Authority - particularly spiritual authority

In the past couple of days, my private devotion has been inundated by the idea of authority.  In the past, I have studied, listened and even exercised authority, and yet when I read the first two chapters of John, I felt almost overwhelmed by my questions about authority.  

Jesus encountered a soldier once who told him that there was no need for him to come to his house, for he was a man of authority and he understood that if Jesus spoke the word, it would be done.  Jesus was amazed.  Just the thought of Jesus being surprised at the capability of a man to understand and believe is food for thought.  But that said, few people understood in that day.  Even his disciples didn't really understand.  And after all these centuries of studying and such, we don't often understand either.

Authority may well be the key to faith and spiritual success, but it seems to be a key we have lost track of.  We hunt for all kinds of phases and antics.  We try to blow up the wall, we hack at the gate, when, if we have authority, we really only need to ask that the gate be opened.  Maybe you have this under your belt, but I still struggle.  Here are some verses that caught my attention these past two days.  They are taken from the Amplified Bible and from the NIV 84.

1

Jesus came to occupy what was his own.  His own did not accept him as owner.  But some did and they were given the authority to become sons of God.

For out of His abundance we have all received one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift heaped upon gift.  For while the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 

No man has ever seen God at any time; the only begotten of God, Who is the intimate presence of the Father, He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen; He has interpreted Him and He has made Him known. AMP

2

My hour to act has not yet come.  AMP

I will be consumed with jealousy for the honor of Your house. AMP 

“Give us a sign.”

Jesus answered them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.   Then the Jews replied, It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?   But He had spoken of the temple which was His body.

Jesus did not need to be instructed in human nature.  He understood completely.

His first act of authority after creation, was perhaps to come to earth with a plan for redemption to give people the authority to become sons and daughters of God.  Yet, his first public act was quiet; he simple took authority over the composition of the liquid in the pots.  Only what they put into the pots was changed.  The story doesn't even tell us he said or did anything but tell them to fill the pots and then draw out and serve the wine.
Why was that the beginning of his miracles and wonderworks? (AMP)  It seems like such a small thing.  Yet to the host of that wedding it was no small thing.  And perhaps it was really more allegorical than we have realized.  Weddings were a big deal.  They are often used symbolically.
Miscalculating the amount of wine needed was a big deal to that family.  It makes me wonder what happened there that they fell short in a critical time.  Perhaps the family had only limited resource and were hoping to get by.  Perhaps they could not provide more than they did.
This event reminds me that all have come short of the glory of God.  We all have failed to provide for our most important event -the afterlife.  In fact, we have no way to provide for that event except in the authority of Jesus.
The second act we are told of in the Book of John was aggressive.  He saw the merchants and their merchandise.  He saw the dishonesty and greed and became angry.  He grabbed some cords, fashioned them into a whip (premeditated; not an irrational act)  and began beating the merchants enough that they had to vacate the courtyard of the temple.  He called them thieves and accused them of misusing his Father's house.
They rubbed their chins and said "Who gave you the authority to do this?"  His justification was his death and resurrection.  Wow!  He kept his purpose always in the foreground.  His purpose was his justification time and time again.  His obedience was his authority.
When I come upon injustice, illness, ignorance, I want to scream in authority "Be done with you!"  But what would I say if I am successful and challenged.  Am I confident in my obedience and authority based on truth.  I am a daughter of the Most High God.  Yet do I understand my purpose?  Jesus gave me the authority to become God's daughter when I believed and received.  But what about the authority to speak to cancer?  What about the authority to insist on the redemption of my family?  The water went into the pot.  The wine came out.  It was authority.
I have questions to ask of the Father.  He promises answers.  I will listen and wait.  Can I make a difference in my world?  I do not know, but someone must.  It is a day for wonderworks, I believe.