Authority of Jesus

One of the things that Luke has been conveying since the birth narratives in chapters 1 and 2 is the fact that Jesus is the Son of God.

We witness this Jesus’ baptism, genealogy, and his overcoming of the Devil’s temptation in the desert.

But what does it mean to be the Son of God.

Obviously it means that Jesus is God in flesh, truly God and truly man.

It means that his life has significance.

It means that he is the unique and perfect savior.

It means that he is the king of kings and lord of lords.

In addition to all that, it means that Jesus walks around with the same authority as God the Father.

Now for many people, authority is a four letter word.

People don’t like authority.

And maybe that’s because they have been hurt by people in authority.

Maybe it’s b/c they don’t like people telling them what to do.

All we have to do is turn on the TV or Social Media to witness people disrespecting people in authority.

Just a few weeks ago, I saw a man attack a judge b/c he didn’t like the sentencing.

Here’s the thing, we have seen that authority and power corrupt.

It is used for selfish gain.

This is so widely known that British Historian, Lord Acton, once said “Power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

And this isn’t just true for modern societies.

This was true in the Roman Empire of Jesus’ time.

It was true with the religious leaders of his time too.

People who got power wanted to keep that power.

And they would crush those who stood in their way, and push out those who didn’t fit their ideal.

So a lot of people became the outcast.

They were stepped on.

They were broken.

They were the people Jesus came to save.

So with all the corruption in the empire during Jesus’ day, he steps on the scene and demonstrates what true power and authority looks like.

Jesus isn’t corrupted by power.

Instead, Jesus uses his power to bring blessings.

He stands in complete contrast to those who use power for personal gain.

And in the text we are going to examine this morning we see Jesus’ authority and power bring blessing to the world.

Jesus’ authority is shown through his teaching.

Through the casting out of a demon.

And through healing.

And before we examine the word of God, let’s pray.

Luke 4:31–32 CSB

31 Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbath. 32 They were astonished at his teaching because his message had authority.

Authority in Teaching

Just to kind of set the scene.

Jesus has left his home town in Nazareth and has made his way to Capernaum in Galilee.

And as we saw last week, Jesus would go into the synagogue and teach on the Sabbath.

The was habitual for Jesus.

Jesus loved to each.

He was sent to teach.

He is the revelation of God to the earth and so one of the ways he demonstrated who he was by how he taught.

Now the people in Capernaum were astonished at his teaching.

Why were they astonished?

B/c Jesus’ teaching had authority.

What does it mean that Jesus’ teaching had authority?

It’s really two fold.

Jesus’ teaching had the ability to cause conviction and call disciples.

Whenever Jesus spoke, the people responded.

Whether it was with hate, anger, and murder in their hearts like the people in Nazareth.

Or it is with astonishment and devotion as seen with the people in Capernaum.

How could Jesus’ teach so that the people would be convicted?

He taught at the level that his hearers would understand.

Capernaum was filled with, what can best be described as humble town folk.

They were fishermen, merchants, and laborers.

They weren’t the educated elite.

They weren’t those that were well versed in the theological debates of the time.

They were regular people. Living regular lives.

And Jesus met them where they were at.

This stands in contrast to the Teaching of the Religious Leaders of the time.

Which is the second reason that Jesus’ teaching has authority in their eyes.

The teaching of rabbis, then and even today, is a series of quoting what other rabbis had said.

One theologian said “The teachers were in bondage to quotation marks”

Nothing they said had power or authority b/c all they said was simply rehashed by someone else.

The authority with which Jesus spoke was b/c he was the embodiment of God’s wisdom and Knowledge.

The religious teachers at the time simply relied on derived knowledge from other teachers.

Jesus’ teaching was centrally focused on God’s Word.

Not just about God’s Word.

You see the distinction there.

Jesus knew what many religious leaders even today have forgotten.

There is power in the Word of God.

Simply reading and teaching what God has said is powerful.

Paul said that the Gospel is the power of God to save.

The author of Hebrews tells us that the Word of God is living and active.

Even today there are too many who stand behind pulpits or teach Sunday School that believe the power of the Lord is in the eloquence of their speech.

That if we stand up and give entertaining sermonettes about God’s Word that we have done what we are called to do.

And b/c the pulpit has lost faith in the power of God’s word, so have the congregations.

As the pulpit goes so goes the church.

And if we abandon the word of God and do shenanigans to appease itchy ears then we have lost the power.

B/c true power and authority doesn’t come from us, it comes from God’s word.

This isn’t just true for the pastors and preachers, this is true for all believers.

It’s not by your eloquence or flowery language that people’s hearts will change it is only by the Holy Spirit using his Word to convict the world of sin.

You don’t have to be the best speaker.

