In the above text, Jesus says that the messianic declaration by David is not only about him. Yes, this text was fulfilled for him at his baptism, when he received the Holy Spirit. But even then, the Father's ultimate goal was that we too would be baptized with the Holy Spirit (Med.#26)—so that we also might be empowered with authority to participate in the expansion and growth of his multi-ethnic kingdom. Yet we need to receive this new authority ‘just as’ Jesus received it. And we need to fulfill the same conditions he fulfilled.

When Jesus began to exercise authority after receiving the Holy Spirit at about age thirty, his way of doing so was not exactly what Jewish people expected. Those who knew Psalm 2 believed that the Messiah would come to defend the authority of their own nation and ‘dash to pieces’ the power of the Roman occupation. True, Jesus did end up challenging the Roman governor of Judea about the limits of his authority (Jn.19:7-11). But his path to exercising authority over other nations began with him first standing up to the authorities of his own ethnic group (Med.#26).

Only when he rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, was he given a position and title ‘far above all rule and authority’ in this age as well as in the next. Yet this resurrection power and authority was not just for him. According to Paul it is also for us as members of his body (Med.#44). The morning star [Gr. aster ton proinos] in the above text is a symbol of how we are given a share in Jesus' authority. In both the Old and New Testaments, stars are a picture of governing ‘powers’ (e.g. Gen.1:16-18; Lk.21:25-26 ESV). Believers in Jesus who overcome both the devil and social pressure from their own earthly guardians do so with the authority they have received from the Father by the Spirit. Yet while we are given the star of ‘early morning' [Gr. proinos], Jesus himself is represented as the ‘first morning [Gr. orthrinos] star' (Rev.22:16). Thus, we can only shine with authority as heralds of our Father's New Day if we do so with him—following his model of doing the Father's will his way.

How did Jesus' disciples begin to shine like stars? Before he sent them out to other nations and ethnic groups (Med.#87), he had them first observe how he ministered to ‘foreigners’ living among them—like Samaritans (Med.#3) and Romans (Mt.8:5-13). Yet when he first shared his authority with them and sent them out to preach and to heal, he told them only to go to their own people—not to Samaritans and people of other ethnic groups (Mat.10:5). And when the Holy Spirit came, he led them to gain more experience in standing up to the leaders of their own people first (Acts 4:18-21), before leading them to Samaritans and other ethnic groups (Acts 8 & 10). Even then Peter needed a special revelation to stop thinking of foreigners as ‘unclean’, and his own nation as God's favorite (Med.#46).

So what does it mean to exercise authority over nations or ethnic groups? Leaders of ethnic groups and rulers over nations have been given authority by God to maintain social order. This is why we pay taxes, show honor and respect to them and, as a rule, submit to them (Rom.13:1-7). Yet no ruler or governing system fully meets God's standard—not even those of our own nation. So we should not be surprised when the Spirit leads us into confrontations with them, where we must exercise our new family authority to overcome unjust laws and demands—including the expectation that our own tribe, ethnic group or nation be given priority over others. No matter how uncomfortable and intimidating such a power encounter might be, we must recognize that our Father is with us (Med.#83). And his purpose is for us to grow in the exercise of authority over our own nation first, in the Spirit of Jesus, so that he can trust us to truly represent him among other nations and ethnic groups.

I experienced just such an intimidating confrontation at age 22. The Vietnam War was at its worst and anti-war protests were raging throughout my country. Military conscription was still obligatory, and in my age group I was in the top 9% that would be called into service. Yet I had a growing conviction that I would not be doing my Father's will if I took part in this conflict; so I applied to do alternate service. Eventually, I had to stand before men of my father's generation on the civilian ‘draft board’ in one of the most patriotic and politically conservative counties in the USA. Most people told me that my request would most certainly be denied; and many fellow Christians disapproved of my stand.[i] But as I stood in Christ's authority before those with power to deny my petition, the Spirit gave me the words to say. Miraculously, they granted my request and told me that they had never before approved an application like mine. The very next day I received an invitation to do my alternate service with Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) in Indonesia—where for almost three years I was able to grow even more in the authority I had received. in Christ and by the Spirit, as an adult son of my heavenly Father.

Exercising authority over one's own nation requires a deliberate public action in some way, just as it did for Jesus. Yet such confrontations with the leaders of the family and societal structures that nurtured us, as our God-appointed guardians, should never be entered into lightly. So when the Holy Spirit leads us to confront ‘rulers and authorities’—in our own ethnic group or in any nation—we must always do so with respect, maintaining a submissive attitude (Tit.3:1 NIV). Yet we do not need to be afraid of these authorities when we must confront them. Nor do we need to bolster our stance with raised voices or with violent or angry actions (Mat.12:18-20). As we saw in the previous meditation, Jesus' action in the Temple was deliberate (Med.#26). Though forceful, it was not a sudden angry outburst.

The quotation (from Psalm 2) in the above text—about iron breaking pottery—is not so much about smashing things as it is about the comparison of iron to pottery. The authority given by the Father to Jesus, and to us as co-heirs with him, is indestructible—like iron. When the Father's sons and daughters stand in this authority, the authority of national and ethnic leaders, even though God-given, is brittle by contrast—like pottery. That's because it is temporary. Ultimately the authority of even the most powerful human rulers will give way to Christ; for he is the ‘stone that has broken away, untouched by human hands.’ And even now, through us, he is laying the foundations for a family ‘kingdom that will never be destroyed’ (Dan.2:36-45).

Has the Father ever led you into such a confrontation with the authorities of your own ethnic group or nation? What choices did you make? What resources did the Father make available to you, by the Holy Spirit, to help you to do his will in that power encounter?