Luke 4:31-44

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As we come to God's word together, let's pray.

Father, we ask that you would

help us this morning

to

not just gather information,

about

the Bible, or even just

information about you,

but as we come now before

your word, we pray that we would come to know you

truly and better.

That your Holy Spirit would be

poured out this morning so that we might

see you in the face of Jesus Christ

and that

we might know how deep

and how

certain

and how transformative

is your love for us.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Luke chapter 4,

Luke 4:31–44

verses 31 through 44.

And he, that is Jesus,

went down to Capernaum,

a city of Galilee.

And he was teaching them on the Sabbath

and they were astonished at his teaching

for his word

possessed authority.

And in the synagogue,

there was a man who had the spirit

of an unclean demon

and he cried out with a loud voice,

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.

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.

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.

And reports about him

went out into every place

in the surrounding region.

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.

And he stood over her

and rebuked the fever

and it left her

and immediately

she rose

and began to serve them.

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.

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.

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

but he said to them,

I must preach

the good news

of the kingdom of God

to other towns as well

for I was sent

for this purpose.

And he was preaching

in the synagogues

of Judea.

So this winter

and spring,

we are studying

the first part

of the Gospel of Luke,

Jesus' ministry

in Galilee.

And we're doing that

because it's good,

you know,

in our life

as a church

to come back

continually

to the center

of what it's all about.

Because

what Christianity

is all about

is not ultimately,

what the church

is all about

is not ultimately

a set of ideas

or a code of ethics

though it certainly

implies those things.

Ultimately,

Christianity

is about a person.

It's about

the historical

person

of Jesus Christ.

So if you're

not a Christian,

we hope this series

in some ways

gives you a front row seat

to the main event.

Here we go.

Here is what it's all about.

What do you make

of Jesus Christ?

And if you're here

and you are a Christian,

honestly,

we hope that this series

sparks a season

of renewal

for you.

Because you see,

spiritually in the Christian life,

spirituality in the Christian life

really boils down

to beholding Christ.

To adoring him,

to worshiping him,

to having our hearts

drawn to intimacy

with him together.

And through that work

of the Holy Spirit,

we're changed

more and more

to be like him.

So that's why

we're in Luke

in this season.

And our text this morning

we see right away

is about Jesus'

authority.

Verse 32,

they were astonished

at his teaching

because his word

possessed what?

Authority.

And then in verse 36,

what is this word

for with authority

and power

he commands

the unclean spirits

and they come out?

We see the same theme

repeated when Luke

repeats that word

rebuke

in this passage.

Did you catch that?

In verse 35,

Jesus does what?

He rebukes

the unclean spirit.

And then in verse 39,

he rebukes

the high fever

of Simon's mother-in-law.

Then in verse 41,

he rebukes

even more

oppressive evil forces.

the rebuke here

is Jesus'

authoritative

commanding word.

So in our passage,

Luke wants us

to come face-to-face

with Jesus'

authority.

Which maybe starts

to challenge

what we think

we know about Jesus.

And honestly,

what we're comfortable with.

I think most of us

are probably comfortable

with the idea of

Jesus,

the great moral example.

He lived a good life

and so should you.

Or we're comfortable

with Jesus,

the encourager,

the motivator,

the one who gets behind me

and helps me along the way,

whatever I happen to choose

my life path to be.

Those ideas about Jesus,

we're okay with them

and there's some truth

in each of them.

But you know,

according to the earliest

witnesses to the life

of Jesus that we have

and the gospel of Luke

is one of those,

that's not primarily

the picture that we get

of Jesus.

It's not Jesus

the moral example.

It's not Jesus

the great motivator.

But Jesus,

the utterly authoritative one.

And I think we see

at least three things

about Jesus' authority

in our text this morning

that we're going to walk through.

The first thing is

we see the threat

of Jesus' authority.

Jesus' authority

threatens us.

I think if we're honest,

we don't really like

the idea of authority.

I've used the word authority

about a hundred times

already in this sermon

and we're all sort of feeling

a little uncomfortable,

aren't we?

Come on,

we're all children

of the enlightenment,

children of the modern era,

and for us,

authority is nearly

always viewed suspiciously.

And you know,

perhaps there's some

or maybe a lot

of justification for that.

When people in positions

of power abuse

their authority,

it's only natural

to start to think

that authority

is a bad thing

or at least

a dangerous thing,

a thing that needs

to be sort of

carefully contained

like a hazardous substance.

