Jesus is Lord

An Orderly Account: Encountering Jesus in the Gospel of Luke

Luke 4:31-44

The Text

 

³¹ And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, ³² and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority.

³³ And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, ³⁴ “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” ³⁵ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. ³⁶ And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” ³⁷ And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

 

³⁸ And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. ³⁹ And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.

⁴⁰ Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. ⁴¹ And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.

 

⁴² And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, ⁴³ but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” ⁴⁴ And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Grab Their Attention

There’s a stark contrast between this passage and what has just happened to Jesus. Just prior to this event, Jesus has been in the desert, fasting, tempted by Satan. There’s hunger. There’s weariness. And then he’s driven out of his hometown, Nazareth.

But here, there’s power and authority. Jesus isn’t being driven out. He’s driving out demons. He commands sickness to leave the body, and poof, it goes.

Luke says he’s giving an orderly account, an accurate account of the historical Jesus. But Luke is also a great storyteller. He puts the human weakness of Jesus on display in the temptation, and turns right back around and says, “But don’t think for a moment that he’s impotent. The same Jesus who was tempted by Satan also possesses authority over Satan.”

When you meet the real Jesus you meet someone who is at the same time, tempted like we are all tempted… and yet he possesses a divine authority over every molecule he’s made. You and I need to understand the authority of Jesus, to believe in it, and we need God’s grace to submit to it.

Raise the Need, State the Destination, Signposts

 

If we want to truly understand who Jesus is, it’s not enough to see him as a fellow man (though he is). We also have to understand and submit to his unstoppable authority. And we’ll only do that as we see…

1. The Magnitude of His Authority
2. The Proof of His Authority
3. The Secret of His Authority

1. The Magnitude of His Authority

Now look, right here in the first verse we read:

“And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, ³² and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority.” (Luke 4:31)

Why are the people astonished? Why are they overwhelmed with amazement? Why are they struck speechless? Because Jesus possesses authority. His words carry power.

The word for authority here means to possess the right to control, it means absolute authority. When Jesus spoke, he didn’t rely on the authority of other teachers. He never says, “Listen to me, because I’m citing all the experts.” No, he simply speaks on his own authority. He doesn’t appeal to any human authority, instead he is the authority to whom all others must ultimately appeal. Let me show you this.

Luke 5:34 – Jesus claims to have the authority to forgive sins.

Matthew 28:18 – Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

John 10:18 – Jesus says, “No one takes my life from me… I have authority to lay it down and I have authority to take it up again.”

John 19:11 – And even when Jesus is standing before Pontius Pilate, who is about to order his execution, Jesus says these words, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above.”

Do you see what he’s claiming for himself? This isn’t ordinary human authority, this is godlike, divine authority even to forgive sin and to control death itself.

Now, if it’s true that Jesus possesses universal authority, here’s what that means for you… you owe him your entire life.

This is why the crowds are astonished. They know that if this man is who he claims to be, if he possesses this kind of authority, then they have to do more than respect him, they have to do more than listen to him. They have to obey him. They have to bow down to him. Listen.. if this is the authority he has, then your life isn’t primarily about what he can bring to you… it’s what about what you owe to him. You owe him everything

Here’s what else it means: there’s nothing happening right now that is outside of his authority. Look at the two scenarios in the text: demons and diseases. Look around your world right now: a strained relationship, volatile global markets, post-partum blues, an upcoming invasive surgery, and yes, even Tax Day. All of it is under his authority. And you have to trust him; not just with the days and months that are bright and joyful, but even the ones filled with confusion, darkness, and fear. You don’t get to divide him up.

If he isn’t Lord over all, then he isn’t Lord at all.

2. The Proof of His Authority

Now, Luke doesn’t just tell us that Jesus possessed universal authority; he shows us the authority of Jesus in these two stories. These two miracles show his authority in action; they make his authority visible. Luke says, “You want proof of his authority? Look at what he does and look at how he does it.” First, what does he do? He casts out demons and disease.

It’s the Sabbath. Jesus is teaching, and the next thing you know… there’s a man with an unclean demon. This is not the church service you want to be part of. In the middle of the sermon, this demon afflicted man begins shouting. He identifies Jesus and asks, “Have you come to destroy us?”

Now, I’m not going to give an apologetic on demons. I did that two weeks ago, so if you’re skeptical of the supernatural, go back to that sermon, or come talk to me at the end of today’s service.

Luke doesn’t try to prove the existence of demons either. That’s because the ancient world were far more openminded than we are today. We’re closeminded. We don’t give the devil his due. But they did. The audience in the synagogue that Sabbath knew exactly what was going on.

There’s a demon possessed man in our midst, and there’s nothing they can do about it. In the ancient world, demon possessed people were driven out of town. That’s all you could do. But instead of driving this man from town, Jesus delivers this man from the demon. Who can do this? What kind of authority is this, that he commands the spirits and they come out.

