Jesus' Divine Authority

Call to Worship: Luke 1:46b-49 // Prayer

Adoration: Our hearts magnify You, Lord, and our souls rejoice in You, our Savior. For you have looked with grace on our humiliation and trouble. You who possess endless might have done great things for us, and we are eternally blessed. You have comforted us, and spoken tenderly to us through the incarnation of your Son, and You have revealed your eternal glory through him. Holy is Your Name.

Confession: And so, as the people whom you have comforted, we come to you with the confession of our sins: though you have called us to a difficult road, we have often rejected the difficulty and turned to sin for comfort; though you have called to totally prioritize you, yet we have gone after the things of this world in various moments throughout the week. Father, forgive us, for we have sinned against you.

Thanksgiving: Oh great shepherd—you have purchased our forgiveness by your Son’s blood. It is finished. Judgement has been removed forever! In this way you gently lead us, your flock; you gather the lambs in your arms and carry them; you gently lead those who hurting, vulnerable, suffering, penitent. There is no God like you! Salvation belongs to you alone!

Supp: And since you have gathered us and love us, we bring our petitions to you: We ask your help for our deacons and deaconesses: we ask for strong faith and every virtue to flourish in their souls; we ask for endurance, energy, and wisdom as they serve your people for your glory; we ask for good fruit from their service, that as a congregation we might continue to strive forward with one mind, united in worship and witness // and we ask also for Cross Creek Bible Church—please deepen their worship and increase their witness; please give them steadfast faith and bring many out of darkness into light through them! // and Father, we pray in our city and our nation that you would mercifully stop the progress of false gender ideas—the rejection of your creation order, of your design for men and women; we ask that you would especially cause your people to see this for what it is and reject it, and that instead you would give us godly and flourishing families where men and women joyfully embrace your creation order // and we ask for our brothers and sisters in China: as state pressure grows against them, we ask that you would protect targeted leaders, help parents to pass on the faith to their children, and them give boldness and power in life and witness, that you might shine the light of your glory through them // and all these things we trust to you, asking now that you supply us with help as we hear from your word, that our eyes would be opened and our hearts changed...

Family Matters

Reminder: Small Groups have begun--study books on the back table. You’re welcome to join!

Reminder: we’re asking everyone who can to prioritize parking out front, and when that’s full, along the building’s side… unless you use the handicap entrance—will help signal to those driving by that we’re an active congregation—may be used by the Spirit as the beginning of a witness to the lost who are driving by, or to help folks looking for a solid church to stop in and visit.

And just a note: I’ll be on a different schedule this week—still in the office Wednesday/still at the prayer meeting, but other than that, working ahead on next week’s sermon, since I’ll be off at the at the men’s retreat beginning Thursday.

Benediction

May your hearts be assured of the Lord’s steadfast love, which has sprinkled you clean with the blood of Christ; may the bones which the Lord has broken rejoice; may your lips be opened to declare his praises, so that you surround one another with shouts of deliverance. Amen.

From Psalm 32 and 51

Sermon

Intro

God’s power is majestic and beautiful.

But when it comes to us up close in the person of Jesus, it is also astonishing, disruptive, and disconcerting. And if you haven’t considered it in that light before, you might be missing part of the picture.

I love ships. Sometimes, when we’re driving north on the I-5 along the Colombia river, I point out the ships to my daughters: “Look at that one—you can tell it’s a break-bulk because of the giant cargo hold covers—probably here for a load of grain; look at that other one—it’s sitting high on the water so it’s probably empty of cargo...” I think ships are fascinating and beautiful.

But when you’re in a little 16 foot sailboat or a sea kayak, crossing a harbor channel, and suddenly the sun disappears and you look up and the steel bow of a 800 foot long, 160,000 ton container ship is eclipsing the sky above you, fascination and admiration turn to dread and dismay. It’s disruptive and disconcerting to say the least.

And if you manage to avoid collision, you will never forget that moment.

The sovereign power of God is all around us. But usually, it’s hidden. He determines the number of the stars, and guides each drop of rain to the ground, yes. And this truth is encouraging to us. But God is spiritual and immaterial and therefore invisible to us. We don’t normally see the working of his might, except by faith.

But then, sometimes, he pulls the curtains back and gives us an unavoidable glimpse of his power and authority. He did that for Israel when he parted the waters in the Exodus, and then smashed them back into place to destroy Pharaoh’s army and save Israel. It was awe-inspiring. And throughout the Old Testament, God’s people looked back and remembered that great act of power and salvation, and praised God for it.

But this was nothing compared to what was coming: that God would cause the fullness of his limitless authority to dwell bodily in a man—in the God-man Christ Jesus.