At best,

we only want someone

to have authority

in our lives

if we grant it to them

and if it has

very defined boundaries.

I join a sports team

or I join a theater group

or I take a new job

and I implicitly

sort of grant

that coach

or that director

or that boss

some degree of authority

in my life.

They get to call the plays,

they get to make

the artistic decisions,

they get to lead the company,

but it's all very defined,

all very compartmentalized.

At the end of the day,

I still keep my autonomy

and I still have authority

over my life.

And so when Jesus arrives

before us in this text

as one with authority,

with utter authority,

with complete authority,

such that what he says goes,

I mean, come on,

if we're honest,

we don't really like it.

Deep down, I think,

we might even hate it.

We can handle a moral example

and we can handle a motivator,

but not an authority.

Have you thought about

why that is?

Why is the prospect

of Jesus' complete authority

such a threat to us?

Why does it repel us so often?

Well, deep down,

I think it's because

we think it will destroy us.

What have you to do with us,

Jesus of Nazareth?

Have you come to destroy us?

How many of us,

maybe not in the same language,

have thought the same thing?

If I were to let Jesus' authority

shape my entire life,

if I were to let him

have complete sway over me,

if I made him my Lord,

then the only possible outcome

that I can envision

in that scenario

is that it would destroy me.

My happiness,

my joy,

my freedom.

And you know,

this threat of his authority

goes deeper

than just having some

new inconvenient things

that I'd have to start doing

or some sort of old

things I like,

I'd have to stop doing those.

You know,

it's not like,

well,

now I'd have to start

going to church

and I'd have to stop

posting snarky comments

on Facebook.

It goes deeper than that,

doesn't it?

It gets down to our identity.

You sense,

you and I sense

that there's something

you have to let go of

at a deep

sort of subterranean level

if Jesus is going to have

this sort of authority

in your life.

And that's scary

because up till now,

there's a particular way

that you've defined yourself.

This is who I really am

or this

or this,

whatever it is.

But now,

you have to belong to him.

He has to be

the Lord of your life.

He's the defining thing now.

I wonder how many

of our intellectual objections

to Christianity

really at bottom

are about this.

Now,

there's nothing wrong

with questions

and there's nothing wrong

with honest doubts.

If Christianity,

after all,

claims to be true,

then we have to

at some level

ask questions

and raise our doubts

and wrestle with them.

And here at Trinity,

we want to be the kind of place

where we ask those questions

and wrestle with those doubts together.

We want to welcome

that sort of exploration.

But at some point,

there comes a moment

when the questions before us

as we consider Christianity

stop being intellectual

and they start being personal.

Am I willing to stop

being the Lord of my own life

and let Jesus be Lord?

And we have to ask ourselves,

am I willing

to be brutally honest

with my own doubts

to the point

where I can admit

that some of my intellectual questions

might be a smokescreen,

a way of avoiding

the real question

of whether or not

I can embrace

Jesus' authority over me?

In other words,

friends,

can you be honest enough

with yourself

to acknowledge

when deep down

what's keeping you

from Christianity

is that you're afraid,

afraid that submitting

to his authority

will simply destroy you.

But you know,

this isn't just an issue

for those of us

who are considering Christianity.

It's an issue

for those of us

who are already Christians too.

Because there will always

be remaining sin

in our lives.

We will constantly

encounter times

when we don't want

to live our lives

under Jesus' authority.

We'll come up against

some clear word

in Scripture

and it will run

counter to our desires

or our plans

or it will run

against the grain

of our culture

and strike us

as awkward

or impossible even

and we'll be tempted

in that moment

to sort of explain

those passages

of Scripture away

or we'll come up

with a whole list

of reasons

why my circumstances

just make it too hard

or too demanding

or too costly

to follow what he says

and obey him.

And the pattern

is the same.

Don't you see?

Even in our hearts.

Even in the hearts

of believers

there's still the voice

that says

have you come

to destroy us?

Which is why

we all need to see

the rest

of what Luke

shows us here.

The second point

we see

and what Luke

wants us ultimately

to see about

Jesus' authority here

is that it doesn't

just threaten us.

Ultimately

it liberates us.

Jesus' authority

sets us free.

You see this evil spirit

in verse 34

he sort of throws down

a challenge to Jesus

doesn't he?

He says

have you come

to destroy us?

Now

perhaps the word

us there

is referring to

just sort of

evil spirits

in general.

