A Day in the Life of Jesus
Luke 4:31-44
January 28, 2017
To get started this morning
I want to draw your attention to the phrase at the end of Luke 4.
Luke 4:43-44 “But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.” So He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.”
The important phrase there is the phrase “kingdom of God”
It’s a phrase that Luke will record 32 times in his gospel,
And it is the fundamental theme to Jesus ministry.
In many ways proclaiming the “kingdom of God” was synonymous with proclaiming the gospel.
In fact, in Luke 16:16 it is called; “the gospel of the kingdom of God”
Luke really picks up on the fact that
Jesus was committed to preaching this gospel of the kingdom.
He came to “preach the kingdom of God”
• Every miracle He worked was to demonstrate the powerful effects of the
kingdom.
• Later when He called the disciples He would send them to “proclaim the
kingdom of God”
• And Jesus would even give them miraculous ability so that they could say,
“the kingdom of God has come near”
I think the first thing we would want to know is
“What is this kingdom?”
Well, clearly, it is the kingdom that is promised to Messiah throughout the Old Testament.
We don’t have to read many of them, but some are helpful.
Isaiah 9:6-7 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”
Or you could read all of Isaiah 11 & 12 which speak of this coming kingdom and the King who will reign over it.
Isaiah 11:1-5 “Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear; But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist.”
This kingdom is referenced again later in Isaiah
Isaiah 60:18-21 “Violence will not be heard again in your land, Nor devastation or destruction within your borders; But you will call your walls salvation, and your gates praise. “No longer will you have the sun for light by day, Nor for brightness will the moon give you light; But you will have the LORD for an everlasting light, And your God for your glory. “Your sun will no longer set, Nor will your moon wane; For you will have the LORD for an everlasting light, And the days of your mourning will be over. “Then all your people will be righteous; They will possess the land forever, The branch of My planting, The work of My hands, That I may be glorified.”
The marvelous thing about Jesus is
He came proclaiming that the kingdom of God was here!
Luke 17:20-21 “Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
Now certainly the full effect of the kingdom was not yet realized,
• For Jesus was not yet sitting on David’s throne,
• The wolf was not dwelling with the lamb,
• All the people were not righteous.
So in one sense the total fulfillment of the kingdom was not yet here.
Even later, during the Olivet discourse Jesus would say:
Luke 21:31 “So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near.”
And again at the last supper
Luke 22:16-18 “for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.”
So we can see that the perfect fulfillment is still yet to be realized.
So what then did Jesus mean?
When He went around preaching the kingdom of God and offering the kingdom of God and even telling the Pharisees as we read earlier “the kingdom of God is in your midst”?
VERY SIMPLY THIS.
The entrance into this kingdom is now available.
John MacArthur described the kingdom as “The sphere of salvation that those who respond in repentant faith to the preaching of the gospel enter.”
(MacArthur, John [The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Series; Luke 1-5, Moody Publishers, Chicago, IL, 2009] pg. 297)
What is clear to us is that
• One day Jesus will return and His physical kingdom will be an absolute reality.
• He will reign upon the earth.
• All those who oppose Him will be destroyed.
• His kingdom will be a kingdom of perfect peace and perfect righteousness
And entrance is offered to anyone who repents and submits to the King.
• No one in their fallen sinful state is fit for the kingdom of God.
• We are all rebels by nature
• We are all insurrectionists by choice
• We have all become enemies of God
Jesus came to lead us to repentance and pay the debt against us
That we might be granted access into that kingdom.
So today, entrance into this Kingdom is offered to all.
Today,
It is a spiritual access whereby we enjoy fellowship with God and joy in Christ with full pardon and blessing.
Someday
We will enjoy it in an absolute physical sense in all its perfection and glory.
BUT IF YOU WANT TO BE A PART OF IT THEN,
YOU MUST ENTER IT NOW.
And you enter it through
• Humbly acknowledging your sin,
• Running to Christ for forgiveness,
• Pledging your loyalty to the King whom you believe will one day rule this world.
Does that help you understand Christianity a little better?
By submitting to Christ we are defying the god of this world
And declaring that as rebels to his cause,
We will pledge our loyalty to the rightful king.
We are committing treason against the prince of the power of the air
In faith that our king will in fact return and reign.
And that is what Jesus is asking us to do.
He is going everywhere proclaiming His kingdom
• Asking men to repent of their treason
• Defy the god of this world
• To proclaim allegiance to Him as the rightful King
• Believing that He will do what He said He will do.
AND IN ORDER TO MAKE THAT DECISION EASIER FOR US,
Jesus takes every possible opportunity to demonstrate to us
That He most certainly can take back this world.