When we think of Jesus’ power, we usually think of something good, positive, and encouraging. And it’s right to think that way. But that’s where we stop, then we have domesticated Jesus. The divine power of Jesus IS good news, yes. But it is more than that. It is God’s own infinite might on display. It is a glimpse into God’s own fathomless glory.

And so, while the sovereign power of Jesus was veiled—shrouded by his human nature—it was still an up-close-and-personal display of God’s power to those who witnessed it—astonishing and disconcerting. Disrupting our own little worlds and demanding a response from us. And that’s what we’re going to see in today’s passage:

That when the boat carrying Jesus was caught in a dangerous storm, he ended the storm with a word, and his disciples were dumb-struck

And that when he cast out a legion of demons, the folk of that region were so afraid of his power, and disconcerted, that they begged him to leave.

And so we’re going to see that Jesus’ power and authority over nature and over spiritual beings reveal his divine glory, and demand a response from us. And we’re also going to see that we may respond to him in two ways: marveling at his authority, or rejecting him, because his authority is too disruptive for us. And so you might sum up the point of the passage like this: Jesus rules nature and demons with divine power — how will you respond?

Divine Power Over Nature

And this plays out first in the storm—an extremely dangerous storm which threatens the disciple’s lives.

You’ll remember that Jesus had determined to cross to the other side of the sea of Galilee to get away from the crowd and its misguided enthusiasm about him. So here, he finally climbs into the boat and begins to cross. And verse 24 tells us what happens:

Matthew 8:24 ESV

And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.

So the boat was being swamped. Waves were coming in over the side, and water was filling it faster than they could bail it out. From a human standpoint, they were utterly helpless and about to die.

And they can see it: they can see that they are legitimately about to die. And so we get verse 25:

Matthew 8:25 ESV

And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.”

It’s a cry for what? For salvation.

Now, a little later, we’ll dig into how Jesus scolded them for lack of faith. But for now, here’s what we need to see: they cried to him for salvation.

And what happened? Half way through verse 26:

Matthew 8:26. Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

Do you see that? He merely spoke, and the storm instantly settled into a great calm. The violent, deadly wind and waves disappeared.

What does this mean? What are we supposed to see about Jesus from this?

Look at the next verse:

Matthew 8:27 ESV

And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

What’s going on there?

These men had seen Jesus’ power to cast out demons and heal—even lepers, and even from a distance. But this was far beyond that. Now he speaks, and even the storm and the violent sea obeys him? “What sort of man is this?” they say.

In some sense, the disciples marveled simply because of the sheer power on display before their eyes. It was astonishing and disconcerting. Now, how much they were thinking it through, it doesn’t exactly tell us. But in giving us this account, Matthew certainly wanted us to think deeply, asking the same question as the disciples: “What sort of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

And in considering something like this, we need to widen our view to the whole of Scripture. Listen to these verses from the OT:

Job 38:8–11 ESV

“Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb, when I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors, and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?

Who commands the seas? The uncreated one, who made all things

Or consider these psalms, speaking of the Creator God:

Psalm 89:9 ESV

You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them.

Psalm 107:29 ESV

He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.

Psalm 65:7 ESV

who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples,

Psalm 29:10 ESV

The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.

Back to Matthew’s question: “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” Answer: God, veiled in human flesh. God the Son, who for us and our salvation became a man, and lived among us. But when he became a true man, yet he remained also truly God. Two natures—divine and human—in one glorious person, our savior and God-With-Us, Jesus.

Jesus is no less than the Creator of all things, the great I AM, with divine power over nature itself.

Divine Power Over Demons

But his power does not end with the physical world. He is the creator of all things, visible and invisible. And so, next we see his divine authority over demons, in the account of the demoniacs of Gadarenes.

Just as the disciples were helpless in the storm, so we meet helpless folks in this account also. There are the two helpless men indwelt by these demons, of course. But Matthew—unlike Mark and Luke—doesn’t spend as much time on their plight. He focuses on the townsfolk instead. Listen to verse 28:

Matthew 8:28 ESV

And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way.

Do you see that? What would it be like to live in a town like that—where there’s a spot just outside the city where you just don’t go because two human monsters live there possessed by supernatural strength and malice. They were “so fierce, that no one could pass that way.” And the townsfolk were utterly helpless about it.

And these two monsters come out of the tombs to cross paths with Jesus. But what happens? They cry out to him in a tone of hatred-yes, but mainly of fear and helplessness in his presence. Listen to verse 29:

Matthew 8:29 ESV

And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”

Reading those words, you can see that there’s just no contest between Jesus and the demons. He has the total upper hand in this situation, and they know it. He is, after all, not just some archangel, but the Uncreated One—Sovereign Lord of the universe from everlasting to everlasting.