But the us

could also be referring

to the evil spirit

and the man

who is afflicted

both of them together.

In other words

this evil spirit

is saying to Jesus

you take me down

he goes with me

what are you going

to do to us

Jesus?

Have you come

to destroy us?

But what happens?

At the word

of Jesus'

authoritative

rebuke

the evil spirit

comes out

of the man

and as Luke

says at the end

of verse 35

having done him

no harm.

you see

the exercise

of this

total authority

that Jesus has

doesn't spell

this man's

destruction

it ushers in

this man's

liberation

it's his release.

The same is true

of Simon's

mother-in-law

but this time

the destructive

force isn't

spiritual

it's physical

and with a word

Jesus frees

this woman

from a life

threatening illness

she's unbound

and immediately

Luke says

she can rise

and minister.

Do you see

the picture

that's emerging

here?

As humans

we're threatened

on every side

by forces

greater than us

by forces

that threaten

to undo us

do we not

feel that?

Their interior

and their exterior

their spiritual

and their physical

but here

now

at last

a greater

authority

has arrived

and this

authority

Jesus himself

sets us free.

Now you have

to see

that the

liberation

this passage

depicts

challenges

both the

skeptical

mindset

and the

traditional

mindset.

What do I

mean?

Well it's

easy to see

how this

passage is a

bit of a

challenge to

the skeptic

isn't it?

I mean there's

a whole lot

of talk about

demons here.

Demons

really?

Maybe some

of you are

thinking

isn't this

the 21st

century?

Can we

really believe

in evil

spirits

anymore?

Wasn't that

just sort of

a pre-modern

way of

talking about

mental

illness?

I get it.

To many

of us

in the

west

belief

in evil

spirits

seems

completely

irrational

and maybe

even a

little

primitive.

But actually

you know

I would

submit to

you that

it

needn't

be

either.

And it

actually

isn't

either.

On the

one hand

it's not

necessarily

irrational

if there's

such a

thing as

a God

after all.

If God

exists

some

personal

spiritual

good

then it's

not

irrational

to think

that there

just might

be

personal

spiritual

evil

in the

world.

And on

the other

hand it's

not necessarily

a primitive

belief

either.

Take a look

very closely

at this

passage.

Luke

in this

text is

distinguishing

quite

carefully

and quite

deliberately

between

physical

illness

and

demonic

affliction.

He's

not

conflating

the two.

And the

New Testament

never does.

In fact

the Bible

as a whole

would lead

us to

have

not a

primitive

but

actually

quite

robust

and

sophisticated

view

of the

world

and

ourselves.

Because it

acknowledges

that we're

physical

and emotional

and social

and psychological

and also

spiritual

beings.

That all

of these

things form

a very

complex

view

a very

robust

view

of what

reality

is

and the

Bible

doesn't

allow us

to sort

of limit

or narrow

or oversimplify

the reality

in which

we live.

So yes

this passage

challenges

our

skeptical

mindset

but you

know

it also

challenges

our

traditional

our

conservative

mindset.

How so?

Well

it's showing

us here

that the

redemption

that Christ

brings

isn't

just

spiritual

but it's

physical

as well.

Christ

hasn't

just come

to save

our souls

and whisk

us away.

He's

come to

heal

the

material

world

as well.

So if

we're

followers

of Jesus

we can't

retreat

from caring

about

physical

needs.

Whether

it's

illness

and disease

or

poverty

or racial

injustice

or the

well-being

of the

environment

Christ

has come

to set

all

creation

free

one day

from

its

bondage

to

decay

and disease

and death

and those

who

follow

him

will

care

about

seeking

peace

and justice

and healing

here and

now.

Challenges

both

sides.

You see

what's going

on in this

passage is

that in

these mighty

works of

Jesus'

authority

we see

signs

of what

he will

do

over all

the

earth

one day.

In the

Old Testament

God promised

to put an

end to

evil and

death

and sickness

and suffering.

And here

in Jesus'

ministry

in the

first

century

that

promise

came

forward

breaking

into

history.

It's as if

God's future

for a moment

came flashing

forward like

a streak

of lightning

ripping

open the

old world

so that we

could see

what it

would be

like when

God

one day

finally

liberates

the whole

creation

from

everything

that threatens

to undo

us.

Here's a

glimpse of

it.

In other

words,

in Jesus,

the kingdom

of God,

God's

coming reign

of peace

and justice

was showing

up ahead

of time.