And that is what we see taking place in Luke 4.
We see Jesus putting His power and authority on full display.
• He DOESN’T do this because His main goal is to heal people.
• He DOES this because He wants everyone to know that He is more than
capable of conquering the enemy and establishing His own kingdom.
AND THE INTENT is that as you see His power,
You become convinced that He can do what He said,
And you forsake the god of this world and pledge your life to Him too.
That is the message that Luke continually highlights.
And in the remainder of Luke 4,
That is precisely what Luke is showing you.
3 things
#1 HIS AMAZING CLAIM OF AUTHORITY
Luke 4:31-32
After Jesus was tempted we read:
Luke 4:14-15 “And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.”
• Jesus instantly went on a preaching mission,
• Hitting synagogue after synagogue.
• We even read that after a stint in Galilee,
• He came to His hometown and did the same.
Luke 4:16 “And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.”
Based on His normal pattern then it should not surprise us that as He comes down to Capernaum He is still doing the exact same thing.
He is entering the synagogues on the Sabbath and He is preaching.
“He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath;”
And because of that story from Nazareth it is not hard for us to guess what He is preaching.
He is preaching that He is the rightful King
Who can in fact deliver the oppressed and the captives from their sin
And who can usher in the favorable year of the Lord.
He is preaching that same gospel message of deliverance.
• He is preaching good news to the poor
• He is preaching forgiveness to prisoners
• He is preaching sight to the blind
• He is preaching rest to the oppressed
That little hostile revolt in Nazareth hasn’t slowed Him in the least.
He is still preaching the gospel.
And this gospel is summed up
at the end of chapter 4 (as we read earlier) as
Preaching “the kingdom of God”
He is offering men access into God’s kingdom.
And we looked at that message in some detail a couple of weeks ago.
When Jesus preached this message in Nazareth they were skeptical.
Remember, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”
It was the old “Who does He think He is?” type response, and of course Jesus confronted their lack of humility.
Well here we get Capernaum’s response.
(32) “and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority.”
Luke says they were “amazed” and we will look at that in a moment,
BUT FIRST I want you to see WHY they were “amazed”
And it was because “His message was with authority.”
That is another way of saying,
He made some really remarkable claims about His own ability.
Take for a second the Sermon on the Mount.
• We have Jesus over and over making statements like, “You have heard, but I say…”
• And in those statements He totally redirects the way they have read the Old Testament Law for years.
• In that sermon He revealed that the giving, praying, and fasting of the Pharisees was nothing but a hypocritical joke. (That is, He totally judged the motives of their hearts and then told everyone about it)
• He called men to ask Him for righteousness if they wanted it.
They were really startling claims like no one had ever made before,
And that is why at the end of the Sermon on the Mount we read:
Matthew 7:28-29 “When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.”
I mean, who walks in and in one sermon completely exposes every other religious leader and changes the way you read the Old Testament Law?
THAT’S PRETTY BOLD.
But that’s not all.
This guy claims to be able to forgive sin.
Remember the paralytic story we read a couple of weeks ago about the man lowered through the roof and Jesus told him he was forgiven?
Remember the response of the Pharisees?
Luke 5:21 “The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?”
THAT WAS A BOLD CLAIM.
I can absolve you of your debt before God.
Or we could go to Matthew 21 and see that Jesus had the audacity to:
• Enter Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt
• Drive out all the money changers in the temple
• Healed people in the temple
• And then embrace their worship as though He were God
And so the Pharisees confronted Him:
Matthew 21:23 “When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”
And even that isn’t all.
• We’ll find in Luke 9 that He has so much authority that He gives it to His
disciples.
• In Matthew 28 (in the Great Commission) He will say, “all authority in
heaven and on earth has been given to Me”
I just want you to realize what is being said when the crowd says that “His message was with authority.”
He was making claims in regard to His own ability
That no one had ever made before.
And the Bible says that the response of the crowd
Was that “they were amazed”
And this is important.
There are several different Greek words which are translated “amazed”.
We saw one of those words in Luke 2:33 speaking of His father and mother.
Luke 2:33 “And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him.”
(that word means “to marvel” or “to wonder”)
We saw a different word in Luke 2:47 speaking of the teachers in the temple.
Luke 2:47 “And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.”
(that word means “to stand aside from” or to be taken back)
There is even a different word used when Peter and James and John saw Jesus transfigured on the mountain.
None of those are the words used here.
The word used here is a word that literally means “to strike out”
For example,
• When Zek was about 1 year old I remember Lynda Gilcrease volunteering to
keep him on a Saturday and she told us that in one day she was confident
she could potty-train him.
