Luke 4:38-44

Transcript

00:00:01:21 – 00:00:35:16
Clint Loveall
Hey, friend. Thanks for being with us. On Tuesdays, we continue through the Gospel of Luke in the fourth chapter today looks like about verse 32, I believe 31. Excuse me. I had it circled and couldn’t see the number. We have here. Remember that Jesus, Yesterday we saw a story of Jesus in this hometown. He had sort of ruffled some feathers in Nazareth, and then he goes on his way, actually escapes from a mob who was going to do him harm.

00:00:35:36 – 00:00:57:32
Clint Loveall
And now we get the next step in the story. So let’s look at this together. He went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbath. They were astounded at his teaching because he spoke with authority in the synagogue. There was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, Let us alone, what have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?

00:00:57:54 – 00:01:17:43
Clint Loveall
Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are. The Holy one of God. But Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be silent. Come out of him when the demon had thrown him down before them, he came out of him without having done him harm. They were all amazed. They kept saying to one another, What kind of utterance is this for?

00:01:17:43 – 00:01:56:27
Clint Loveall
With authority and power, he commands unclean spirits and they come out and a report about him began to reach every place in the region. So I believe here, Michael, the first healing, the first action that we’ve seen in the Jesus story in Luke, and here we have it happening on this bus, which will be an issue at some point isn’t in this story because Luke is going to find that a little less, but it’s going to be a little less compelling and Luke’s versions of the story than, say, Matthew or even John.

00:01:56:27 – 00:02:38:27
Clint Loveall
But it is the Sabbath here and he’s teaching. And before we get to the miracle or the exorcism, they were astounded at his teaching because he spoke with authority. Several gospel writers include a phrase like this. They don’t exactly parse that out as to what they mean, but it is intriguing that even in the earliest moments here, Jesus is somehow identified as a different kind of teacher and not because of the content, but because of the delivery, because of the force of his personality, because of his passion, because of the way in which he conducts himself and carries himself.

00:02:38:27 – 00:03:02:31
Clint Loveall
And notice that this is before this is before the healing. This is before he’s done anything. And yet there’s something that marks Jesus as different from others who are doing the same thing, others who are teaching. And it’s fascinating. Michael Every gospel has a line like this in it where there’s something about Jesus that the people notice and respond to.

00:03:02:51 – 00:03:26:24
Michael Gewecke
Yeah, because when Jesus comes, he has teaching that is similar to, you know, any other teacher that comes through. But as we see in the other gospels, that teaching is with power. And I think that it should be noted that Luke has brought us to this point carefully. We began with that idea of the wilderness testing where he’s confronted by Satan himself.

00:03:26:42 – 00:03:58:51
Michael Gewecke
Then he goes back to the people who should have claimed them as his own, who should have been the homefield kind of advantage people. And then when they reject him, he miraculously just walks through the crowd. However, that is now he comes to a city farther away, Capernaum Galilee, where we’re now moving away from the hometown and we’re making our way into what might even be not foreign territory, but certainly we’ve left the place of that hometown circle, and now we’re going to begin that ministry.

00:03:58:51 – 00:04:28:28
Michael Gewecke
And as Jesus is doing so, he’s not just offering up human words and he’s not doing that with charisma. The people see that this speaking is with authority. And then make no mistake about it, Luke moves immediately to demonstrate what is intended by the idea of authority, because the very Satan who tempted Jesus in the wilderness, who promised all of these things to try to get Jesus to claim himself or Satan instead of God, the Father here.

00:04:28:28 – 00:05:00:21
Michael Gewecke
Now, Jesus immediately casts out the spirit of an unclean demon, a person who is afflicted by the devil’s own. And I think that this power here is the world writing this devil defying demon, casting out any kind of power. Jesus isn’t just coming in offering moral teachings. He’s not just an ethical philosopher. When Jesus comes and teaches, his authority makes an impact in the real lives of the people of the community.

00:05:00:21 – 00:05:18:52
Michael Gewecke
And Luke is brought us through Jesus’s inauguration of ministry. And now we see that ministry as it’s going to remain for the rest of this book. Jesus combining his powerful teaching with his powerful acts, all of it displaying his own divinity and God’s work in the world.

00:05:19:19 – 00:05:48:09
Clint Loveall
Yeah, I’ve had occasion many, many years ago to briefly know a person who in the Navy was an admiral, which I believe is about as high of rank as you can get. And an admiral typically has command over an entire part of a fleet. And so they are they’re significant within their structure and he was not arrogant. He wasn’t loud.

00:05:48:18 – 00:06:13:10
Clint Loveall
He he wasn’t, you know, full of himself. But he had a demeanor of a man who thousands of people listened to. I mean, he literally had authority over thousands of people in his fleet. And if if he told them that they did it, I mean, and so there is something there is something to that. There is something noticeable.

00:06:13:10 – 00:06:35:29
Clint Loveall
And one of the interesting things in each gospel is it tells us people notice that about Jesus. And then we get the follow up story. As you mentioned, Michael, there is this man who is suffering because of an unclean spirit. And I know for Presbyterians we don’t always know what to do with this language. The idea of demons, the idea of exorcisms.