It was

showing up

ahead of

time because

Jesus,

the authoritative

one,

the king

of the

kingdom,

had landed

in enemy

territory

to demonstrate

his authority

and to begin

an insurgency

of freedom.

It was

showing up

ahead of

time

so that

we could

know the

one who

would one

day make

everything

right.

And end

every evil

power and

drive every

disease and

decay from

his good

creation.

So you

see,

friends,

coming under

Jesus'

authority won't

destroy you.

It heals

us.

It frees

us.

It gives

us back

our true

selves.

It's like

we're fish

sometimes,

I think.

It's like

we're fish

sometimes just

sort of flopping

on the sand,

wondering why

it's so hard

to breathe.

even though

we're free

and in

control of

our lives

and here

by our

own

decisions,

even though

all the

cultural forces

around me

are telling

me that

this is how

I should

find joy

and freedom,

and yet

there we

are,

and it's

so hard

to breathe.

And then

Christ comes,

and his

authority

rises

before us

like a

wave,

and it's

terrifying

in its

height

and in

its

speed,

and as

it starts

to turn

and come

down,

we think

it's going

to crush

us.

But when

it does

come down,

it carries

us,

not down

into destruction,

but it

takes us

back into

the rich

ocean depths

for which

we were

made.

So friends,

where's the

sticking point

for you?

Christian,

is there

some area

of obedience

that you

just can't

trust is

for your

good?

Look at

Jesus'

authority

here,

and know

that it

has come

to liberate

you and

set you

free.

Following

whatever

internal

desires or

feelings you

might have,

no matter

how loudly

they speak,

can't

guarantee

you the

freedom you

want,

the freedom

for which

you were

created,

but his

voice does.

The same

voice that

thunders over

the waters

and shatters

the cedars,

as Psalm 29

says,

is the same

voice that

silences the

evil powers

here,

heals the

multitudes,

and that same

voice speaks

his word to

us for our

instruction,

for our

liberty,

and for our

freedom.

And as you

follow his

word in

obedience,

you're

following the

word of

your

liberator.

But we

also need to

be reminded,

and this is

especially true

if you've been

following Jesus

for some

time,

that the

ultimate

freedom is

yet to

come.

As we

said,

these miracles

in the

gospels are

previews of

God's plan for

his redeemed

world.

And following

Jesus long

enough,

if you follow

him long

enough,

you will

encounter

hardships and

disappointments and

setbacks and

frustrations,

there is no

doubt.

And they

will be

painful

reminders that

the kingdom,

although already

present and at

work in our

midst,

is not yet

complete.

And yet

passages like

this are here

to remind you,

to remind us,

to keep

trusting in his

liberating authority.

glory.

If his first

coming was in

humility,

and with a

simple word he

made disease and

evil flee,

friends,

what will be

true of his

second coming

in glory?

What liberty and

healing and

wholeness will we

experience then?

Psalm 96 puts it

this way,

let the heavens be

glad and let the

earth rejoice.

Let the sea roar and

all that fills it.

Let the field exult and

everything in it.

Let all the trees of

the forest shall sing

for joy before the

Lord, for he comes,

for he comes to

judge the earth.

You see what the

psalmist is saying

there?

When the Lord's

authority is unveiled

on that day, the

whole created order

will erupt in praise.

It will be set free

in a way that we

can only imagine.

And as we look back

to these events in

the gospel, we can

look forward with

confidence to an even

greater future that

awaits.

And that will keep

you from despair when

things are hard.

And that will keep

you from complacency

when things are easy.

But there's one last

thing about Jesus'

authority that we need

to see in this passage.

And it's actually just

a small hint here,

but it will grow as

Luke's gospel unfolds.

And this third point is

what I'll call the

secret of Jesus'

authority.

authority.

You know, it's one

thing to be shown that

Jesus' authority is a

liberating authority, and

it's one thing to sort of

know that with our heads.

It's another thing to

actually get that in our

hearts.

What could make it real in

such a way that it

actually moves us to

really trust his authority

and to know that it

sets us free?

We have to see that there's

a bit of an unfolding

secret of Jesus'

authority in the

gospels.

At the end of our

passage, Jesus tells the

crowds who want him to

stay that he's got to

keep moving.

He's got to keep preaching

the good news of the

kingdom.

He's got to keep going.

He's been sent with a

mission, and that mission

isn't just to stay in

Capernaum and build a

following of people who

are amazed that his

mighty works.

But why not?

Why not stay?

Why not build a bigger

following?