Ken’s immediate response was, “Lynda, you’re out of your mind!”
He was “STRUCK” by what she said, and in his mind it was so outlandish that he couldn’t believe she said it.
That is what the word means.
Some have said it is better translated ASTONISHED
So here is the mood.
Jesus is preaching in their synagogue and He is making some remarkable claims.
Things like:
• I can give grace to the poor
• I can give forgiveness to criminals
• I can give sight to the blind
• I can give rest to the oppressed
• I can give eternal life
And the crowd is literally struck and astonished
That He would make such claims.
(Jesus, You’re out of Your mind)
NO ONE EVER MADE CLAIMS LIKE THAT
Nazareth tried to throw Him off a cliff for saying it.
Capernaum is really just sort of caught in a holding pattern.
They really are just kind of blown away.
• Can this guy really do what He says?
• Can He really forgive sins?
• Can He really usher in God’s kingdom and rule over the world?
• Can He really grant me access into heaven?
No doubt more than one person
Wanted Him to put His money where His mouth was.
Well, that’s precisely what happens next.
His Amazing Claim of Authority
#2 HIS AMAZING CONFIRMATION OF AUTHORITY
Luke 4:32-41
Now I put these together, not because each story is not remarkable in its own right but because Luke puts them together.
From a literary standpoint I think Luke really wants you to read them all together in a rapid fire fashion so that you will sort of be amazed at how quickly and easily He was able to confirm His claims.
It’s not that we aren’t amazed at each miracle,
It’s just that it is important that you get the bigger point.
The pressure was on Jesus to prove His claims,
And He didn’t just give some small piece of proof,
He absolutely knocked it out of the park.
So Luke records here 3 events, which all happened on the same day.
He deals with:
1) AN UNCLEAN SPIRIT (33-37)
2) A HIGH FEVER (38-39)
3) A DESPERATE CROWD (40-41)
All of them serve the same point for Luke.
They prove that Jesus can absolutely deliver
On the amazing claims that He has made.
But let’s quickly look at all 3 of these.
THE UNCLEAN SPIRIT
So Jesus is preaching in this synagogue and making some bold claims in regard to His own authority.
And Luke says “a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon…cried out with a loud voice, “Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are – the Holy One of God!”
First I think it is beneficial to recognize that we have here a man in church who is possessed by a demon
And where it not for the preaching of Jesus, no one would know it.
• This man is not insane and out of his mind like the Gaderene Demoniac.
• This man is not mute or crippled or often thrown into the fire like some of the other demonic encounters we see in the gospels.
• This man has the appearance of sanity and health and normalcy.
He is “possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon”
What does that mean?
This man, by reason of his oppression, is “unclean”
Which is another way to say, he is IMPURE.
His life is tangled in things that DEFILE.
IT IS IMPORTANT POINT OUT
That his defilement must not have been external
Because he was freely participating in the worship of the synagogue.
His defilement must have been more along the line
Of what Jesus spoke of in Matthew 15.
Matthew 15:19-20 “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. “These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”
• This man is merely defiled in heart.
• This man has wicked and carnal thoughts and desires.
• And those wicked thoughts and desires are the result of the spirit which
controls him.
I just think you need to see that because it seems as though most people today have this view that if you have a demon you’ll look like a zombie, foam at the mouth, talk with a sinister voice, and do other crazy things.
What we see here is that that isn’t always the case.
This guy was in church.
Furthermore, this demon was content to sort of sit in silence without making a fuss or making himself obvious.
• His first request to Jesus is “Let us alone!”
This demon simply desires to corrupt and defile this man from within
And silently and stealthily influence those around him.
And the only thing that brings this spirit to the forefront
Is the confrontational preaching of Jesus.
Jesus is preaching that people are poor and need mercy.
Jesus is preaching that people are guilty and need forgiveness.
Jesus is preaching that people are blind and need sight.
Jesus is preaching that people are burdened and need rest.
In short, Jesus is preaching right at this man’s heart.
And the demon is forced to defend his ground.
“Let us alone!” – He doesn’t want that sin confronted any more.
“What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth?” – which is to say, why are You picking on me?
“I know who You are – the Holy One of God!”
This demon does not want to give up his turf.
(35) “But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing him any harm.”
• Even though this demon was correct in his facts about Jesus,
• Jesus refused to be announced by a demon (Paul was the same in Philippi)
• That would be far too confusing to those whom Jesus was seeking to reach.
So Jesus makes this demon be quiet, and then He makes the demon leave
And the demon did throw him down,
But ultimately “came out of him without doing him any harm.”
Now, let me point out, that this occurred FOR ONLY ONE reason.
Jesus was putting His power on display.