You don’t have to win an argument.

What you do need to do is what Jesus does and speak the Word of God.

But to do that you need to know the word of God.

So read, memorize, study, and envelop yourself in his word and let it be the power and authority that flows through you.

Imitate Jesus.

So we see here that Jesus’ teaching has authority and power and that through his teaching people are astonished.

And yet Jesus does more to help them see his authority.

Jesus demonstrates his authority over the demonic

Luke 4:33–37 CSB

33 In the synagogue there was a man with an unclean demonic spirit who cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Leave us alone! What do you have 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 and said, “Be silent and come out of him!” And throwing him down before them, the demon came out of him without hurting him at all. 36 Amazement came over them all, and they were saying to one another, “What is this message? For he commands the unclean spirits with authority and power, and they come out!” 37 And news about him began to go out to every place in the vicinity.

Authority over Demons

This is the first miracle mentioned in Luke.

Jesus casts out a demon from a man.

Demons are mentioned a total of 23 times in Luke’s gospel account.

And a majority of those mentions are between this account and the End of Chapter 9.

So Luke is presenting us with a supernatural worldview.

He has done so from the very beginning.

As much as Luke has invested in the history of Jesus life, he is equally interested in exposing the supernatural reality surrounding Jesus too.

From angelic appearances, to the heavenly hosts singing over the sheperds.

To Jesus and the devil’s interaction in the wilderness.

Luke, and all of the biblical authors, have a supernatural view of the world around.

This is where people really fall into 2 camps.

Camp number 1 emphasizes the supernatural world too much.

They tend to see an angel or demon around every corner and under every rock.

If they wake up in the morning and there is a flat tire, it’s b/c the devil is attacking them.

Every evil or stumbling block is attributed to a demon or evil spirit.

Camp number 2 doesn’t spend any time thinking about the supernatural.

They have been influenced by the Enlightening and try to come up with an material or physical explanation for every thing.

Both camps look at each other and think they are crazy.

And I would submit to you that both camps are wrong.

Both extremes are just that extreme.

However, if we want to have a biblical worldview we have to recognize that there is a supernatural realm.

That angels and demons do have influence and sway over the acts within our natural realm.

So we need to be balanced in our understanding of the world around us.

Yes, the demonic and angelic are both at work today.

They both have influence over the affairs of man.

And they aren’t responsible for every sin or wicked affair.

Sometimes, even most of the time, sinful man is responsible for sinful and evil things happening in the world today.

We need to come to the realization that the supernatural realm is mentioned and talked about a lot in the scriptures.

So we can’t dismiss it.

At the same time, we also need to recognize that man is responsible for a lot of the pain and heartache in the world too.

This is the balanced and biblical view of the world around us.

Okay, so back to the scripture at hand.

We see a few things.

The first thing that we see is that the demon possessed this man in the synagogue.

And when this demon possessed man was in the presence of Jesus he screamed with a loud voice.

We would have to admit that it’s pretty weird that the man is possessed and in a synagogue.

Some suggest that the mention of this is Luke’s subtle way of critiquing the spiritual state of Capernaum.

Needless to say, this outburst would have been uncomfortable to every one there.

Because our world is both a material world and a spiritual world we need to understand that Jesus’ coming was more than just to save humanity.

His purpose and goal in coming to earth was to conquer all forces of evil. Including sin, death, and the workers of evil.

So as I stated a few weeks ago, the incarnation, life, and ministry of Jesus was cosmic in scope.

That’s one of the reasons that much of Jesus’ ministry in the gospel accounts shows demonic activity.

His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension isn’t just so we can be saved, but it is also a declaration that the forces of evil will not prevail.

Jesus’ coming isn’t simply to rescue men from sin and death. It is to conquer evil in all it’s manifestations.

Though the good news of Jesus is applied to those who believe, the scope of the gospel is cosmic in nature.

No one but the Triune Lord of the cosmos will win.

And here’s the thing, the demon knows that.

Look at how he addresses Jesus…

Luke 4:34 “34 “Leave us alone! What do you have to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!””

There’s fear in his response to Jesus’ presence.

Fear b/c he recognizes who Jesus is.

Jesus is the “Holy One of God.”

Luke uses this phrase as a synonym for Messiah or Christ.

The HOG is meant to demonstrate Jesus’ identity.

He is the unique and powerful Son of God.

He is the one who has been set apart to accomplish the redemption of his people and the conquering of evil.

It’s ironic that the demons recognize what the religious leaders in Nazareth denied.

That’s because they couldn’t believe that Jesus was the Messiah.

He didn’t look like what they wanted him to look like.

He didn’t meet their expectations.

But the devil and now the demon in this man, know exactly who has shown up.

and the fear is real.

