Our scripture reading today is from Luke chapter 4. As we continue to work our way through the book of Luke, we are at the end of Luke 4, beginning in verse 31. So chapter 4, if you remember, opens with Jesus in the wilderness being tempted by Satan, facing temptations to basically use his power and his abilities to serve himself, to prove himself, even tempted to give up this fool's errand of saving humanity. Then in the middle of the chapter, Jesus returns to his hometown in Nazareth, where you would expect just the hero's welcome, but instead, the folks in his hometown express, at the very least, indignation and actually hatred and wrath over Jesus and his teaching. in part because they assume that they know who he is. They know all about him. How dare he come and try to teach them something? But, thankfully, the chapter ends in a much more upbeat, a much more glorious way. Rather than being defeated by both Satan and naysayers, we get to see the positive growth of the gospel, the positive movement of Jesus into Israel and into the world, the positive bringing of the good news of the kingdom of God. And so would you stand with me as we read the end of chapter 4 here and see Jesus' ministry beginning in Capernaum. And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and he was teaching them on the Sabbath. And they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 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. 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. 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 and reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region. And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed it to him on her behalf. And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she rose and began to serve them. Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him. And he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. And demons also came out of many crying, you are the son of God. But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Christ. And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them. 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. And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea. The grass withers and the flowers fade, and yet the word of the Lord remains forever. You may be seated. so jesus goes down to capernaum again last week we i'd pointed out that luke moves the homecoming of nazareth early into his book on the account of the gospel, just to set the tone for the rejection of Jesus early on. And now he returns to sort of talk about that year that led up to Jesus' return to Nazareth, when Jesus goes back, where Jesus establishes a ministry in Capernaum first. Capernaum's the hometown of Peter and presumably Andrew. It's also the hometown of James and John and their families. When Luke says that he went down to Capernaum, he doesn't use it the way you and I do. We always talk about going south. And we always think that means we went down somewhere. He literally means he went down to Capernaum. It's northwest, about 26 miles from Nazareth to Capernaum. Capernaum's on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Nazareth, if you remember from last week, is on a hill. It's about 1500 feet above sea level, Nazareth is. Capernaum is about 700 feet below sea level. So he literally went down to Capernaum. And we're told that He went preaching and teaching in the synagogues. In fact, again, as we saw last week, this passage opens and closes with the preaching and teaching of Jesus. This is the emphasis of Jesus's ministry. His miracles were simply in a supporting role to his teaching, to establish and prove he had the authority to say the things that he said. But Luke tells us in verse 31 that Jesus went into the synagogue and was teaching the people there. We had already seen that when he talks about him in Nazareth, it was his custom to every Sabbath day to go into the synagogue and to teach. And then the passage ends in verse 44, telling us that Jesus was preaching in all of the synagogues of Judea. Jesus taught and preached. Jesus trained his disciples to be teachers and preachers. In fact, Of all of the ministries or titles of ministers that we can argue over in the Christian community today, there are only two that really no Christian community disagrees on. We may disagree on whether there are still priests. We may disagree on whether we should be calling anyone apostle or prophet. But there are two titles that every Christian community recognizes are necessary for the Christian community, preachers and teachers. This kind of raises the argument against this idea that once you know Jesus, You shouldn't be so bogged down with all the heavy, deep thoughts or teachings. Why do we talk so much about theology or confessions or creeds? Isn't love the emphasis? What happened to no creed but Christ, no confession but the Bible? The problem with that is that That's a creedal confessional statement. So, no creed but Christ is a nice little short creed. No confession but the Bible is a confession. It's just empty and meaningless. Certainly, we would never want to elevate any man's teachings above or even to the same level as the Bible. But the idea that you don't need anyone else's help is sort of, well, it's a little toddler-esque. the whole, no, I do it by myself. I don't want your help. Many of us approach our Christian lives as though, now that I'm saved, I can do it all by myself. I don't need anyone else's help. And yet here is Jesus saying the reason He came was to teach and preach. We need to be taught and brought. That's probably not it. Taught teached to and preached to. I don't know why. The English language is fun. We need to be taught. That's the point here. His teaching is the emphasis, the signs and wonders are always in support And those certainly cause people to marvel, but it's always interesting to see that the first place people marveled was at the authority with