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I'm still going off of last week's sermon from Vern here...but there was a great contrast here between the powers as how the world yields power and the power of Christ. What I'd like to focus on primarily is not the world's use of power, but how Jesus displays power.
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Power for Jesus did not come through ordinary means. Power for Jesus came through death. Power for Jesus came through the cross. Power for Christ meant a rejection of the way the world sees power and overcoming the world's supposed power through what was seemingly defeat. That crucifixion day it would have seemed as if the powers had won. Caesar had won. Pilate had won. They had silenced the message of Jesus. Instead of an insurrection to claim the power, you have a resurrection.
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If Jesus' power came through his death and resurrection, the same is true for us, especially if you think in the context of baptism. Paul writes, "once you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ." Through the baptism waters we are made new creatures...the old is gone the new has come. We put to death the old person who was without Christ (3:5) and in so doing forfeit the power we have over our lives. If the power of Christ is to come into our lives it must mean the death of ourselves, our will, our sinful desires. In its place comes the power of Jesus to transform us into the image of the resurrected Son.
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It is through death you and I find life. What is it in our lives that makes us think we have power and control that must be put to death...so that in so doing we might find life in Christ?