What's the urgency?

And on top of that, why

is Jesus so adamant in

this passage that the

evil spirits remain

silent?

They know who he is.

They get his identity

right.

Yet he doesn't allow them

to speak.

Why?

Well, of course, on the

one hand, demons aren't

exactly the best PR for a

new ministry, are they?

Imagine that conversation

in first century Galilee.

Hey, I heard that Jesus

of Nazareth might be the

Messiah we've waited for.

Oh, yeah?

Who told you that?

A demon.

It's not really the sort

of press you want.

But, you know, there's a

deeper reason why he

commands their silence.

You know, everyone in

that day had their own

idea of what the Messiah

was supposed to come and

do, how he was supposed

to exercise his authority,

and most of those ideas

involved military authority

and political authority.

But that wasn't Jesus'

mission.

That wasn't what he'd

come to do.

His authority wasn't going

to be exercised that way.

And so for now, he told the

demons to be quiet because

he was going to show people

in his own time what he'd

come to do, what was

driving his mission, what

purpose sent him to other

towns with such urgency to

proclaim the kingdom of God.

You see, most of Jesus'

Jewish contemporaries thought

that they were the good

guys, and the pagans, the

Gentiles, the Romans, they

were the bad guys.

So in that scenario, ending

evil was very easy.

The Messiah should take his

authority and crush the evil

people out there.

But here's the problem.

What if evil isn't just out

there?

What if it's in here as well?

What if we need to be free

not from merely external

enemies, but from internal

enemies of our own making?

How then would the Messiah

use his authority to destroy

evil without destroying us?

How could he cleanse us of

evil and yet somehow make it

so that we too, like the man

in verse 35, can come away

without any harm?

As Luke's gospel unfolds and

then races to its climax, we

see exactly how Jesus does

that.

The secret of Jesus'

authority is that its

ultimate act comes not in a

display of power but of

weakness.

On the cross, Jesus would use

all of his authority to hang

naked and weak to pay the

penalty for our sins.

So that three days later, having

risen from the grave, he could

have all the authority to speak

the liberating word, the most

liberating word of all, the word

of forgiveness and the word of

peace and the word that makes us

right with God, the word of our

justification.

You see, Jesus took up this

ultimate authority and laid it

aside for you.

He was destroyed so that you never

have to be.

And if that's what he's done for

you, if that's how he's already

exercised his authority for

you, then friend, how could you

not trust him?

How could you not trust one who

does that for you?

How could his authority not

ultimately be your true freedom?

In the last battle, the final book

of C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of

Narnia, the whole story revolves

around this little shed, this

little sort of tiny stable.

And from the outside, it looks

pretty beat up and raggedy and

small and confining and sort of

barely big enough for a person to

fit inside.

But once the characters sort of

step in and enter through, they

realize that inside it contains

worlds.

That the inside is bigger than

the outside.

The authority of Jesus is like

that.

From the outside, it looks like

every other authority that we

know.

Constricting, confining, an enemy

to our happiness.

But when you step inside, you find

just the opposite.

That it's an authority unlike any

other.

It's freedom.

And it contains worlds within

worlds.

Some of you have tasted that

freedom.

And his authority really has set

you free.

So keep going, friends.

Further up and further in, as

they say at the end of that

book.

And some of you have been

looking at it from the outside,

maybe for months, maybe for

years.

If so, then this is your moment

right now to step inside.

To accept Jesus' liberating

authority over your life, to

rest in what he's done for you,

and to live in his freedom.

And as the characters at the

end of that story say in wonder,

at the end of Lewis' story, they

say, you know, the further up and

further in you go, the bigger

everything is.

Let's pray.

Father, we confess that we need your

help to trust the authority of

Jesus, the rightful king.

Help us to see it and to see how

much you love us and how much Christ

has done for us so that we might

take a step through that door and

come to know the ultimate freedom

that you bring.

And Father, what ought our

response to these things be?

But to rejoice.

To be glad and joyful that, Jesus,

you have come and you've taken up

your rightful reign.

And you've set us free from all

that oppresses us and all that

destroys us and all that holds us

bound.

Jesus, how could we not rejoice this

morning that you have come and

through laying down your authority,

you have freed us from guilt and

sin and death.

And Jesus, having taken up your

authority again in the resurrection,

you now reign forevermore.

Give us glad hearts this week, Lord

Jesus, that rejoice in you and find

your authority to be a sweet thing, we

pray.

Amen.