which Jesus spoke, the authority with which he taught. In fact, that moves us into the outline as we look at the authority of the king, the power of the king, and the kingdom of the king as we work our way through here. Twice in the opening paragraph, The people marvel at the authority of Jesus. First, it's over his teaching, his words. Jesus spoke with authority. He taught with authority, and not merely an authority of, I know the Torah better than you do, although he probably did know the Torah better than anyone. But his authority wasn't just because he was smarter than everyone. His authority was because the Father had given him authority. He had authority directly from the father. The father had declared him to have authority. He said, this, you are my son. I am very pleased with you. Luke will go on to describe the ministry of Jesus. as having authority no less than 15 times in the book of Luke. He talks about both the teaching and the work of Jesus as being done with authority. And it's not just Luke. It's a theme throughout. It's the theme of the message of the gospel, and therefore a theme throughout all four accounts of the gospel. Because if Jesus doesn't have the authority to act on God's behalf, then we are all in trouble. There's no point in listening to him if he doesn't speak with authority. You know, some of you have little children. Some of you used to have little children. Some of you used to be little children. So we've got all of us in this, but I don't know if you recall, maybe either your mother would do this or you would, it would happen to you or you would do it to your children. It's time to come in and clean up. One of your kids is there with you. And so you send them out and say, go tell your brothers and sisters, it's time to come inside and wash up for dinner. And so they go outside. And they say, you need to come inside right now and wash your hands. Effective? No, what's going to happen? What are the kids, what are their siblings going to say? Like there's like one stint, what? Yeah, you're not my mom. I don't have to listen to you. I don't have to do anything you say. Now if mom, if the windows are open and mom hears, she's going to help said child and say, okay, this time go outside and say, mom says it's time to come inside and clean up. So you, you add that, I'm here as mom's representative. The words I am speaking to you are mom's words. Now it's on you. If you don't want to listen, that's fine. Now, I mean, certainly siblings can abuse that, and teachers and preachers can abuse that. Oh, the Lord said. Oh, God told me. Oh, listen. That's why we are careful with our language, by the way. Throwing out things like God said, the Lord told me, That's argument ending. It's like, oh, well, that's weird because I feel like I might not be a Christian because God has never told me where to live. God has never told me these things. I don't think God loves me as much as he loves you. If we could just be more careful with how we speak. you know i'm feeling by this time i feel this is the thing that's before me and and as i read scripture this seems like a good opportunity for me and but uh... You know, usually, but even when we say, I mean, feel lead is sort of reformed code for God told me also. So we almost don't, uh, we don't argue with each other either. When we start feeling lead. My pastor used to talk about carrying little shotgun BBs in his pocket and just giving it to everyone so that they could just reach up and feel their pocket every time they wanted to feel lead. Good job. See, but that's only going to encourage me, as my wife would say. So, some examples of the authority of Jesus in the Gospels. We'll come to it later in chapter 5. Actually, I think, yeah, in chapter 5, Jesus has the authority to forgive sins. Jesus has the authority over broken creation to restore it. Jesus has the authority to teach even the most learned scholars. Jesus has authority over the wind and the waves. Some of these, like, you remember hearing this in scripture. Probably most significantly, Jesus has the authority to lay down his life and to take it back up again. And as we see here, Jesus has authority over demons. So there's a couple things that stand in contrast between His time in Nazareth and His time in Capernaum. So first, we see in Jesus' hometown, people who should have been, because of their familiarity with Jesus, they should have been most open and receptive to hearing Jesus' teaching and receiving it. And yet they're the ones that reject him. He goes to Capernaum, where he's practically a stranger, and they receive with open arms his teaching. They marvel at it, and they're amazed by it, but not just amazed in a negative way, but amazed and receive it. It's a reminder that, you know, just that we have to always be on guard against some sense of like, familiarity, so familiar with Jesus that we no longer are listening to what he's saying or what he's teaching us in his word. The other thing that's interesting is essentially the people in Nazareth say to Jesus, I know who you are. You're Joseph's son. And then you come to Capernaum and the demon says to him, I know who you are. You're God's son. He says, you are the holy one of God. Now, maybe you've been wondering, maybe you're not, but maybe you've been wondering, why does Jesus always tell the demons to stop talking about who he is? It seems the demons say he's the Son of God, he's the Holy One. They seem to have a, it might be helpful to hear from the demons that the Son of God is here, but Jesus never lets them get past that first statement. Why? Well, for one thing, recognize that what the demon is confessing is a fact. He's not confessing faith. Certainly it's a statement of a revelation, but it's no statement of a relationship. Confession ought to come out of a relationship with Christ. God does not need the help of Satan or his horde to spread the truth of the gospel. Now, this does raise an interesting application for us. Statements of fact are not the same thing as statements of faith. If nothing else, let's at least learn from the demons and recognize that you could actually spend your whole life saying, I know, I know, I know, and you will know all the way into hell. Knowing is not the point. Does who Jesus is affect you? Does who He is have an impact on who you are? The people are amazed at the authority of Jesus, but they're also amazed at His power. It's a great transitioning verse in verse 36. 