• Nothing is said about this man repenting of sin.
• Nothing is said about this man placing his faith in Jesus.
• This was purely done for Jesus to put His power on display.
Jesus was proving the claims He had made.
And it worked.
(36-37) “And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another saying, “What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.” And the report about Him was spreading into every locality in the surrounding district.”
After He rebukes that demon it says “amazement came upon them all”
That is a different word and this one means “amazed” or “wonder”
Now they know He can do it, they are just blown away
Because they didn’t really think He could.
And now they ask, “What is this message?”
• He doesn’t just claim authority.
• He has authority.
• Even the demons have to obey Him.
Well there is your first picture of the power and authority of Jesus.
The evil servants of the enemy have to do what He says.
I once heard someone say, “The next time you think you’re important try giving orders to someone else’s dog.”
Well, Jesus could.
Now that is just the first, and we can hit the next two rather quickly.
THE HIGH FEVER
(38-39) “Then He got up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon’s home. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him to help her. And standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her; and she immediately got up and waited on them.”
Luke ties the events together, because after that amazing display of authority, Jesus marches right out of the synagogue and right into Peter’s house.
When he gets there Peter’s “mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever”
(and of course this was before ibuprofen)
THIS WAS SERIOUS.
And with seemingly no effort whatsoever
Jesus just tells the fever to leave and it leaves.
And she felt so good “she immediately got up and waited on them.”
That is remarkable authority.
I think it is even more remarkable in our day because have so many people running around claiming to be able to do this kind of thing who can’t do it at all.
BUT JESUS DID, AND IT WAS EASY.
THE DESPERATE CROWD (40-41)
(40-41) “While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them. Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But rebuking them, He would not allow them to speak, because they knew Him to be the Christ.”
This is what you call escalation.
Furthermore it proves that the first two
Weren’t just some sort of parlor trick.
These people literally bombard Jesus (who could blame them).
• They’re bringing sick people and demon-possessed people
• And they are coming at Him rapid fire.
• And it didn’t matter the sickness…
• It didn’t matter the degree of sickness…
• It didn’t matter the rank of the demon…
There were no stipulations, there were no limitations,
Whatever the problem Jesus instantly fixed it all.
And I think you can see Luke’s point.
All of those claims to authority were not just empty claims.
He can do it.
This guy really is offering to you a kingdom.
He really is offering to you access into the very kingdom of God.
In order to enter that kingdom
• You are going to have to rebel against the god of this world.
• You are going to have to forsake the prince of the power of the air.
And in this world that puts you at great risk.
But all the while Jesus says, don’t worry about him, I can handle him.
He cannot stop me from ushering in My kingdom.
I’m just asking you to trust Me.
That is the goal, to get you to believe His authority is real.
• He wants you to trust Him.
• He wants you to submit to Him.
THAT IS THE ESSENCE OF FAITH
Do you remember the story of the centurion with the paralyzed slave?
Luke 7:2-9 “And a centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders asking Him to come and save the life of his slave. When they came to Jesus, they earnestly implored Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him; for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue.” Now Jesus started on His way with them; and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, ” Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof; for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. “For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.”
That man simply believed in Jesus’ authority
and Jesus called that the greatest faith He had ever seen.
That is what we are driving for here.
Jesus is offering forgiveness and freedom and grace and sight and entrance into the kingdom of God, but you have to trust that He can do it.
And based upon His power, you absolutely should!
His Amazing Claim of Authority His Amazing Confirmation of Authority
#3 HIS AMAZING COMMITMENT TO THE GOSPEL
Luke 4:42-44
Here I just want you to see the heart of Jesus.
• It was not about the miracles.
• It was not about the healings.
• It was not about casting out demons.
He was on a different mission.
• He was offering the gospel of mercy to people.
• He was offering people entrance into the kingdom.
Those miracles were just to prove He could,
But don’t miss the main point.
BECAUSE SO MANY DO.
Our world is filled with people who think the main goal of Jesus
Is to deliver you from every hardship – NO!
The goal of Jesus is to save you
• From the snare of the devil,
• From the evil inclination of your own heart,
• From the penalty of your sin,
• And from the wrath of Holy God.
That is by far your bigger problem.
Do you want the sad part?
Capernaum missed the point.
Matthew 11:23-24 “And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. “Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.”
Despite this miraculous display, Capernaum refused to trust.
Instead they ignored His great authority and sealed their doom.
This is not an optional reality.
• Jesus is the king.
• He has a kingdom.
• He will return to reign in that kingdom.
• And if you don’t submit to Him and enter it now, you will not be allowed to enter it then.
You must trust Him and submit your life to Him.
