In a football game, men with striped shirts and whistles rule the power of big, strong, muscular men. Those officials have ultimate authority in the game. They have the power to stop the game and throw rebellious players off the field. That’s the type of authority Jesus claims for Himself. In spite of Satan’s attempts to control the universe and the affairs of men, Jesus wears the striped shirt and carries the whistle. He controls the field of play.

There are many examples of godly authority in the life of Jesus. One of the most striking is His handling of a blind man in the ninth chapter of John’s Gospel.

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life’.
(John 9:1-3)

The first miracle of this story is that Jesus saw the man. The disciples saw a theological problem. When reading the entire account it is apparent that the neighbors saw the man as an eyesore. The Pharisees saw him as an embarrassment, because the man’s healing contradicted their religious position. But, Jesus saw the man. Jesus saw an opportunity to do something good for a hurting person.