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 forth. They come out. Jesus has power. But it's not just power over the demons. They leave the synagogue, we're told, and they go to Simon's house. In 2012, Amy and I had the privilege of going to Israel, and we went to Capernaum. In Capernaum, they've excavated the synagogue. First, you see all these pretty white stones, and it's very well laid out. Then they tell you, oh, well, that's actually the fourth century restored synagogue. But then you see deeper down, there's these black stones. And they said, that's actually, that is the first century synagogue, these black stones that we've unearthed. And so you get there and it's really cool because then you're like, wow, I am in the synagogue where Jesus just did those things. And it's kind of cool. And then They found this house within walking distance of the synagogue that they've also excavated. And the house is weird because it's been like plastered over and no one plastered over houses back then, but it's been like the inside walls have been plastered over and they're pretty and white. And then there's like all this like kind of Christian graffiti and etchings and words carved into that plaster. And so they realized that this home was an early church, like it was used as a church. These homes were more like multiple kind of households that would live at a, like each household was sort of surround a courtyard and all of them would open onto the inside courtyard. And so it would be like sort of an extended family home. And so there's good reason to believe that that's Simon Peter's home, because it's within walking distance, it's close to the sea. So Jesus goes to this home, and there's a problem at the home. Peter's mother-in-law has a fever and is sick. Again, at 700 feet below sea level, it's capernium, sort of this little petri dish where many germs and diseases can just sort of settle in. Malaria was not an uncommon problem. But look at some of the details of this. So first of all, we see that there are others who are appealing to Jesus on behalf of the mother-in-law. So there's intercession going on. Jesus speaks to the fever in the same way that he spoke to the demons. He rebukes the fever. Usually when someone's sick or something's happening, Jesus speaks to the person. But here, Jesus speaks to the fever. He rebukes the fever. Some people wonder if that means that this was a fever brought on by a demon. But also remember, Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves when they were in the storm. It's not necessary to say that the fever was brought on by a demon. What's probably more important to understand is that Everything that is against God's created order is an enemy of Christ, and He has come to put it in its place. In ushering in the kingdom, Jesus has come to restore God's purposes for life on earth. Sickness, demons, death, these are all worthy of a rebuke from the Son of God. Also notice that she's immediately well. There's not, the fever was gone, and he told her, now rest. You need to recover your strength. Like most of us, when our fever breaks, that's when we're like, finally, I can go to sleep for the next eight hours because I am exhausted from this fever. This fever goes, and just like the wind and the waves, like when Jesus rebuked them, it was instantly calm. Here, Jesus rebukes the fever and she is instantly so healed that she gets up and begins to serve others. That's the last thing to notice here, that having been healed, her desire was immediately to care for others. Now remember that in those days, they would count their days from sundown to sundown. So sundown on Friday was the beginning of Sabbath. And then when the sun set on Saturday, that was the end of Sabbath. And so we're told that at the end of the day, as the sun is setting, now, you know, the Sabbath is over and people start coming out. And people had heard already of what Jesus had done at the synagogue and what he had done at Peter's house. And so they come and they begin showing up and they're bringing, they're bringing their sick and they're hurting and the demon possessed. And Jesus doesn't just heal them. There's an intentionality behind it. It says that he laid his hands, he laid hands on them and healed them. It was personal. It was intimate. There's empathy and compassion from Jesus toward all of them. He doesn't, he treats them according to their humanity. not according to their ailment. Again, demons are shouting, you're the son of God, and he rebukes them. This is the third time in this short passage that we're told that Jesus rebukes. He rebukes the demons. He rebukes the fever. He rebukes the demons. Again, reminding us of the power of Jesus over all of the marks of the fall. Because Jesus is the rightful King. It's interesting, the people of Nazareth didn't care for Jesus and His message, and so they wanted Him silenced. The people of Capernaum have a different struggle, don't they? They love what Jesus has done for them, and they just want to keep Him there. Hey, we got other problems, too. Hey, my toilet is clogged. Hey, there's all kinds of stuff you could be doing for us right now. This is great. This is so wonderful. And yeah, they want to worship Him, perhaps, and they're interested, but they're just like, hey, you need to stay here. They want to control Him, to manage Him. Are you happy with Jesus saving you, but not really all that interested in seeing