A Snapshot of Jesus Ministry. Luke 6:17-19
The Son: Meeting Jesus through Luke • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction:
Introduction:
We are continuing through our series going verse by verse through the Gospel of Luke that we have titled “The Son: From the Manger to the Cross.” This is sermon number 22 in the series and this brief paragraph we have just read together may seem insignificant on the surface, but, there is no such thing as insignificant passages in the Bible. It is the inspired, inerrant, infallible, authoritative Word of God. Every line, every word has been placed there for a reason.
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work.
This is why Paul, would go on to tell young Timothy:
1 I solemnly exhort you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and exhort, with great patience and instruction.
Every bit of it is important and every bit of it is too be taught, preached and cherished.
This brief summary found in these three verses doesn't record some great event. There isn't any life changing conversation taking place, it’s just minutiae that is being used to set the scene leading up to Jesus most famous sermon (The sermon on the mount). Because of this, there is a temptation to just breeze right by it to get to the good stuff.
Remember, Luke is writing his gospel to reveal and prove that Jesus is the Messiah, God in the flesh, the perfect God-Man, the Lord and Savior of the world. He is seeking to prove to his gentile audience that Jesus, as God, came into the world to preach the forgiveness of sin to those who would repent and believe, putting their full faith and trust in Him.
Luke has been moving very quickly, covering the first year or so of Christ ministry in rapid fashion. Giving us immense detail of the first yer and a half of Christ ministry and doing so at a very rapid pace. But every once in a while, Luke seems to hit the pause button by giving us little paragraphs like this that form bridges from one event to another and in doing so gives us a second to come up for air before diving deep again. These bridges are meant to just give us little snapshots of the ministry of Jesus.
This is the fourth time he has done this. The first three were in:
14 Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. 15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
31 Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. 32 And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.
40 When the sun was setting, all those who had any that 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 out and saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of God!” And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.
In this little snapshot, in v.17-19 we see the popularity and power of Jesus ministry in Hi-Def.
We see just how popular Jesus had become in v.17 as he descends down the mountain where he and his 12 apostles had been to a lower flatter spot in order to address the mixed multitude of people below. People had come from all over Judaea, as far away as Jerusalem, and from the coastal region on the other side of the sea of Galilee from the gentile towns of Tyre and Sidon. We don’t know just how big this crowd was, but it was no doubt a large number. Probably several thousand people.
They had come for one reason and one reason alone. To witness for themselves the awesome power of Jesus. This power was witnessed through his teaching, healing the sick and casting out the demonic.
From this little paragraph we can observe three powerful truths regarding the ministry of Jesus come into clear focus. Together this morning we will observe:
The Deity of Christ.
A Display of Heaven.
Divine Compassion.
1.) The Deity of Christ.
1.) The Deity of Christ.
It is the power of Jesus that serves to prove his deity and he proved this through his
A.) Authoritative teaching.
Notice the reason the crowd had gathered
Luke 6:17 (NKJV)
... who came to hear Him...
Over and over again in the four gospel accounts of the life of Jesus we find people saying that Jesus teaching was unlike anyone else.
(At the end of the Sermon on the Mount)
28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
22 So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”
46 The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this Man!”
Jesus preaching was authoritative and bold. He didn't equivocate or appeal to tradition like the teachers of his day and this was the primary emphasis of his ministry on earth, preaching. Jesus was first and foremost a preacher and a teacher.
He came preaching the good news from God that there is:
Forgiveness of sin.
Salvation.
Hope.
Eternal life
Peace
Joy
Heaven.
and that in order to receive these things they must repent of their sinful condition.
17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
And he preached it everywhere he went and to everyone he came in contact with. His priority was the sharing of the Truth.
So authoritative were the words of Jesus that Paul would later write to Timothy and tell him
3 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness,
4 he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions,
The job of a pastor today is to simply preach and pass on the same truths that Jesus preached. If we fail to do this, then we are not fulfilling our role in God’s kingdom.
If you want to be like Jesus, then do what he did and proclaim the truth to everyone that you can!
B.) Ability to heal.
They didn't just gather to hear him preach though, they also gathered to see him heal.
Luke 6:17–19 (NKJV)
17 ...and be healed of their diseases, 18 ...And they were healed. 19 And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.
The miraculous healings preformed by Jesus were done in order to verify the truth that he spoke.
But, there is something we need to understand regarding these healings. They were demonstrations of the creative power of God.
When they had an eye that didn’t function, He gave them one that did.
When they had an ear that didn’t function, He gave them one that did.
When they had a voice that didn’t function, He gave them another one that did.
When they had a limb that was deformed and paralyzed, He gave them a new limb that functioned.
