Taking Your Seat

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:6 (NIV)

In Luke chapter four, after Jesus read from Isaiah 61 in His hometown synagogue, He did something astonishing. Luke 4:20 says, “Then He closed the book, and gave [it] back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.”

Notice, after He closed the book and handed it back to the priest, He sat down. Now sitting down may not sound significant at first, but it is evident by this verse that He sat down in such a location in the synagogue that everyone could see him, because vs. 20 says “And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.” Even if He had sat down on the front row, it is unlikely that “the eyes of all” could have been fixed on Him. He must have sat down in a place where everyone could have seen Him.

Now not that I am trying to add to scripture by any means, but it’s pretty easy to get the big picture as to what actually happened. Something shifted. The hometown crowd went from welcoming Jesus, to being infuriated with Him. In fact, they got so mad at him that the NLT version says in Luke 4:29 “Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff.”

Just before this in Luke 4:22 says, “Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips.” What could have possibly made this crowd want to throw Him off the edge of the cliff? I believe it was two things, the First being where He sat down and second, what He said after He sat down.

Some scholars believe that Jesus may have sat down in an empty chair that was ceremonially reserved for the Messiah at the front of the synagogue in full view of all. And, once He sat down He said to the crowd, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” This is what outraged the religious crowd in His hometown. They didn’t mind Him being Joseph and Mary’s grown up boy, but they couldn’t stand the idea of His claim of being the long awaited Messiah.

In the same way, you and I will always find resistance from world and even religious minded believers, the closer we get to the revelation that we are “seated with Christ in heavenly places.” When Jesus returned from His mission on earth He sat down at the right hand of Father and Ephesians 2:16 says that we have been seated with Him. All power and authority was given to Him and He has given it to us, His Church. He wants us to walk in this authority, power, and the abundant life, which is exactly what Jesus said He came to give us in John 10:10.

Despite any resistance from the world or the religious to this truth, you and I must do as Jesus did and slip through the crowd. He did not allow their refusal to believe who He was to stop Him from completing His mission. In the same way, we can not allow the unbelief of many “believers” to stop us from receiving and walking in all that God has provided for us through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.

So today, take your seat and rest in the finished work of Jesus. It will revolutionize your life, your family, your business, your workplace and your ministry.

Today’s Thought: Because we are seated with Christ in Heavenly places we can rest in His finished work and live a life of authority, power and victory.