Holy Spirit.

9. Ephesians 2:6:

Paul says believers are “seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

This speaks of believers sharing Christ’s exalted position, though not His unique sovereign authority.

10. Ephesians 6:10-18:

The armor of God assumes believers stand against Satan under God’s authority.

Paul never tells Christians to rely on their own authority.

11. James 4:7:

“Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

The devil flees because the believer is submitted to God’s authority.

12. Luke 9:1:

“He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases.”

Notice both are given:

Authority (the legal right)

Power (the ability)

Authority Jesus Gives vs. Authority Jesus Keeps:

Jesus delegates significant authority, but He retains unique divine authority.

Jesus gives believers authority to:

• Preach the gospel (Matthew 28),
• Cast out demons (Luke 9; Luke 10),
• Heal the sick (Matthew 10),
• Forgive sins in the sense of proclaiming God’s forgiveness through the gospel (John 20:23),
• Make disciples,
• Resist Satan,
• Serve as Christ’s ambassadors, (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Jesus alone retains authority over:

• Forgiving sins by His own divine right (Mark 2:5–12),
• Final judgment (John 5:22),
• Raising the dead at the last day (John 5:28–29),
• Salvation itself (John 10:27–29),
• Heaven and earth (Matthew 28:18),
• Opening and closing the Kingdom (Revelation 3:7).

A helpful principle:

One of the clearest summaries is found in Matthew 28:18–20:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

The disciples are never portrayed as possessing authority independently. Rather, they act as Christ’s representatives. Their authority is derived, delegated, and exercised in submission to Him, just as an ambassador speaks with the authority of the king who sent him, not with authority of his own.

This is why the New Testament consistently emphasizes doing ministry “in the name of Jesus” (in other words, Acts 3:6, Acts 4:10, Colossians 3:17): believers act under His authority, not as autonomous authorities.

Let’s not overlook that although the Christian’s authority is derived, delegated, and exercised in submission to Jesus, it is by His command, and our responsibility to obey Him and exercise that authority moment-by-moment. That is how the first disciples saw the world “turned upside down,” and likewise for you and me as His disciples today.

Now, let’s get it done!

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young