those in your life who are also broken brought to Jesus. They say, Jesus, don't go. Jesus says simply, I must. I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to other towns as well, for I was sent for this purpose. No other phrase is used so often to describe the central reason for the coming of Jesus as the kingdom of God, or the kingdom of heaven as Matthew uses it. God's people have always had an understanding that God is king. God is the king over all that exists. Since nothing exists without His will, He rules over all. But in the sense of his people, God is twice king, because not only has he created them and made them, he's also redeemed and saved them. He's delivered them. He's brought them time and again out from under false kings and tyrants. In Exodus 15, the song of Moses celebrates God's reign, God's power and authority. He's the king who has saved his people from Egypt. He has delivered them from slavery. God has appointed Moses to be his representative. God has given Moses authority to speak on God's behalf and has even given Moses some power to prove the authority that he has from God. Moses acting in God's authority is given power to deliver God's people, but Moses' anger and his sin keep him from being able to give the full deliverance that God's people need. Samson. Yes, Samson in Judges. Do you know that Samson, a little trivia for you, is the only other person in the Bible referred to as the Holy One of God? It's interesting the demon uses that title for Jesus. I know who you are. You're the Holy One of God. Samson is sent with the authority of God to deliver his people from tyrannical rulers, the Philistines. He's given power to prove the authority that he has to deliver the people. His strength was supposed to be a sign that he came in the name of God, but his ego and his sin get in the way, and he can't deliver the people the way they need to be delivered. In 1 Samuel, we read when we were looking at 1 Samuel that the people, when they demand or ask for a king, God says clearly to Samuel, you aren't the one they're rejecting. The people are rejecting me as their king. And on and on it goes, even through the actual kings, Elijah and Elisha, the prophets sent to the wicked kings, The prophets who also were given power to prove the authority that they spoke with. Isaiah tells us that there will be a servant who comes, a servant who will come both with power and with meekness, with strength and with weakness. He will gently lead. He will bear the wrath of God. for our deliverance. In one sense, the kingdom of God is a realm, and certainly it's heaven, and it's restored earth. But in another sense, the kingdom of God is a way of life, it's a rule. You can only describe facets of the kingdom of God. There's just too much to it. And even then, it's mostly in parables. You can say, it's like this. The kingdom of God, it's like that. It's like a merciful ruler. It's like a persistent widow, a patient farmer, a tree of rest, a wayward son returning home. But the kingdom of God is also a call, an invitation. Come, rest, come, be redeemed, be restored. It's a place for repentant sinners only. And then we're to see what has been restored to us and have a desire to see that restored to others. It's a, it's a, it's a complete different attitude toward a kingdom than we have today, isn't it? It's a, where, where we sort of, I mean, like, not to like get political or anything, but the whole, you know, the whole immigration question. Like, I'm pretty sure like nobody here is native. to these lands, and yet it's interesting that now that we're here, we're like, okay, close the doors. It's getting ridiculous. I mean, my parents were here, my grandparents were here. That's enough. We have enough. It's enough. You notice the kingdom of God is never like that. The kingdom of God is supposed to be ever expanding. We're supposed to be constantly inviting. No, come, come, taste, come, eat, come, buy, buy wine and milk without money. Come, come, find rest from your labor. Jesus has authority over your life. He speaks with authority. Like that should humble us. Jesus has power over your life. I mean, if Jesus can cast out demons and cast out fevers, don't you think he has the power to help you with your sin? Don't you think He has the power? If He's able to do those things, can't He also heal you of those temptations, deliver you, give you strength, give you a desire, give you new desires to love Him? What should we do when we read passages like this? Well, we should, first of all, we should certainly repent, receive, and rejoice. repent of our sin, receive the power and authority of Jesus, and rejoice that He has brought us into His kingdom. We should also invite and intercede, like those in Simon's household, going to Jesus on behalf of one another, going to Jesus on behalf of others. We should be interceding for each other well. We should be taking part in prayer with each other and for each other. And if Jesus has the authority and power to heal you, we should be going out and looking to our neighbors to say, look, if he can do this for me, I know he can do this for you. This is why Jesus came, he said, to preach the good news of the kingdom of God. Let's pray. Jesus, thank you for coming to bring us into your kingdom, not to establish your kingdom by keeping us out, treating us like the enemy we deserve to be treated like, the enemies that we lived as for so long. But you came to your enemies and died to make us your children. You brought us into your kingdom. God, I pray that we would be open to the teaching and preaching of your word, that you would grant to us the discernment and wisdom that we need God, give us a heart for our neighbors, the heart of Christ for our neighbors. Even as Jesus came to save us, fill us with compassion and empathy to treat others according to their humanity, not according to their ailments. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.