00:06:35:29 – 00:07:07:19
Clint Loveall
But they are simply a part of the gospel narrative and through the lens of the gospel. One of the things Jesus does is confronts the presence of evil in people’s lives, in their bodies, in their minds. And there is a force through the eyes of the gospel that works against health and wholeness and holiness, and tries to keep people away from the purposes of God.

00:07:07:19 – 00:07:27:55
Clint Loveall
And so whatever you make of that, personally, it is woven into the story and it simply is it is a part of the landscape here. And so this man is suffering for this. And notice that, you know, the demon here speaks in plural. Let us alone. What do you have to do with us? We know who you are.

00:07:27:55 – 00:07:57:18
Clint Loveall
This is a pretty common theme in the gospel that evil always recognizes good, evil, recognizes holiness, and the demons recognize the godliness of Jesus. And then Jesus says, Be silent. One of the things that he often tells the demons and this man then is set free. And, you know, Jesus ministry is characterized by these healing moments, whether they be physical or whether they be spiritual.

00:07:57:46 – 00:08:31:42
Clint Loveall
But the point, I think, not to be missed. The takeaway from this is that there is a man there that is suffering and Jesus through his power and through his authority, this very authority with which he teaches, sets the man free. He has the authority not just to teach, but to do as you said, Michael. And I think that it is a kind of I don’t want to say a proof, but it is a kind of evidence that he deserves the recognition of having authority.

00:08:31:42 – 00:08:56:16
Clint Loveall
And now the people are even more amazed at the end of this. They say to one another, what is this? Who is this by authority and power, he commands unclean spirits and they obey and word begins to spread. We see this also in all of the gospels. When Jesus does something, you know, they don’t have social media, but like a wildfire, word spreads.

00:08:56:16 – 00:09:10:49
Clint Loveall
In fact, it will get to the point where Jesus can’t go somewhere that they don’t know him and know that he’s coming in most instances. And that is both a good thing and a struggle in the course of the story.

00:09:11:16 – 00:09:31:06
Michael Gewecke
I think that it’s worth honing in for just a moment on that section. Clinton Talk a little bit about this statement from the crowd. What kind of other says this for with authority and power, he commands the unclean spirits and out they come. It’s it’s wonderful when the gospel writers do this because we have this entire story that comes before this.

00:09:31:06 – 00:09:53:58
Michael Gewecke
And here Luke is already helping us explicitly understand the lesson we’re supposed to take from the story. And we do. We get fixated on the demonic Presbyterians especially. That’s not a native part of our faith vocabulary. It’s not a part of our daily experience. And so sometimes we struggle to internalize that part of the scripture in our lives.

00:09:54:12 – 00:10:20:47
Michael Gewecke
But Luke makes it clear here to not get hung up on what is the demon, but rather what we’re supposed to focus on is the authority and power with which he can command the unclean spirits. That this whole idea that when Jesus comes with authority, it is with a unique kind of authority. This story is therefore at the very beginning of this gospel, showing us the unique nature of Jesus, his life and ministry.

00:10:20:47 – 00:10:41:04
Michael Gewecke
We’ve had all of these connections to the Old Testament. We’ve talked about them as bridges built to help bridge from the Old Testament to this. Jesus is like a prophet in many ways, but Luke is now firmly turned the corner to make the case that Jesus might be like a prophet, but he’s not just a prophet. Jesus might be a teacher, but he’s not just a teacher.

00:10:41:04 – 00:11:00:34
Michael Gewecke
He He with what he says and what he does through the miraculous workings that happened in the midst of his ministry, Luke wants it to be clear, abundantly clear to us, the reader, that this man, Jesus Christ, is something different than any one of those who have come before and that He has a unique role and power in the world.

00:11:00:46 – 00:11:25:48
Michael Gewecke
He’s defied Satan successfully, and now when he goes into his teaching ministry, the very demons who recognize him for who he is cannot stand before him due to his ability to call them out. That is the kind of world shaping power of this man. And now that we’ve turned fully into his ministry, there’s no warm up, period. There’s no sort of getting us going.

00:11:26:04 – 00:11:31:15
Michael Gewecke
Day one, This is who Jesus is. And he will remain this person throughout the rest of his ministry.

00:11:31:44 – 00:12:03:18
Clint Loveall
Yeah, two things, Michael. One, and I don’t I don’t want to I don’t want to give Luke more credit than he deserves because to some extent, I do think this is a part of the way the other gospels are written as well. But pay attention to the crowd voiced sentences and comments and commentary in Luke because when we hear something spoken in the voice of the crowd, it is often intended, I think, to be the question of the reader.

00:12:04:35 – 00:12:39:36
Clint Loveall
What is this? Who is this? And again, this isn’t uncommon in the other gospels. I just think Luke does it particularly well. So when you hear the crowd notice something, questions, something, wrestle with something, I think those are moments in this gospel, particularly where you want to pay attention. You you want to think through those questions for yourself, because I think Luke is not only telling us they ask that he’s sort of asking the same of us, and I think that’s a thing that he does well.

