At the very end of the Gospel of Mark (Mark 16:16-17), after Jesus’ resurrection and before He ascends to Our Father, we see Jesus giving His disciples final instructions.
Those Who Believe Shall Use My Authority
(16) Those who believe and are baptized will be saved. But those who refuse to believe will be condemned. (17) “And those who believe shall use My authority to cast out demons, and they shall speak new languages. (emphasis mine)
We see Jesus at His Last Supper, telling His disciples,
Anyone Believing in Me shall do the Same Miracles I Have Done, and Even Greater Ones
(John 14:12-13) “In solemn truth I tell you, anyone believing in Me shall do the same miracles I have done, and even greater ones, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask Him for anything, using My Name, and I will do it, for this will bring praise to the Father because of what I, the Son, will do for you. (emphasis mine)
Let’s take a look at four more passages, that bring this truth to light.
He Spoke to the Fever
In Luke 4:39, we see Jesus speaking to Peter’s mother-in-law’s fever, (39) Standing at her bedside He spoke to the fever, rebuking it, and immediately her temperature returned to normal, and she got up and prepared a meal for them! (emphasis mine)
He Spoke to the Storm
In Luke 8:24, the disciples are out in the boat with Jesus, (24) They rushed over and woke him up. “Master, Master, we are sinking!” they screamed. So He spoke to the storm: “Quiet down,” He said, and the wind and waves subsided and all was calm! (emphasis mine)
And I Know You Have Authority to Tell His Sickness To Go – and it Will Go!
The Centurian knows it in (Matthew 8:8-9), Then the officer said, “Sir, I am not worthy to have You in my home; and it isn’t necessary for You to come. If you will only stand here and say, ‘Be healed,’ my servant will get well! I know, because I am under the authority of my superior officers and I have authority over my soldiers, and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave boy, ‘Do this or that,’ and he does it. And I know you have authority to tell his sickness to go—and it will go!” (emphasis mine)
How They Praised God for Giving Such Authority to a Man
In Matthew (9:8), we see some men bringing a paralyzed man to Jesus. Jesus was amazed at their faith! (8) A chill of fear swept through the crowd as they saw this happen right before their eyes. How they praised God for giving such authority to a Man (Jesus)! (emphasis mine)
If we believe, we can, and we are to use His authority. We are to speak. We are to rebuke. Do we?