He does the same to disease. Jesus walks from the synagogue to Simon’s house where his mother-in-law has a high fever. The town of Capernaum was below sea level, in Galilee and had a reputation of malaria outbreaks. Notice how Luke records the miracle in verse 39:

And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her

I’m not certain which is the greater miracle. The exorcism is impressive… but here Jesus speaks to a disease. He walks into the room, looks down at this sick woman, and essentially says, “Stop it.” The fever doesn’t just break, she’s so healthy that she begins to make dinner and serve the guests who were her mourners moments ago.

Look at what he does. No one can do the things he does. He exercises authority, total control over demons and disease. Look at how he does it.

In all the old films about demon possession, what happens? They have to go get the priest. For some reason he always needs holy water, so the water has to be blessed and consecrated. He needs a crucifix, a rosary, there’s a lot of prayers, shouting, speaking in Latin. Now, we know that’s Hollywood. You need to make a 90 minute film. You need drama.

But look at these two miracles. They’re utterly devoid of theatrics; no stagecraft, no melodrama. If these were turned into a film it wouldn’t be 90 minutes, it would be 90 seconds.

With only a word, Jesus casts out demons and disease. He doesn’t have to pump himself up. He doesn’t raise his voice. Look… this is light work for him.

This is almost unbelievable. And it’s one reason I believe it’s not made up. Luke isn’t fabricating. If you were fabricating an exocism, or miracles, you’d never do it like this. You’d want high drama. But Luke doesn’t care about high drama; at least not in the way we’re accustomed.

Luke is giving you proof. He’s giving you evidence. He says, “Look at what he can do. Look at how he did it. This really happened.”

Now, you may be asking yourself this question, “Ok, Luke… if Jesus did that kind of stuff 2,000 years ago, why doesn’t he do it today? Why did this woman live, but so many others die? Why won’t he give me the same proof, the same evidence?”

There’s a scholar named Michael Wilcock, and here’s how he answers that question. He says that the miracles recorded in the gospels are a kind of shopwindow. In the same way that a physician or surgeon establishes a record of successful operations, and build a reputation, the miracles of Christ validate his claims as Lord.

And therefore, if Jesus wanted, he could snap his fingers and heal anyone immediately and permanently, but he may just as well say to us, “I could of course give you immediate relief; but I’d like to do something more far-reaching, something that will benefit you more in the long run.”

What he intends to do in you and for you will be more protracted and perhaps even more painful, and you may not understand all he is doing, why he isn’t treating those pains you know, because he is treating underlying disorders of which you are unaware.

You may want him to make you well when he desires to make you holy. You may want him to give you serenity, but he aims to make you dependent upon his strength. You may pray for him to help you stand when he intends for you to fall upon his mercy.

Listen… far more than healing, you need to trust Jesus as Healer. And the miracles are proof of his authority.

3. The Secret of His Authority

What do I mean by, “the secret”? Multiple times in this passage, the demons try to identify Jesus. Reports are going out. The entire region hears of his power. Look at verse 40:

⁴⁰ Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them.

Do you see what’s happening? Word is getting out. He’s becoming famous. There’s renown, notoriety, write ups in the national news.

But look how Jesus responds… he’s silencing the demons who want to identify him. They cry out that he’s the Holy One of God, but he shuts them up.

⁴¹ And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.

Scholars call this the Messianic secret. Jesus will not allow the demons to identify him. In other places, when he heals people, he says, “Don’t tell anyone about this.” Why’s he keeping a low-profile? Why is he keeping his authority a secret?

Is he trying to be like Batman, who has an alter ego in Bruce Wayne, or Superman and Clark Ket? If he doesn’t want people to know who he is, why does he keep doing miracles? On the one hand, he reveals his authority. On the other hand, he conceals his identity. Why?

The answer is, we have more to learn about Jesus. These miracles tell part of the story, but only part. Listen… the healings… the exorcisms… feeding the multitudes… they only tell part of the story. There’s more to learn about Jesus from Luke.

He’s not denying who he is. Rather he’s denying the earthly expectations of the Messiah.

It’s because first-century Jews were looking for a Messiah who would be a political revolutionary. They wanted a king who would exercise authority to defeat their enemies.

Does he have authority? Of course he does. He’s the King. Yet he comes to lay it down. Does he have the ability to restore the demonized outcast? Yes! But he’s also come to be an outcast. Can he raise the dead? Yes. But the only way he can truly raise the dead into life everlasting is if he, the eternal Son, dies.

You and I face a greater danger than demons and disease. We face the danger of meeting God’s justice in our sin. The difference between the devil’s evil malice and God’s righteous anger is the difference between a gerbil and a grizzly bear.

Jesus can remove the gerbil of a demon with a word. But the only way for him to remove the ferocity of God’s wrath against our sin, is to take it upon himself.

Yes, he can remove sickness and cast it into the abyss, but the only way to remove our guilt is to take it into himself and pay the penalty for it.

Friend, this is who the Messiah is. He’s the king. He possesses all authority. You owe him total allegiance. He’s our substitute, who lives out the obedience he requires of us; who takes the punishment we deserve for our disobedience.

Look to him today