When they had muscles that were atrophied, He gave them muscles that were strong and flexible.
When they had ligaments that were dried up and shriveled or severed, He gave them fresh ligaments.
When they had abdominal organs that didn’t function, He gave them brand new organs.
When they had skin that was eaten away by leprosy, He gave them the skin of a baby.
And he did all of this out of nothing but the sound of his voice or the touch of his hand in the same way that God created the universe out of nothing. Just as he created the universe
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
He created these miracles demonstrating his creative power. Unlike the charlatans of today who claim to heal, Jesus actually did. How, because he was God come down to earth.
C.) Ascendancy over the demonic.
There is a third thing Jesus did in that put his deity on display.
Luke 6:18 (NKJV)
18 as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits....
It is one thing to be sick in your body. To have limbs eyes, ears and organs that don’t function properly. But it is a whole other level of torment to be plagued by demonic possession.
Demons are filthy, vile and evil creatures from the pits of hell that mere humanity is powerless to destroy. But, over and over again we have seen Jesus do what only God can do. Cast out, overcome and destroy the devil and his forces.
We have seen this over and over so far in Luke. In ch 4, he overcame temptation from Satan himself, then he dealt with a demon possessed man in the Nazareth synagogue. Then after healing Peter’s mother-in-law, he stays up all night casting out demons from people. And, here he is in chapter 6 demonstrating his power of the demonic once again on a wholesale level.
15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
2.) A Display of Heaven.
2.) A Display of Heaven.
Jesus roughly 3 1/2 years of ministry on earth gave us just a little taste of what Heaven is going to be like.
A.) In heaven we will dwell with God.
Understand what makes heaven, heaven is the presence of God. We will spend all eternity dwelling in the presence of God and worshipping him around his throne. Jesus was God robed in flesh. For the time he was on earth, people got just a taste of what it will be like to dwell in Gods presence.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.
B.) In Heaven there is no sickness, suffering, disability, sorrow or death.
For all intents and purposes Jesus during his earthly ministry banished all of these things from Judaea.
He never saw someone sick, that he didn't heal. In pain he didn't relieve. Suffering he didn't ease. Disability he didn't fix. Sorrow he didn't turn to joy. And, he never attended a funeral where he didn't raise the person from the dead.
8 He will swallow up death forever, And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the Lord has spoken.
4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
These are the things christians for centuries have longed for and written songs about.
Heaven is that place of extreme joy, where all of the redeemed will see God face to face. Where all disease, disability, death, suffering, sorrow and pain are forever banished. Yet, the people around Galilee experienced first hand for just a short glimpse.
What a Day That Will Be
There is coming a day,
When no heart aches shall come,
No more clouds in the sky,
No more tears to dim the eye,
All is peace forever more,
On that happy golden shore,
What a day, glorious day that will be.
What a day that will be,
When my Jesus I shall see,
And I look upon His face,
The One who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand,
And leads me through the Promised Land,
What a day, glorious day that will be.
There’ll be no sorrow there,
No more burdens to bear,
No more sickness, no pain,
No more parting over there;
And forever I will be,
With the One who died for me,
What a day, glorious day that will be.
What a day that will be,
When my Jesus I shall see,
And I look upon His face,
The One who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand,
And leads me through the Promised Land,
What a day, glorious day that will be.
C.) In Heaven, Satan and his demons will be permanently locked away.
Satan and his minions have been the accusers of Christ children and the oppressors of mankind since Genesis chapter 3. The entire time Jesus walked the earth, the demons trembled at his power and there is coming a day soon when Satan and his minions will be incarcerated in hell for all eternity. No longer able to afflict or tempt the people of God.
10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
3. Divine Compassion.
3. Divine Compassion.
There are so many things Jesus could have done to prove he was God that he didn't choose to do.
For instance:
He could have just stood in front of a crowd and levitated a little bit.
He could have created a tree or some animals by just speaking.
He could have snapped his fingers, killed someone and then snapped again and made them sing and dance
But, he didn't choose to do any of these things. He chose instead to heal people and cast out their demons.
Why? Because at the heart of God is his compassion. Every time Jesus chose to display his power it was done through love and compassion.
19 And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.
No wonder people were jostling around just to get a touch of Jesus.
36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.
14 And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.
34 So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.
41 Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”
13 When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”
It is the compassion of God that sent Christ into this world to die for the sins of mankind.
9 not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.
Give the Gospel
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
These small little verses encapsulate and give us just a little snapshot the ministry of Jesus. They present him as the glorious teacher , powerful healer, and triumphal deliverer of the souls of men. Clearly divine and worthy of all honor, worship and obedience we can give him.
Only God can do the things he did. Only God can offer salvation.