Luke 4:31-44 - The Great Conflict

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Amen. That's the story we talk about every week, isn't it?

The story that never can get old to us of that Savior that God has sent,

of what He's done, of how it impacts us. We're going to talk about it again this morning.

We're back in Luke 4 today.

Next week we will take a break briefly from Luke to talk about what God's Word has to say

about some significant events coming up soon in the life of our country.

So you'll not want to miss that, or maybe you will, one way or the other.

But last week in Luke 4 we heard Jesus lay out the blueprint for His kingdom ministry.

It's what Ron was just talking about as he's led us through the service this morning.

Jesus coming to bring freedom, to bring release, to proclaim it, and to provide it.

Word and deed together in His ministry.

Last week Jesus was preaching in the synagogue and the focus was on the words that He was proclaiming.

This week we begin to see some of the deeds, some of the reality of that, the demonstration of the kingdom.

We can talk and Jesus can say, this is what I'm coming to do and this is why I was sent.

And now Jesus starts to show us.

We start to see what it looks like and what it feels like when the King shows up.

Glimpses and tastes of freedom and release.

What happens when Jesus the King begins to move.

I'm going to read beginning in verse 31 of Luke chapter 4.

Luke 4 · chapter mention

Notice as I do that most of this story happens in one day.

There's a lot that happens.

But honestly it's just another normal Sabbath day in many ways.

Perhaps like your day today.

Jesus goes to church in the morning.

He has lunch at a friend's house.

And then by evening some more people show up and come over to hang out.

But a seemingly normal day is anything but normal when Jesus is involved.

Into the mundane normalcy of life here, Jesus brings the power of the kingdom.

Follow this story as I read at verse 31 of Luke 4.

God's holy word.

This carefully researched account from Luke.

And he 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 the other towns as well.

For I was sent for this purpose.

And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

Pray with me.

Father, we come to your word and give you thanks for it.

It is indeed the only infallible rule of faith and practice.

The authority on which we can rest.

The place where we can trust.

The truth in which we can have confidence.

And so, Father, we come trusting.

We come expectant.

That when your word is opened and it intersects with our hearts,

that your spirit will do things that we wouldn't have expected could happen.

That you will not merely teach us, but that you will change us.

By your word and by your spirit.

Would you do that now as we look to this portion of your word and we ask it in Jesus' name.

Amen.

I grew up on Disney princess movies, among other things.

At least, I hope there were other things.

But all of those great classic movies.

Great fairy tales where most of which have at the center, like many good stories,

this conflict between good and evil, right?

Constantly.

No matter which one you're watching.

Whether you're watching Belle versus Gaston.

Or Ariel versus Ursula.

Jasmine versus Jafar.

Pick your favorite one.

They're all centered around that kind of idea.

And I would find myself, no matter which one I was watching,

pulling for the good guys, right?

Naturally, you're pulled in that way.

For the good guy to come out on top against the villain.

Some of you may prefer Luke versus Darth.

Frodo versus Sauron.

Sherlock versus Moriarty.

Even Harry versus Voldemort.

Regardless of which one you prefer.

We all know these great stories of good versus evil, right?

That conflict, though, is not merely in movies and fairy tales.

One of the reasons that those stories so resonate with us

is that they reflect the great conflict of good versus evil

that underlies all of history.

It's the battle between a good and holy God

and the fallen angel Satan and his evil spirits.

In this passage, we see in real space and time,

in the unfolding of human history,

a crucial battle in the great conflict.

And what we will see in this story

is that King Jesus demonstrates his unrivaled power

in the great war between good and evil.

Before we look again at Luke chapter 4,

Luke 4 · chapter mention

we need to set this passage and that conflict

that I'm talking about

in the context of the greater story that the Bible tells.

So if you turn all the way back to Genesis,

it's at the very beginning of the story

that we will see the battle lines drawn.

What's at issue in this conflict?

You know the story begins with God creating, right?

God makes a good creation

with humanity as the crown of his creation,

created to live in perfect relationship with him,

to reflect his image in his creation,

to rule over the rest of his creation.

That's how the story starts.

Here's mankind to be in this intimate,

close relationship with God.

And then enter Satan, the serpent,

who we later find out has rebelled against God

and his good authority.

And Satan draws humanity, Adam and Eve,

into his rebellion, doesn't he?

Against God.

He tempts them to distrust God,

to disobey God's commands,

and therefore to disrupt

their good relationship with God.

As a result of this rebellion,

God comes in and God pronounces a curse,

a curse on the serpent,

on Adam and Eve,

and on all of creation,

as a matter of fact.

God's good creation has been marred

by the ones intended to care for it

and rule over it.

Thorns and thistles,

diseases and death

enter the perfect creation.

And so the battle lines are drawn, right?

There they are.

Satan is attacking the world God has made

and the people that he made for himself

to live in relationship with.

Satan would have all of that for himself.

The world and the people.

He wants it.

And God, in pronouncing the curse,

launches a counterattack, so to speak.

Genesis chapter 3, verse 15,

Genesis 3:15

when God is cursing the serpent,

he says,

I'm going to put enmity

between you and the woman.

Hostility.

There will be war

between your offspring and her offspring.

He shall bruise your head

and you shall bruise his heel.

See that conflict between good and evil?

All the way back at the beginning of the story.

The enmity between God and the serpent

resulting in enmity

between the serpent and the woman

and her offspring.

A battle will unfold.

But God promises, even here,

that it's one that he,

and in particular,

a particular offspring of the woman,

will win.

So now fast forward to Luke chapter 4.

Luke 4 · chapter mention

With the arrival of the Son of God,

the Messiah,

onto the scene of human history

where this battle has been waged,

this great conflict has been underway now

for centuries,

and he shows up

and it begins to rage much more intensely.

The heat is turned up.

Already we saw a couple weeks ago

at the beginning of Luke 4

that Satan tempts Jesus,

as he did Adam and Eve, right?

To disobey God.

To distrust Him

and His good care for them.

He doesn't have your best interests at heart.

Take another way

rather than God's way, Jesus.

You can get what you want

by this path.

And Jesus faithfully responds

by trusting and following God's Word.

The second Adam, Jesus,

succeeds where we

and the first Adam have failed.

He succeeds three times

in painful,

physically painful circumstances.

Jesus conquers Satan.

And Satan leaves him, right?

Defeated,

but not yet giving up.

Leaves, Luke tells us,

until an opportune time.

The war continues.

Then in the passage we read this morning,

Jesus leaves Nazareth,

His hometown,

and heads to Capernaum.

I love Luke's careful attention

to detail

and historical foundation,

building for us something

that we can trust

and rooting it

in places we know.

Just like Nazareth,

Capernaum is easy to locate.

The eyewitnesses there

could testify easily

to the veracity

of these accounts.

Evil spirits may sound

fanciful to you.

You think,

oh, come on.

You know, evil spirits,

and what is all of this?

This is no fairy tale

of good versus evil.

This is the real deal.

Hundreds of people

are impacted,

perhaps thousands,

by what we read.

They have been there,

many of them,

to tell about it,

to confirm,

did this indeed happen?

You can still see today,

in fact,

the ruins of the synagogue

in Capernaum.

In the top left there

in this picture,

the white limestone,

is ruins of the synagogue

that was built

in the fourth century.

And you'll see down here

the black basalt rock.

That's the material

that was actually used

to build the synagogue

on that exact same site

that Jesus would have preached in.

You can still see portions of it

remaining underneath

the white limestone synagogue.

Right here in human history,

in places you can still go

and see and touch,

Jesus shows up.

And so here we are

in the long day

that I spoke of earlier.

It's Sunday, right?

And Jesus finds Himself where?

Preaching at church.

Notice verse 32.

Even before any of the miracles start,

even before the wonderful things

He's going to do,

His authority is evident

in His words, isn't it?

Just in what He's saying,

they're astonished

at His teaching

for His word possessed authority.

He didn't preach

like the teachers of the law

that the people were used to.

Most of them preached

in the style of the day,

which went like this.

They would open up the scroll

and read the passage of Scripture.

And then when they sat down

to preach,

what they would do

is they would recite

one rabbi after another.

He says this.

He says that.

This guy says

the passage means this.

But this guy,

on the other hand,

takes a different view.

That's the way

that they preached regularly.

Not so with Jesus.

He speaks as one

with authority.

He speaks for Himself,

doesn't He?

Last week,

today this Scripture

is fulfilled

in your hearing.

You want to know

what this passage

from Isaiah means?

Today it's fulfilled

in your hearing.

Says who?

Says me.

I declare to you

the truth of God

straight from me

on my own authority.

But then Jesus' authority

is challenged

in this passage.

Satan's minions

have entered people

in Capernaum.

And when they encounter Jesus,

they attack,

don't they?

Verse 34 and verse 41,

we hear them crying out

the identity of Jesus.

Jesus of Nazareth.

The Holy One of God.

The Son of God.

These are terms

of attack actually.

Part of gaining

the upper hand

in conflict

is knowing your opponent.

Being able

to identify them.

The demons say,

I know you.

I know who you are.

Did you hear

that declaration of war?

I know who you are

so I can control you.

I'm against you.

What are you coming

against us with,

Jesus of Nazareth?

The demons declaring war,

the attack that's there,

but also doing something else,

seeking to discredit Jesus.

What's the quickest way

to discredit somebody

for them?

Hey,

if the demons

are the first ones

to tell you who he is,

that's definitely

not who he is, right?

If I heard it first

from the demons,

I'm never gonna believe it.

So if the demon yells

he's the son of God,

he's the holy one of God,

that can't be true.

And so Jesus does what?

He silences them immediately.

Both times that they say this,

Jesus rebukes them.

Who's in charge?

Jesus is in charge.

He sends them away

and does not even

allow them to speak.

So great is his authority

over them.

Jesus rebukes Satan

and his demons

and he shows his power

in doing so.

The people notice,

don't they?

Look at verse 36.

What do the people say

about Jesus

when they see him

cast these demons out?

Verse 36.

Verse 36,

they look at him

and they say,

what's going on?

What is this word?

For with authority and power

he commands the unclean spirits

and they come out.

What is it

when he speaks like that?

With authority and power

he commands the unclean spirits.

He speaks with authority

and he backs it up

demonstrating his authority

so that it's undeniable

who's in charge.

The kingdom of Jesus

comes in power.

A king who powerfully

brings freedom

to those in the bondage

of Satan

and he does it

with a word.

This is not just a king

who says things

like what Ron read earlier.

You can have freedom.

You can have release

from your bondage

but it's just wishful thinking.

No.

The king comes with power

and where he shows up

there is freedom.

When he speaks

he acts.

The people are amazed.

What likely amazes them

is the simplicity

and the authority

with which he

casts out the demons.

There were people

who attempted exorcisms

back in these days

and they did it

with a lot of elaborate

tricks and spells.

You would think of

hocus pocus type

stuff that happened.

Jesus doesn't do anything

tricky.

No fancy words.

He just commands

the demons to come out.

Jesus simply

and authoritatively

speaks

and the power

of the king

is evident

in its simplicity

and in its freeing power

that it actually happens

as he says.

Jesus comes

to set captives free

and in order

to do that

if he's going

to set the captive free

as he later explains

you first have to

bind the strong man

holding them captive

and then you can set

the captives free

and so Jesus

does that.

He binds

the strong man

Satan.

The stronger man

Jesus

comes to demonstrate

his great power.

He overpowers

Satan

and then

sets the captives

free

from the demons.

He speaks

the word

they must

obey

and many people

are released

from their bondage

and entirely

unharmed

aren't they?

Protected

by King Jesus.

The demon

comes out of him

and he is not

harmed.

So Jesus

is showing himself

greater

and stronger

than Satan

and his demons.

But he doesn't

stop there.

You remember

the forces of evil

have wreaked

havoc

on God's

good creation

right?

You know

just think about

what's happened

since the fall

of man.

all of the ways

that this curse

on God's creation

has played itself out.

They've brought

all of creation

under a curse

and so even

when Satan

and his minions

aren't personally

present

the evil

of the fall

their trail

of brokenness

and destruction

and disease

persists

doesn't it?

They're limited

in where they can be

but the effects

of what they've caused

run rampant

throughout

the world.

So perhaps

Jesus is too weak

or too late

to be able

to handle

all the destruction

that they've caused.

What will he be able

to do?

Is it possible

that they've brought

so much devastation

that the king

won't be able

to push it back?

No way.

No way.

Not this king.

He is coming

as we sang

just a few minutes ago

to make his blessing

flow

where?

Far as the curse

is found

everywhere

all over the place

throughout creation

watch as Jesus

rebukes

the effects

of the fall.

Verse 38

He arose

and left the synagogue

and entered

Simon's house.

Simon's mother-in-law

was ill

with a high fever

and so they

appealed to Jesus

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.

I said Jesus

rebukes

the effects

of the fall

which may sound

a little odd

or strange

to you.

It seems to make

them personal

that he's speaking

to them

and rebuking them.

It's because

he uses

the exact same

word here

as he does

when he rebukes

the demons

twice in this passage.

He rebukes

the fever

here

and it

leaves her.

While it may be

a fever

an effect

of the fall

rather than

a personal

enemy

Jesus sees

the two

as connected

in the great

conflict

doesn't he?

This may not be

the personal

enemy

Satan

and his demons

but this is part

of what they have

brought

into this

creation

and again

Jesus demonstrates

his power.

This is a

serious

fever

perhaps

even malaria

related

that Dr. Luke

carefully

diagnoses

for us

and it is

no match

for King

Jesus

that dear woman

is so

freed from

her fever

that she is

immediately

up and

serving

right away

fully

functional

back to

her healthy

self

immediately

but Jesus

is not

finished

with one

fever

verse 40

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

not just

the one

fever

but now

the sun

goes down

on the

Sabbath

and the

people are

able now

again

to carry

people

that they

weren't allowed

to carry

on the

Sabbath

and so

they begin

to bring

them to

Jesus

over and

over

person

after person

they bring

the sick

to him

and with a

personal

touch

Jesus

heals

them all

that was

uncommon in

this culture

you didn't

touch

the sick

in order

to heal

and Jesus

reaches and

touches and

heals

though many

people are there

they're not mere

numbers to

Jesus

he's not just

trying to

increase his

count

and how

impressive it

is

no he

cares

personally

he rules

over all

these effects

of the fall

many various

diseases

to bring

freedom

and to bring

it to

particular

people

that he cares

about

specifically

and personally

freeing them

from the

darkness

that they

are living

under

and restoring

them

to health

see this is

what happens

when the king

shows up

isn't it

this is what

the kingdom

looks like

and feels

like

good starts

to push

back

evil

light begins

to drive

out

darkness

blessing

starts

overcoming

the curse

wherever it

is found

when Jesus

and his

kingdom

show up

somewhere

Satan

is run

out of

town

the effects

of the fall

are reversed

people

experience

freedom

listen

this is not

a fairy tale

this is not

just a nice

story

friends

this is

this is

Jesus

this is

the king

we know

and serve

this is

our older

brother

the one

who is

alive

and ruling

and working

in our

lives

by his

spirit

so I

say to

those of

you who

are weary

in the

fight

who feel

like you're

losing the

battle

like darkness

is closing

in

be of

good cheer

listen

in your

life

for the

soft

footsteps

and the

strong

voice

of the

king

and have

hope

because of

him

we do

indeed

have an

active

personal

enemy

Satan

who is

constantly

waging

spiritual

warfare

against

us

we do

live in

a world

where the

effects of

the fall

and the

power of

darkness

are all

over our

hearts

and our

world

day in

and day

out

we're

confronted

with it

it looks

different

for each

of us

you may

be suffering

under the

bondage

of

pornography

you may

be suffering

under the

bondage

of

bitterness

and

unforgiveness

the

bondage

of

addiction

the

bondage

of

oppression

many of

those

that we

we confessed

our struggle

with

and our

bondage

to

earlier

in our

world

these

kinds

of

bondage

often feel

inescapable

don't

they

you've

felt

that

before

there'll

be no

end

to this

captivity

but know

this

while the

struggle

may be

hard

King

Jesus

rules

over

all of

these

in order

to bring

freedom

the

struggle

may

persist

even

to help

you

lean

more

upon

his

strength

and

trust

him

more

deeply

trust

his

love

for

you

but

don't

lose

heart

King

Jesus

fights

and

wins

for

you

and

he

will

Southwood

as we

seek

to bring

the

kingdom

to bear

in

Huntsville

we

should

expect

King

Jesus

to bring

freedom

we

come up

against

all

sorts

of

bondage

you

may

feel

like

you're

beating

your

head

against

the

wall

running

into

the

bondage

created

by

unjust

systems

the

bondage

of

generational

poverty

the

bondage

of

power

hungry

leaders

and

money

hungry

payday

lenders

and

you

think

there's

nothing

that can

help

look

again

to

King

Jesus

who

rules

over

all

of

these

two

to

bring

freedom

and

go

forward

with

him

the

bondage

you

can't

seem

to

break

through

is

pushing

you

to

trust

him

more

because

he's

the

one

with

the

power

so

don't

lose

heart

King

Jesus

fights

and

wins

for

you

and

through

you

his

church

where

King

Jesus

is

proclaimed

and

promoted

Satan

evil

and

all

the

effects

of

the

fall

are

pushed

back

before

King

Jesus

angels

prostrate

fall

demons

shudder

Satan

himself

flees

and

all

of

creation

rejoices

in the

power

of her

king

that's

what

happens

when

the

king

shows

up

that's

what

happens

in

your

life

that's

what

happens

in

your

neighborhood

in

your

friend's

life

in

your

spouse's

life

in

your

kid's

life

when

Jesus

shows

up

that's

good

news

it's

been

quite a

day

for

Jesus

right

the

kingdom's

been

power

going

out

from

him

all

over

the

place

it's

not

surprising

perhaps

the next

morning

we find

him

alone

and

Mark

tells

us

in

his

gospel

that

he's

praying

look

at

the

end

of

our

passage

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

the

other

towns

as

well

for

I

was

sent

for

this

purpose

and

he

was

preaching

in

the

synagogues

in

Judea

can

you

blame

the

people

in

Capernaum

I

mean

after

all

the

great

things

that

he's

doing

hey

hang

around

Jesus

stay

a

while

I

like

how

this

feels

you

know

neat

things

happening

if I

ever

need

a

doctor

it

seems

to

go

pretty

quickly

this

is

wonderful

stay

around

they

would

have

had

him

stay

but

Jesus

is

no

localized

domesticated

miracle

worker

is

he

you

can't

tame

this

king

he

must

go

the

kingdom

is

not

for

any

one

ethnic

group

or

any

one

geographical

region

Jesus

must

go

elsewhere

because

this

is

why

he

was

sent

his

mission

is

bigger

than

Capernaum

isn't

it

the

good

news

of

his

kingdom

the

freedom

the

release

the

forgiveness

the fact

that it

is

now

jubilee

for

everyone

because

the

king

is

here

that

needs

to

be

shared

elsewhere

the

fight

against

evil

must

be

carried

on

more

must

be

brought

in

to

hear

and

taste

and

feel

the

kingdom

now

Jesus

has

certainly

lodged

some

resounding

initial

victories

here in

Capernaum

on this

one

day

but

this

reminder

I

think

at the

end

of the

passage

is

here

particularly

to help

us

remember

that it's

not

over

the

mission

for which

he was

sent

is not

yet

complete

Jesus

says

the

conflict

with

evil

not

yet

over

and that

points us

to where

it's all

headed

you see to

this point

Jesus

has merely

been

declaring

and asserting

his authority

over Satan

and his

demons

right

pronouncing it

with a word

that he is

in charge

he declares

his power

over Satan

and the

demons

that he

as they have

correctly

identified

the holy

son of

God

rules over

them

by divine

right

and fiat

he speaks

and they must

obey

his righteous

word

but he

couldn't just

pronounce

for us

eternal

victory

over Satan

could he

he had to

procure it

he couldn't

just say

that we

win

and it

be a

reality

because

there's

something

wrong

with us

see

when I

think about

watching all

of those

movies

with good

versus evil

in them

I said

I always

end up

rooting for

the good

guys

right

and part

of that

is really

good and

true

because

who always

wins

the good

guys

because

that story

reflects

this story

and so

you like

to root

for them

we like

to root

for the

winning

team

but I

think

along

the way

I

convince

myself

that

it's not

just

that I'm

cheering

for the

good

guys

to win

but I'm

one of

them

I'm on

the good

side

like

I mean

after all

I'm in

church

right

I mean

obviously

this is

the good

side

we naturally

assume

that we're

on the

side of

good

but remember

the beginning

of the

story

you remember

when this

conflict

was first

played out

back in

Genesis

we have

rebelled

against

God

we've

joined

the

rebellion

having

rebelled

we are

in bondage

to sin

by birth

by nature

all of us

the Bible

says

enemies

of God

not

not on

his side

naturally

but his

enemies

and so

Jesus

has to

rescue

us

he doesn't

just

declare

something

he has

to go

do

something

in order

to address

our

problem

to do

that

to rescue

us

he doesn't

just assert

his unrivaled

power and

authority

which he

clearly

has

no he

does

what

he lays

down

his

very

life

on the

cross

the

strong

one

the

mighty

one

before

whom

no one

could

stand

and whom

no one

could

bind

becomes

seemingly

weak

willingly

is held

on the

cross

in order

to rescue

us

and set

us

free

and remarkably

in so doing

when Jesus

goes to the

cross

he actually

achieves

ultimate

victory

over Satan

and evil

Colossians

Colossians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

how does

Paul say it

when you

are dead

in your

sins

and the

uncircumcision

of your

flesh

our

problem

right

we were

dead

God

made you

alive

with Christ

how

he forgave

us all

our sins

having

cancelled

the charge

of our

legal

indebtedness

which stood

against us

and condemned

us

we were

doomed

he did

it

how

he took

it away

nailing

it

to the

cross

and having

disarmed

the powers

and authorities

Satan

and his

demons

he made

a public

spectacle

of them

triumphing

over them

by the

cross

triumphing

over them

when

when was

it clear

when was

the decisive

blow

delivered

on the

cross

at great

cost

to himself

when the

almighty

king

humbled

himself

to the

point

of death

even

death

on a

cross

he achieved

for us

what he

already

had

for himself

victory

power

power

over

Satan

and all

the effects

of evil

in our

world

sin

death

and the

grave

no longer

rule

over us

in fact

death

starts

working

backwards

the effects

of the fall

begin to be

reversed

in our

lives

and in

our

world

I love

the way

the valley

of vision

prayer

says it

Jesus

strides

forth

as the

victor

conqueror

of death

hell

and all

opposing

might

he bursts

the bands

of death

tramples

the powers

of darkness

down

and lives

forever

he

my

gracious

surety

apprehended

for payment

of my

debt

comes

forth