Let’s take a closer look at their words to see this in detail: they start by addressing Jesus as ‘Son of God’. And we’ve already seen that this title carries at least three meanings in Matthew:

Jesus is the New Adam, since Adam was the original son of God who fell to the Devil’s temptation in the garden, unlike Jesus, who stood against the Devil’s temptation in the wilderness, back in chapter 4.

Jesus is the New Israel, since Israel itself was called “God’s Son”, and fell to temptation in the wilderness, which is where Jesus defeated temptation.

Jesus is the Son of God in a way that Adam and Israel never were: he is the Divine Son, the King of the Universe now veiled in human flesh.

So, ‘Son of God’ is a weighty title for Jesus. It’s packed with awe-inspiring meaning, ultimately leading up to his glorious divine nature.

But how much did the demons understand about the title when they used it? Hard to say for sure. But they did understand enough to know that the presence of Jesus spelled their doom. What did they say? “Have you come here to torment us before the time?”

They were utterly helpless in his presence, even filled with fear.

But what did they mean by, “Before the time?” The time of what? The time when God would restore his Kingdom with a new covenant, forgiving his people and thus defeating the domain of darkness. And whether the demons fully understood it or not, if you’ve been reading Matthew’s gospel up to this point, you’re meant to get it: “Here’s the Divine Messiah, the King of God’s kingdom, and all the fierce powers of darkness cannot begin to stand against his divine power.” Jesus rules demons with divine power.

And yet, we still do have to put a footnote on that—the demons asked why he had come before the time:

Even though, in one sense, Jesus began God’s kingdom when he came and died and rose and was enthroned in heaven, yet in another sense, his kingdom is yet to come—it’s yet to come in its fulness. Theologians like to say, ‘his kingdom has been inaugurated, but not consummated’, which is just a fancy way of saying it’s been started, but not yet completed. Or, if a WWII metaphor is helpful for you, the first coming of Christ was D-Day; the second coming will be V-Day.

And so, Jesus exercised divine power over demons, and by dying for us dealt a death blow to the domain of darkness. But there is still demonic activity in the world today: the final and total defeat of darkness will come on the last day.

But what happens next in our account? Jesus says, “Go!” and they go. That’s in verse 32. And of course, they had begged him to let them enter a herd of pigs nearby, and he grants the request. And then the entire herd rushes of into the water and drowns. And we’ll talk about all of that in just a moment. But right now I want to focus on Jesus’ command. He says, “Go!” and they immediately obey. And thus the two men and even the whole town and the surrounding area are set free from these dark powers. Jesus utterly rules over demons with divine power, and he exercises that power to rescue people from them.

Brothers and sisters: this is not some theoretical doctrine for us. The occult is on the rise in western society, and it’s especially prominent in Portland. And that itself is not a hypothetical thing for Scholls Community Church. We have already and will probably continue to have folks come who’ve had some kind of up-close brush with demonic powers.

So what do we do in the face of demonic power? Let’s start with this: you’re not the Divine Messiah. You don’t have his divine authority. Yet—if you’ve believed on him, then you are united with him, a citizen of his Kingdom. And so, his divine power is your protection. Now, let’s make that practical:

In a demonic situation, cry out to Jesus for salvation.

Remember the gospel, and claim it’s benefits: you are forgiven for all sin, and no one—not even a legion of demons—can remove you from the Father’s hand.

Pray: cry out to Jesus for salvation, and pray for him to deliver you and display his own power, and fill you with wisdom and peace and grace.

Psalms: memorize psalms to recite when times are dark, or when demonic temptation comes. They are not some kind of magical spell, but they are powerful words of truth. And truth—especially the truth about God and his gospel of grace—that is our main weapon against the domain of darkness.

And finally, don’t keep it to yourself. Go to other believers and ask for their prayers for whatever’s happening to you or to someone you know. “The prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

Vern Poythress explains, “The way, then, to confront [demons] is not the way of esoteric knowledge, but the way of the cross, of knowing God in Christ.” In other words, the most powerful thing you can do against demons is surrender yourself to Christ, receive his forgiveness, and live for him. When you do that, all the sovereign power of the God-Man—the rod and the staff of the Good Shepherd—is leveled against all of the demonic forces that come against his sheep.

And it’s worth noting that Jesus’ power over demons isn’t just total, it’s also frightening. What’s the reaction of the pig herders to what Jesus does? Notice in verse 33: they don’t get angry with him over the death of their herd. They flee. They run away in terror. And the townsfolk believe the account they give of the death of the pigs. And the townsfolk aren’t angry either—even though they lost just lost 2000 pigs!