The fear that radiates from the demon is talked about by James.

James talks about the fact that the demons know about God and tremble with fear.

James 2:19 “19 You believe that God is one. Good! Even the demons believe—and they shudder.”

The demon here just wants to be left alone, but Jesus isn’t going to let that happen.

Through the authority and power he has he will dispel this demon and free the captive.

So Jesus rebukes this demon and he leaves the man’s body.

And with one last ditch effort before being expelled from his body, the demon tries to injure his host.

Did you notice that?

Luke 4:35 “... And throwing him down before them, the demon came out of him without hurting him at all.”

The demon throws the body he possessed down, but Jesus protected this man.

He was not injured.

He was saved.

He was freed.

He was made whole.

Jesus is accomplishing his mission and demonstrating his authority and power.

Jesus didn’t have to recite special words.

He didn’t have to perform a certain ritual.

He didn’t have to partake in pomp and circumstance.

With his words he dismissed the demon and save the man.

“Come out of him” that’s all it took for the demon to be cast out.

Again, b/c of Jesus’ authority.

Satan and his minions do have power and influence in the world.

But God still has authority over them.

At his very word they will forever be conquered.

The people here stand in awe of Jesus authority.

They had witnessed it in his teaching.

Now they had witnessed it through the casting out of the demon.

The crowd at the synagogue recognized his authority and his power.

And through this witness of Jesus’ power they ask this question… “What is his Message?”

Notice this, it is through the demonstration of his power that Jesus’ message starts pull people to him.

I have said this before and will say it again, the miracles are always in service to the message.

As we will see in a few minutes, the message is always more important and a bigger focus than the miracles.

Miracles are great, but they aren’t the good news.

The good news is a message.

The king has come to redeem his people.

The king has conquered sin and death.

The king has power and authority over evil.

And it’s not just that he has power over evil.

Jesus next demonstrates his power over illness.

Luke 4:38–42 CSB

38 After he left the synagogue, he entered Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him about her. 39 So he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up immediately and began to serve them. 40 When the sun was setting, all those who had anyone sick with various diseases brought them to him. As he laid his hands on each one of them, he healed them. 41 Also, demons were coming out of many, shouting and saying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah. 42 When it was day, he went out and made his way to a deserted place. But the crowds were searching for him. They came to him and tried to keep him from leaving them.

Authority over All

After we read about Jesus’ authority in teaching and over the demon.

We get a snapshot of what Jesus’ ministry would look like.

We see here, first, that there is the personal healing of Peter’s mother-in-law.

She was sick with fever.

Unable to be hospitable to her guests.

I know the feeling.

Whenever fever hits it’s something different.

You could feel like the strongest person in the world.

But the moment you get a fever weakness sets in and even the most mundane of tasks become overwhelming.

And the higher the fever, the more draining it can be.

Luke here tells us that this lady suffers from a high fever.

Remember Luke is a physician.

So he speaks with some insight to the problem here.

This lady is debilitated.

She can’t do anything.

And the family is extremely concerned about her b/c they didn’t just want to wait it out, rather they wanted Jesus to see about her.

They wanted a miracle.

Surely they had seen what Jesus did with the demon, so they asked Jesus to look after this lady.

And what does he do?

He gets up and rebukes the fever and it leaves.

This is the only time in Scripture that we are told that Jesus rebukes an illness.

Most of the time Jesus just heals, but here he rebukes it.

But here, Jesus speaks to the virus, bacteria, or whatever is causing the fever.

And guess what it obeys.

There is no thing that doesn’t obey the voice of the Lord.

He is the God of visible and invisible.

All things that are created must obey his command.

From the highest mountain, to the unseen atom.

Everything is under the sovereign control of The Lord.

Everything lives in subservience to the Lord.

And at his rebuke not only did the fever leave, but the woman got up and began to serve the people.

She had been restored.

Fully and completely.

At the word of Jesus and rebuke of the virus restoration had occured.

This isn’t a fluke either.

It’s not like Jesus got lucky.

Jesus continued to heal

Anyone who was sick or diseased were brought to him.

And he continued to heal.

He laid his hands on them and they were made well.

In addition to the healings, more demons showed up.

And what did they show up to do?

They were declaring his identity.

“You are the Son of God” v. 41

They knew he was the messiah, the one sent by God.

But he didn’t want his identity to be widespread just yet.

So he silenced them.

It wasn’t time for the fullness of Jesus’ meaning and message to be recognized by everyone.

Discretion was still needed at this point of Jesus’ ministry.

So the demons were silenced

Jesus was exhausted from his time of healing and teaching and needed some rest.

He was out with the people all night.

