Transition of Power

Daily Reading:  Mark 16

So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs. (Mark 16.19-20)

Devotional Thought: In just four days, the new president of the United States of America will be inaugurated.  This transition of power is one of the marvels of American political life.

The transition of power is a biblical concern.  In the last two verses of Mark, there is a transition of power as well as responsibility.  Jesus, having finished his work on Earth, ascended into heaven and then “sat at the right hand of God”.  The posture Jesus takes is significant.  Sitting is a posture of rest and indicates that Jesus had finished his work here. Sitting specifically at the right hand of God symbolizes his sovereignty and power over his kingdom.   Then “the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them” (v. 20).  This is exactly what Jesus had empowered them and prepared them to do when he appeared to his disciples in Galilee after his resurrection.

In Matthew 28.18-20, Jesus said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” 

Until the end of the age, Jesus will be with us, empowering us through the Holy Spirit.  His disciples took this transition of power seriously.  Do we? 

Jenny Wade

Prayer: You are my exalted Savior, O Lord, seated at the right hand of God, returning in great power and glory.  But until your return, you have empowered me to be your representative on earth.  I accept this commission, receive your Spirit, and operate under your power.  Amen.

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 9.13-20

13 Be gracious to me, O Lord! See my affliction from those who hate me, O you who lift me up from the gates of death,

14 that I may recount all your praises, that in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in your salvation.

15 The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.

16 The Lord has made himself known; he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah

17 The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God.

18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.

19 Arise, O Lord! Let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before you!

20 Put them in fear, O Lord! Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah