Luke 4:31-44 - Power and Authority
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Introduction:
Power and Authority. We mentioned these terms last week but didn’t fully define them. Today we are going to see them illustrated in a mighty way as we see the supernatural works of the Messiah.
Authority describes the overarching divinity of Christ. There is no one higher than Him. This authority has less to do with what He taught and more to do with who He is.
His power is shown through His actions. His power is shown to us in our Scripture today as He triumphs over demons and sickness. We see His authority confirmed by His powerful and divine workings.
Some may claim authority. But it is only by seeing power manifested that confirms that authority given.
Consider law enforcement. They have authority given to them by the government. But without the power of their technology and weapons, their authority would lack power and backing.
In a similar way, my preaching only carries authority when it is the actual Word of God being preached and applied. The ideas and traditions of man are religious in nature and have no real power or authority to change lives. It is only the teaching of the inerrant and all-sufficient Word of God that can change lives and hearts and comes with authority and power.
Let’s jump in and read about the power and authority that Jesus Christ showed while on earth.
Read Full Scripture:
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.
Prayer
Today we will see three domains in which Christ shows His power and authority. The first is…
I. Jesus Has Power and Authority Over Demons (31-37)
I. Jesus Has Power and Authority Over Demons (31-37)
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.
Here is a map of Galilee. As you can see, Capernaum is northeast of Nazareth.
Again, as was his custom as we saw in Luke 4:16, Jesus is teaching on the Sabbath in a synagogue.
As we mentioned last week, the people were astonished by His teaching because it possessed authority. He was unlike any of the other religious leaders of His day.
Look at a parallel verse in Mark 1:22:
And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.
We see Mark delineate the authority of Jesus’ teaching compared to the scribes. You see, the scribes had much of their teaching originating from tradition and man’s ideas. But Jesus came with the very Words of God-made-flesh. Everything He said came with complete authority because there is no higher authority than God Himself!
I realize that our world today wants to disagree with that statement. But friends, the authority of God given through His Word - the Bible - has no match of authority. No matter how powerful someone on this earth seems or appears, it is only God who commands with all authority.
This is why we see Christ referred to as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
Jesus Christ has all power and authority. And we are about to see it played out as we move forward in the following verses.
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.”
In this place designated for the worship of Yahweh and the reading and teaching of Scripture, there is a demon-possessed man who shows up.
For those of you who don’t think Satan and his demons show up in our churches, I pray that you take note here. Sadly, I think it has become apparent that in many of our churches in America, demonic forces have not only shown up at church, they have infiltrated the leadership of many churches.
But moving back to our account, this is where it gets interesting. It must have been a terrifying situation for those present. Here is this demon-possessed man who is challenging Jesus.
However, in the midst of this terrifying situation, we must note that the demon realizes and articulates the power of God over him. Have you come to destroy us? This demon knows that one day all evil will be destroyed and cast into Hell for all eternity. He even fears that before that, Christ might throw Him into the Abyss which is a holding place for some of the worst of the worst of the demon world (2 Peter 2:4, Revelation 20:1-3, Revelation 9:11 and Luke 8:31). Luke 8:31 clearly articulates this holding place for some demons:
Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss.
“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.”
Interestingly, after questioning whether Jesus was ready to cast him into the Abyss, this demon does something remarkable. In the process of this interchange, this demon actually proclaims that Jesus is the Messiah! It is interesting that most of Jesus’ followers haven’t even grasped this yet! Some don’t seem to grasp it fully until after His resurrection!
This is an important fact for us to realize. You can know and believe that Jesus is the Messiah and not be saved. Listen to James, the half-brother of Jesus write on the subject:
You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
Even the demons believe and shudder. A true saving faith does not just believe the right facts correctly, it requires submission to the authority of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And this comes by confession of sinfulness, acknowledgement of Christ’s sinless death on the cross and resurrection, and repentance and turning away from sin.
So many people today are like these demons, they know the truth but they don’t know the Truth.
Let me repeat that and have you read the slide along with me:
They know the truth, but they don’t know the Truth.
You see, knowing the truth that Christ is the Messiah and that He is fully God and fully man - that He lived a sinless life and died on the cross - that He rose from the dead. Knowing and believing all of that is not enough to save you. Sadly, many pastors that are well-meaning have preached a false Gospel that following Christ is easy. Salvation is most certainly simple but it is not easy.
You must personally know the Truth - namely Christ as your Lord and Savior. You must also repent of your sins and submit to Christ. And this is the very thing that Satan and his demons refused to do. And this is also the very thing that many false converts in our churches and our culture refuse to do as well. They have a head knowledge, but their heart is far from Him.
I pray that you are not like that. I pray that you don’t hear the phrase, depart from me I never knew you from Christ (Matthew 7:23). Instead, may you hear well done, good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:23).
Moving forward to the demonic encounter in verse 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.
Jesus rebukes the demon and casts him out. Not only does Jesus supernaturally cast out the demon but the man - being thrown to the ground by this demon in the midst of all who were there - is left without any harm.
What amazing power and authority is shown here by Christ. And the crowd obviously notices it as well…
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.
The people are amazed at the power and authority of Christ. This power has been demonstrated through His works. This obviously is a catalyst for the news about Jesus to spread even more rapidly. The people had seen a great work of Jesus. He has shown His power over the forces of evil. For quite some time, the people had lived in fear of demon-possessed men such as this one in the synagogue. And now they found a Savior who the forces of evil were no match for.
Jesus has power and authority over demons. He also…
Scripture References: Luke 4:16, Mark 1:22, Revelation 19:16, 2 Peter 2:4, Revelation 20:1-3, Revelation 9:11, Luke 8:31, James 2:19, Matthew 7:23, Matthew 25:23
II. Jesus Has Power and Authority Over Debility (38-39)
II. Jesus Has Power and Authority Over Debility (38-39)
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.
The word debility means a state of being weak, feeble, or sick. Christ is about to show his power and authority over illness and debility in this account.
After this amazing interchange between Jesus and a demon, He goes to Simon Peter’s house. This is Peter the disciple. His mother-in-law was very ill and Luke asserts that she had a high fever. This seems to be more of a life-threatening illness because of urgent context given to us by Luke. The ‘they’ that appealed to Jesus likely refers to her family including Simon Peter as well as possibly friends.
So what does Jesus do in this intense situation. His disciple’s mother-in-law is sick - maybe even near death?
And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.
Jesus stood over her and rebuked the fever. Jesus healing was immediate and complete. Immediately she rose and began to serve them. It was like as if nothing had happened! How amazing is Jesus’ power and authority that He even has power over illness.
When Jesus heals - He heals quickly and all the way! Contrary to many of the so-called faith-healers today that work for financial gain, Jesus’ work was done well and thorough and from a heart of selflessness and not a means of personal gain.
Here we have seen that Jesus Christ not only has the power and authority over demons, but also debility and illnesses.
Luke’s choice of the word rebuke here has led some to come to some incomplete and erroneous theological views.
This is an important thing to understand. According to Robert Stein in his commentary on Luke, this is the only time in Luke’s writing that we see the words of healing directed at the disease rather than the person. This word rebuke used by Luke here has led some to falsely believe that Jesus’ healings were actually all combating demonic works. This would be an extreme, incomplete, and erroneous view when looking at the Scriptures however.
Let’s address the causes of sickness and illness in our world today.
Sickness and Illness Is Caused or Allowed…
1. Due to the Fall. (Genetic Mutations, General Curse on the World and Body)
Although sickness and disease are all a result of the fall, we do not see demonic work in all illnesses and sickness. Some illness and sickness is a result of genetic mutation from the Fall. These are not necessarily directly demonic in nature, but are a result of the curse of sin in our world. Even the earth groans because of the sin that has been inflicted on it through man’s sin.
For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
And as part of the judgment on sin, God also limited the years of man on the earth as seen in the book of Genesis.
Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.”
All of this points to the broad effects of sin on all of mankind.
Many illnesses and diseases are not a result of one’s personal sin. We see that sometimes things happen as a result of the curse from sin on this world and the sin that has afflicted it. See what Jesus says in Luke 13:4:
Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?
For many of us who are afflicted by disease and trials, it is not because we are a worse sinner than anyone else around us.
We should always hesitate to ever judge others when we see hardships and afflictions befall them. Many times, these afflictions and hardships are not as a result of their own personal sin. Instead it is because of the overall sin of the world. And occasionally - but certainly not always - these afflictions may in fact be driven by evil forces.
Sickness and Illness Is Caused or Allowed…
2. As a Result of Judgment
Although much of the illness and sickness we see today are a result of the overall fall of mankind, we do see that God sometimes sends illness and affliction as a result of judgment.
In one such instance we see God send disease as a judgment in the case of Jehoram who was an evil king who killed all of his brothers and ruled in an evil way.
And after all this the Lord struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease.
We also see God send boils to the Egyptians as a judgment on them in the sixth plague when they would not let God’s people go and serve Him (Exodus 9:8-12).
There are many other examples of this as well. We must hesitate on assuming this when we look at others as I already asserted in our last subpoint. But it is helpful for us to examine ourselves and be sure that we do not have unconfessed and unrepentant sin. God does not punish those who are His children - Jesus took our punishment on the cross - but He does discipline those He loves (Hebrews 12:5-11).
Sickness and Illness Is Caused or Allowed…
3. To Show God’s Glory
We also see that some sickness is even sent by God to bring Him glory.
Again, the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh.
We know today that leprosy is caused by a bacteria. Here was God afflicting and then healing Moses of leprosy as a sign of His power.
Another example of God allowing illness and affliction for glory is seen in a blind man in the account in John 9:
As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
Jesus Christ went on to heal this blind and God was glorified through this affliction being healed.
Other afflictions are not always sent by God but they are allowed by God to show His glory. He can be glorified even if a person isn’t healed.
Consider people like Joni Eareckson Tada, who has been a quadriplegic after a diving accident at 17. She has brought God tremendous glory through her perseverance and godliness despite her affliction.
Finally,
Sickness and Illness Is Caused or Allowed…
4. To Help Us Grow
Our struggles in this life point us to our Maker. They remind us that we cannot do this all on our own. And they point to our need for a Savior. When everything is going great, we often miss our need for God. He uses our struggles for our good. Because Christ is the greatest good we could ever have.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
In conclusion to this topic, we need to have trust in our Savior that He is righteous and perfect and wants what is best for us. We should examine our hearts and if we have a clean conscience before the Lord we can rest in Him and know that He will sustain us through our affliction. We need to continue trusting and persevering. We must accept that in most situations of suffering, we don’t know why it is happening. But we need to remain faithful and trust our Savior. And we need to rest in His love and sustaining grace in our lives.
Ultimately, you can trust God.
My friends, you can trust God. As a believer in Christ, there is nothing that happens in your life that will not turn out for your ultimate good. He is at work on your behalf. Trust and be faithful.
Finally,
Scripture References: Romans 8:22, Genesis 6:3, Luke 13:4, 2 Chronicles 21:18, Exodus 9:8-12, Hebrews 12:5-11, Exodus 4:6-7, John 9:1-3, Romans 8:28
III. Jesus Has Power and Authority Over Darkness (40-44)
III. Jesus Has Power and Authority Over Darkness (40-44)
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.
I love that this passage ends with the sun setting. Even in the midst of the darkness of night falling in the land, Jesus Christ is exerting his power and authority. Later in this book, Luke asserts that darkness is the time where evil shows itself the most.
When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”
We see this practically today when we consider night clubs, immorality, and crime. The cover of darkness is often when evil is at its peak. Yet, Jesus Christ has power and authority over the darkness. His light shines in the midst of the darkness and overwhelms it. The darkness sees that He is the light as we see demon after demon cry out with the words ‘you are the Son of God!
Darkness has no authority over 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.
And His ministry continues on. He continues shinning light in the dark places on this earth. He continues preaching the good news of the kingdom of God.
May we do the same my friends.
Scripture References: Luke 22:53
Conclusion:
Today we have seen that Christ has power and authority over demons, over debility and illness, and over the darkness.
I pray that as we look at this dark world, that we remember the light of Christ. Despite what we see around us, Jesus has all power and all authority.
We can trust Him for He is loving, good, holy, and righteous.
Even when we don’t understand the why - may we always understand and trust the Who - namely Jesus Christ.
Prayer