Look v. 40 says, “When the sun was setting”

And v. 42 says, “When it was day”

Jesus spent all night healing.

all night casting out demons.

And the frail human body he was in needed a break.

So he made his way to a place of isolation.

A deserted place.

But the people kept searching for him.

They wanted more of Jesus.

They didn’t want him to leave.

Luke 4:43–44 CSB

43 But he said to them, “It is necessary for me to proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because I was sent for this purpose.” 44 And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

Luke Examples of Jesus’ Ministry (4:31–44)

When at the break of day Jesus departs, the crowd follows and tries to keep him in Capernaum. Yet again Jesus speaks of his mission: “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns.” This is why Jesus has been sent. The content of this kingdom message is seen in what Luke has already supplied (4:16–30): Jesus fulfills the promise. When John the Baptist raises the question again later, Jesus’ answer points to such fulfillment (7:18–23). Jesus does not proclaim who he is; he lets events explain who he is. For him, actions speak louder than words. He is more than an ethical instructor or a psychologist; he has power to overcome the forces of evil that plague humanity. His ministry is not designed for a little corner, but it extends far and wide to take the message out to others. So Jesus takes his message and ministry to the other synagogues of Galilee.

Luke, Vol. 1—That You May Know the Truth Chapter 18: Kingdom Authority

That storied day in Nazareth when he took up the scroll of Isaiah and read, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor,” he was preaching the kingdom of God. His emphasis on the poor, the prisoners, the blind, and the oppressed was an implicit summary of the humble spiritual state of those to whom the kingdom comes. But Jesus’ insistence upon this sense of spiritual inadequacy so enraged the self-satisfied Nazareth congregation that they attempted to kill him.

Luke, Vol. 1—That You May Know the Truth Kingdom Authority and the Nation (vv. 42–44)

This is the first mention of “the kingdom of God” in the Gospel of Luke, a phrase that will occur thirty-seven more times in that book. It means “Jesus’ activity in bringing salvation to men and the sphere which is thereby created” (Marshall). The kingdom had a past manifestation because God has always been sovereign, as Psalm 24:1 attests: “The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein” (KJV). And past saints are identified in Luke’s Gospel as part of the kingdom: “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out” (13:28). The kingdom of God was also present with Christ and is present in the lives of his spiritual children, as Jesus explained: “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). Lastly, of course, the kingdom is future (cf. Luke 11:2; 13:28, 29; 19:11; 21:31).

CSB Study Bible: Notes Chapter 4

A full-blown concept of the kingdom includes: (1) the King (ruler), (2) the rule itself (sovereignty to rule), (3) the realm being ruled (this world), and (4) those ruled (individuals who believe the good news of Jesus Christ). In addition, some passages in the Gospels present the kingdom of God as already present in at least some senses (Mt 12:28) while others speak of it as being still future (Mt 6:10).

Luke, Vol. 1—That You May Know the Truth Closing Reflections

Wherever Christ went, the kingdom went. When men and women come to him in faith, the kingdom enters their hearts. All true believers are part of the kingdom to come.

Luke, Vol. 1—That You May Know the Truth Closing Reflections

Furthermore, praying “Your kingdom come” involves a commitment to do God’s will. Matthew’s record of the Lord’s Prayer expands this phrase: “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (6:10). To pray “Your kingdom come” is to pray for the bending of our wills in profound obedience to his. It is a commitment to consciously submit everything to his authority.

This is not a prayer for people who want to stay the way they are. When we pray like this, we hand ourselves over to the grace of God so that he may do as he pleases in our lives—“Your kingdom come in my life. Use me in your kingdom!”

Luke, Vol. 1—That You May Know the Truth Closing Reflections

Add to this the modern anti-authority malaise, the uniquely American worship of independence and individualism, the “Don’t tread on me,” “Security by Smith and Wesson” attitude, and we have a potent recipe for a profound inability to truly submit to any authority, even that of Christ himself. This is why so many moderns have no kingdom power. You cannot enjoy a kingdom unless you are submitted to the king.

Have you ever officially submitted everything to the rule of Christ? Your will—your future—your ambitions—your longings—your vocation—your spouse—your children—your independence—your heart? Why not do it now?

Your kingdom come, Lord Jesus!

The ESV Study Bible Chapter 4

Jesus is called not just to heal but to preach and teach the good news. to the other towns as well. Neither Nazareth nor Capernaum had “exclusive rights” to Jesus’ time and ministry (see vv. 25–27). Luke often refers to what must be, emphasizing the necessity of God’s providential plan being fulfilled. Preach … the kingdom of God is the first of 31 such references in Luke. “Kingdom” should be interpreted dynamically as “reign,” not statically as a territory (see Introduction: Key Themes). Jesus was sent by God.