Matthew doesn’t tell us it was 2000 pigs, but in Mark’s account of the same incident, he says it was about 2000. Guys, that’s 32,000 lb of bacon! 4000 hams, 60,000 pork chops, 12,000 pork roasts, 4,000 pork rib sides, and more!

That was probably a large part of the town’s economy—we don’t know how much, but it probably made a dent.

Yet neither the pig herders nor the townsfolk—apparently—are thinking about that. They’re not angry about their loss. They’re purely frightened… of what? Of Jesus’ power. Look at vs. 33:

Matthew 8:33 ESV

The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men.

Not the pigs. The men. The men whom Jesus had rescued from the legion of demons. The town was afraid specifically of Jesus’ divine power over the legion of demons. So afraid, in fact, that they begged him to leave in verse 34. They couldn’t bear to be in his presence. They found his power disconcerting and frightening—ultimately, too disruptive to their world for them to want him to stay.

Jesus rules over demons with divine power, and that demands a reaction from us.

Your Response

So what sort of man is Jesus? What kinds of things does He do? He is the divine Son of God, in whom all the fullness of God dwells bodily, as Paul wrote in Colossians. And because of this, even as he lived a humble life among us, as one of us—even as he truly experienced our sorrows and pains—yet at certain times the curtain was pulled back, in a sense, and a glimpse of the Eternal Son’s limitless power shone through.

Jesus is God, though clothed in human nature. Jesus rules over nature and demons with divine power. And as I’ve mentioned, this demands a reaction from us—you don’t really have the options of not reacting. The only question is how you react.

We just saw the reaction of the Gadarenes folk—the townsfolk that begged Jesus to leave. How did they react?

They were afraid of Jesus’ power. He had just rescued them from the threat of these demon-possessed men; he had just brought these men out of darkness and into light. Yet the sheer reality of his power was just too much for them. It was far too disruptive to the lives they wanted to lead.

They were afraid of Jesus, but not with a worshipful fear. Their fear was more like that of the demons—repulsed rather than reverent at the sight of his sovereign power. And Matthew calls our attention to this fact by describing them with the same words: both the demons and the townsfolk come out and meet Jesus, and upon experiencing his power, both beg him to do something out of a sense of repulsed fear to him. And so, they beg him to leave the region.

What are we supposed to think about that? If you’re not a believer: Jesus’ power is disruptive. His power to save is a power that will totally redirect the course of your heart. It’s a power that will make you into a joyful and loyal citizen of his kingdom. It will completely disrupt everything about you. It’s a good power, but it’s a frightening power — how will you respond? Will you surrender? Or, in a sense, will you beg him to leave?

Believer: first, will you own his sovereign power as good? Or will you kick against it? And, walking with your king, are you prepared to be rejected like him? If you walk with him, his power will be evident in your life. In quiet ways, yes. But evident not the less, and sometimes that will prove too disruptive to those around you.

Different than the reaction of the townsfolk is the reaction of the disciples in the boat:

What do they say? “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.”

Now, it’s true that when they say that, Jesus wakes up and scolds them. You can see that in verse 26. He calls them, “afraid”—and the word he uses there is associated with cowardice—it’s a very negative word. And he says that they have only “little faith.” It seems that, in the moment, they are so pressed and terrified by their circumstance—water, filling up the boat—and so their fear has all but eclipsed their faith.

And yet, they are saved. They cry out to the Lord for salvation, and even in the smallness of their faith, they are saved. And it is the same for us when it comes to sin, and the impending judgement of hell. When you cry out to the Lord for salvation, you are saved. The sovereign power of God, expressed in the death of his son on the cross, comes to your aid. Jesus’ blood, shed in your place as a payment for your sin, comes and redeems you. Condemnation is removed forever, forgiveness is complete, and an inheritance of eternal life is guaranteed.

And what happens next with the disciples? They marvel. Now, we might be tempted to feel superior to them as they marvel: we know the answer. Jesus is the Divine Son, who rules with sovereign power over waves and over demons. Of course. But brothers and sisters, we should rather be struck with humility. We can say, and we must say, that Jesus’ power is without limits. His power is infinite. But that is to say that his power is beyond our comprehension. We must affirm that his power is infinite. But after we’ve said that, we can only sit back and marvel at what is utterly beyond our little minds to measure. Jesus rules nature and demons with limitless power.

So the real question is this: Do you marvel at the sovereign power of Jesus? Do you worship him, asking yourself, “What sort of man is this, that even the wind and the waves—even stony hearts and the crushing debt of sin—obey him?” And when we’ve learned to marvel in that way, our faith will begin to increase in the power of Jesus for the future: that he will one day make all things new, bringing us safely home to glory.

Conclusion

Jesus commands nature and demons with divine power — let us respond with worship and faith!