Matthew 4:7 – Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Luke 4:8 – And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’”
In the earliest days of the Christian Church, there were two groups of people in the vast and powerful Roman Empire.
The powerful majority of people would publicly proclaim “Caesar is Lord”. In doing so, they were declaring that their ultimate allegiance, above everyone and everything else, was to the ruler of their nation.
The persecuted minority of people would publicly proclaim, “Jesus is Lord”. In doing so, they were practicing godly civil disobedience by declaring that their ultimate allegiance above everyone and everything else was the King of their Kingdom.
God is referred to as “Lord” thousands of times in the Old Testament. Jesus changed world history referring to Himself as “Lord” on multiple occasions (Matthew 4:7, 4:10-11; Luke 4:8, 4:12; Acts 9:5, 22:8, 26:15). To this day, Jesus stands alone in world history as the only founder of any major world religion to declare himself as God and Lord.
Echoing Christ, throughout the gospels, which serve as the most detailed historical record of Jesus’ earthly life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension numerous people refer to Jesus as “Lord”, a title that He receives gladly. Examples include a blind man (Matthew 9:28) and two blind men (Matthew 20:30), Peter (Matthew 7:14; Luke 5:8, 20:30; John 12:36, 21:15, 21:17), a leper (Luke 5:12), a centurion soldier (Luke 7:6), a woman caught in adultery (John 8:11), Martha (John 11:21,39), Mary (John 11:32), John (John 13:25, 21:7, 21:20-21), and the disciples (John 21:12), among others. In some form or fashion, every New Testament book refers to Jesus Christ as Lord, often simply calling Him the “Lord Jesus Christ”. For early Christians, the shortest summary of their commitment and conviction was simply, “Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:11).
Do you think your ultimate allegiance is to Jesus as Lord? Are there other things that take your attention away from Him? Repent of those and find ways to make Jesus the center of your affection and attention.
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