“The Mighty Authority of Christ!”
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Good Morning grab your Bibles and turn with me to Luke chapter 4. This morning I want for us to take a look into the ministry of Christ as He begins to not only authoritatively teach, but also heal those who were possessed. There were many times throughout the Lord’s ministry that we see Him dealing with crowds of people teaching and exercising authority. The Lord’s miracles may not surprise us since many of us have read how Jesus did this often. However, for these people during the time of Christ, miracles were very rare and many people were left in shock, wonder, and amazement.
All of the Lord’s miracles in some way show us a significant spiritual reality. Since the Lord’s work shows us His Mighty Authority and the Righteousness of God, is it any wonder that Jesus was constantly waging war against the Devil and his demons? Of course not. Let us begin in verse 31 of chapter 4.
31 And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, 32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. 33 And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “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.” 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. 36 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!” 37 And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.
Pray:
Explanation of where we are heading:
The major opponent in the Lord’s ministry consisted of the spiritual forces of evil. This of course would be Satan and his demons. We have already seen the personal attack in the wilderness that the Lord faced against Satan and now we come to a demonic attack. Demons are noted 23 times throughout the Gospel of Luke. So, we see that the Lord was dealing with this problem a lot. For those who were stepped in Judaism, they believed that when the Messiah came demonic power would be crushed. Jesus has already met with Satan, and now He is facing off against his demons.
I want to take a quick moment and clarify something that I think is very important, and where I have seen much confusion in our world today. Can a believer be demon possessed? There is much confusion today all around us and even in churches about demons and demon possession. Many churches and people teach that a believer can be possessed by a demon and because they have a disease, sickness, infirmity or born a certain way that they have a demon in them. But believers cannot be possessed by demons. I believe that a believer can be harassed, oppressed, and even frustrated by the enemy, but where the Spirit of God lives there is freedom. (2 Cor. 3:17) Satan and his demons cannot occupy the same space where the Holy Spirit is. If you are a Christian God’s Word tells us that the very Spirit of God lives in you therefore you cannot be possessed by a demon. Every believer needs to remember this good news today.
4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
Now you may be wondering than, what can Satan and his demons do? What are they up to right now? Satan and his demons are doing everything that they can to oppose God. They are behind the evil world system that is dominating the lives of those who are not Christians. Satan is the god and ruler of this world as we see in the gospel of John.
30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me,
Satan and his demons are doing everything that they can to lie, steal, deceive and kill people from hearing and understanding the truth of the gospel. Originally, Satan was a holy angel and was the highest ranking of all of the angels. They lived in heaven, where they served and worshiped God, but through his pride Satan rebelled against God and one third of the holy angels joined Satan and were part of this coup. They too were cast out of heaven with their leader.
Knowing all of this now helps us to see exactly why Luke begins his gospel by explaining to us the Lord’s power over demons. If Christ is to free those who are in bondage to Satan and his demons, He himself has to be able to break their power over the souls and lives of men and free them from the kingdom of Satan. Let me give you several passages to help us with this.
13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
The whole point of our text today is to see the mighty authority of Christ over the demonic realm. Jesus has the power over death and the devil and He has come to deliver people from the slavery of sin. This passage today gives us 4 lessons on the Mighty Authority of Jesus and why Satan and his demons are shaking in their boots. Let me give you 4 I’s today to help us understand this lesson better.
1. The Lord’s Instruction.
1. The Lord’s Instruction.
31 And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, 32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. 33 And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “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.”
As Jesus comes to the city of Capernaum he began to teach the people that had gathered on this Sabbath day at the synagogue. One of the major things that we know to be true about the Lord’s ministry was his mighty and powerful instruction or teaching. In fact, we saw a great example of this last week in verses 16-22. Also, look down at verse 43 with me.
43 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.”
As Jesus began to instruct these people we notice that they were all astonished or amazed at His teaching, but why? There are several reasons.
-First of all, Jesus spoke the truth. During this time there was much corrupt reasoning that marked the sermons and teaching of the scribes. (Matthew 5:21)
-Jesus also spoke about serious matters, such as life, death and eternity. He didn’t waste peoples time on trivial matters.
-Jesus excited many people with his wonderful illustrations while others who taught were dry and boring.
-Jesus spoke with Love. Jesus was a lover of men and concerned with the eternal destiny of those whom he spoke too.
-Finally, Jesus spoke or taught with authority. For his instruction and message came straight from the very heart and mind of His Father.
26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.”
