Week 19: Chapter 18 — All Authority

1.Matthew 28:18 records Jesus saying, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." Ortlund argues that this authority belongs to the same Jesus described in Matthew 11:29 as gentle and lowly. Why is it important that these two descriptions of Christ go together — that power and gentleness belong to the same person?

2.The chapter argues that Christ's authority is not exercised despite his gentleness but through it — the authority of the cross is an authority exercised by surrendering power in love. How does the cross redefine what authority looks like? How does it challenge worldly models of power?

3.Philippians 2:9–11 says that precisely because Jesus humbled himself to the point of death, God exalted him above every name. The path to all authority ran through lowliness. What does this pattern — humility leading to exaltation — mean for the Christian life? What does it mean for how we exercise whatever authority we have?