At the end of Mark 11 the religious leaders come to Jesus asking by what authority He does things. Specifically they probably have in mind the fact that He entered the temple kicking over tables and throwing out the people who were selling stuff there. They also probably wondered why a few days earlier he had come into town riding a colt and there was a lot of commotion and praise going on.

After all they were the ones with the authority. The were religious “leaders.” Jesus just appeared to be a radical irreverent teacher. But they really had it all wrong. Jesus wasn’t just a teacher, He was God… God in the flesh! He was the ultimate authority!

Furthermore, while these men were in leadership some serious things were going on that actually hindered the worship of the people. These men had added customs and made them equal to the law. They had put a store out front in the temple to change money or sell animals.

I wonder how often we treat Jesus like that in our own lives. We reduce his words to just good teaching and rib them of their authority. We treat them as ideas to be followed or forgotten, we forget that they are commands and that Jesus is the ultimate authority.

Bow your knees in prayer today and trust God to be the ultimate authority in your life. Are there things you have been refusing to trust Him with? Areas of your life that you have tried to manage apart from Him?