Jesus’ instruction and teaching were clear, true, powerful and delivered with mighty authority to all who heard, including a man who was possessed by a demon.
Luke explains to us here that this man was possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon. During this time demon possession was something that was happening all the time during the ministry of Jesus.
In fact, there has never been a period in the time of history where there was so much demonic activity, where Satan and his demons were at work against the kingdom of God and ultimately against God himself than in the first century, when Jesus the Son of God was walking on the earth and the power of hell was unleashed against Him.
It is important to understand here that Jesus never delivered someone from being demon possessed as a reference to forgiving their sins. The importance here is on the power of Jesus over the demons and not the individual being delivered. However, once Jesus returned to heaven and the apostles passed on the only way someone could be delivered from demons is through the saving faith in Jesus.
Notice here that Luke tells us that this demon cried out. He said “Ha!” This screaming was with a loud voice in terror or fear right in the middle of the Lord’s message. This demon felt the mighty authority and presence of Jesus as the Son of God. As Jesus came to preach the good news to those who were poor, blind, captive and oppressed the reality hit the demon and he cried out.
“What have you to do with us Jesus of Nazareth?” Why are you attacking us or coming against us??? This demon clearly realized the second person of the Trinity and that He alone had the power and authority over him. So, what was the Lord’s intention here? What did Jesus have to do with the demon?
2. The Lord’s Intention.
2. The Lord’s Intention.
34 “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.”
-Demons know who Jesus is.
-Demons know the truth.
-Demons know who God is.
James tells us that you believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe and shudder! (James 2:19) The problem is that demons hate the truth. No one hates Jesus more than Satan and his demons. And this is exactly why they tremble, fear, resist, and cry out.
We now come to the Lord’s plan or His intentions. This demon was truly terrified because demons know that their days are numbered and that God has established a day when demons will be wiped out and completely removed. This demon knew what the Lord’s intentions already were. First John explains it this way.
8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
Satan and his demons will one day be sentenced to hell for all eternity, and this is exactly what terrified this demon.
Revelation 20:10
10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
The Lord’s intention is to destroy the works of the devil! Do you know that? Every believer needs to know that Jesus is mighty and powerful and can deliver you from whatever you are struggling with today.
3. The Lord’s Identity.
3. The Lord’s Identity.
34 “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.”
This demon is able to admit that he knows who Jesus is. Church, nothing recognizes the Holy more clearly than those who are unholy like Satan and demons. Jesus has confronted His great opponent and this demon does not like Jesus. What is so interesting here is that even the demons recognize the true identity of Jesus. Jesus is the Holy One of God. Jesus was holy not only in the sense of being without sin and filled with virtue, but also because He had been anointed and set apart to die for our sin. Many people in the day of Christ denied that He was the Son of God and even many today in our time as well, and yet Satan and his demons know that Jesus is God.
Jesus is absolutely without a doubt the very Son of God. As believers we know this to be certain.
28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.”
11 And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.”
4. The Lord’s Influence.
4. The Lord’s Influence.
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. 36 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!” 37 And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.
As this demon recognized the true Identity of Jesus as the Son of God we now come to see the rebuke of this demon and the power and influence of Jesus. Jesus tells this demon to be quiet and come out of this man. Jesus did not recite a special incantation or dance around. In fact, the demon instantly obeyed the voice of Jesus. The demon threw this man down, however he did not hurt him. What this shows us is that the demon did not win, and he obeyed the authoritative voice of God. Through the Lord’s influence and power we see how many that day were truly amazed at all that Jesus had done and more specifically His teaching and authority. Listen to what the people said in the gospel of Matthew.
33 And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.”
This was absolutely remarkable and powerful. Jesus has the power and authority over Satan and his demons. Jesus also has the ability to deliver sinners from their wicked grasp. Church even though we realize that we are in an all out war and battle with Satan each and every day we must realize that Jesus has won the victory. Because of the Lord’s death and resurrection He has delivered sinners like you and I from the kingdom of darkness. We as believers share in Christ’s victory over Satan and his demons through our salvation and union with Him.
20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and all authority has been given to Him both in heaven and on earth. May we be reminded today church that Jesus rules over the demonic powers of this world and someday He will return to take us to a new heaven and new earth where we will live with Him for all eternity.
Pray:
Adam with Communion:
Song = Doxology:
Matt with closing Benediction:
Revelation 7:10b and 12b.
Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb. Amen. The blessing and the glory and the wisdom and the thanksgiving and the honor and the power and the strength, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.