00:12:39:55 – 00:13:03:45
Clint Loveall
The second thing I would say, Michael, and this is universal to all the gospels, the idea of signs matter in the gospel, the idea of seeing what Jesus does. And again, to your point, Michael, I think sometimes we get caught up in, well, the it said this, but maybe that was epilepsy or it said demon, but maybe that was this or the gospel.

00:13:04:33 – 00:13:28:40
Clint Loveall
I, I, I don’t want to go too far here. So, you know, pull me back a little. The gospel just doesn’t care about those conversations at all, in my opinion. I just don’t think it is not trying to diagnose illnesses. It is not the Bible says what it says and the part it wants you to see is that Jesus did something to it.

00:13:28:58 – 00:13:48:39
Clint Loveall
Jesus called a spirit unclean and made it go away, made it release a man. Jesus is going to meet tomorrow, a woman with a fever, and he’s going to tell the fever to leave her alone. Jesus is going to see illnesses and he’s going to restore people’s life and health. Those are the signs that point to who he is.

00:13:48:39 – 00:14:13:31
Clint Loveall
And in all of the gospels, those are the things that are not to be missed. And when we quibble over the particulars, not that we can’t, we can do some of that. It’s okay, but we want to make sure we don’t miss the big point because of the little points. And so signs and and signposts are drastically important in the Jesus story.

00:14:13:53 – 00:14:38:52
Clint Loveall
And Luke is really good at giving them to us. Luke’s not alone in that, but Luke is is good at it. And so there it is. There’s not. It’s not an accident that Luke’s first story about Jesus first work is getting rid of an unclean spirit, because that sets the tone for Jesus ministry and that matters. It matters in the Gospels.

00:14:39:19 – 00:15:03:03
Michael Gewecke
You know, the idea that Jesus can speak with this kind of authority, that the crowd sees it, that they’re amazed by it. And then the idea that that is going to be spread through this report, that the word is going to begin to be disseminated across the different communities surrounding the area, you know, that is inherent to what Luke’s trying to do.

00:15:03:03 – 00:15:28:30
Michael Gewecke
He’s not just telling us a historical antidote about what happened after Jesus cast out a demon. He is trying to make the case that when one encounters the liberating power of Jesus, the report will be spread, the witnesses will be called upon that there’s nothing left to do but to say what has been seen. And I think this now bridges into a small element of sermon.

00:15:28:32 – 00:15:55:17
Michael Gewecke
I’m not sure that this is incredibly textual, but I would just sort of want to slow down and point out that I do think that this has implications for us as Christians today trying to live out our faith in a meaningful way to recognize that what you report and therefore what you say does matter. And it’s good and worthwhile to pause sometimes and to take self-reflection of the words that we find leaving our mouth.

00:15:55:17 – 00:16:22:17
Michael Gewecke
Are they filled with doubt? Are they filled with anxiety? Are they filled with gossip and backbiting? Are they filled with complaining? The mark of those who have encountered the living authority of Jesus, whose lives have been touched by this man, who casts out demons but with by the word, should be a good report. It should be the kind of thing that introduces other people to the saving work that we’ve experienced in our own life.

00:16:22:17 – 00:16:40:22
Michael Gewecke
And I think it’s worth noting that what we say matters and the content of our speech should, I think, as Christians, be held to the standard of who Jesus Christ is and that authority that He brings to bear, and I confess to you, that’s more sermon than study, but I think it’s a worthwhile thing to remember.

00:16:40:46 – 00:17:12:00
Clint Loveall
I don’t think I’ve ever thought about it exactly this way, Michael, But if you were in the crowd here, and as you look at the crowd, they’re happy for the man that is healed that, you know, they’re happy that this man has made queen, but they’re astounded by Jesus. It Jesus is the puzzling, amazing part. I think sometimes because we’re familiar with Jesus, we get in these stories and we’re glad that Jesus did his thing, but we’re really curious about the man or the woman.

00:17:12:25 – 00:17:37:37
Clint Loveall
And I think we sometimes get them flipped around and we just want to make sure that we understand that that’s not the story Luke’s telling us. Luke Yes, I mean, this man isn’t even named. We don’t know when you get to the end of the story. Sure, we’re happy for the man, but the amazement is directed toward Jesus, and we want that to be true as we read it and as we encounter the story as well.

00:17:38:15 – 00:18:10:42
Michael Gewecke
It is also striking, maybe a little convicting that when Jesus shows up to church, the thing that astonishes everyone is that he doesn’t just say words, but that they’re signs that accompany it. And I do think that even today, those who have heard the story of Jesus, those who return to that story, often those of you who take time, many of you daily to join us for this study, it is tempting as a Christian to become accustomed to these kinds of stories, to take them for granted.

00:18:11:04 – 00:18:36:19
Michael Gewecke
But imagine in your place of worship that Sunday in which Jesus teaches and what he proclaims the authority that he claims for himself isn’t just verbal, but it’s enacted. That it is seen in the life of a person who everybody knew by name. Everybody knew this person’s condition, everybody knew the story that surrounded it. And suddenly before their eyes, that all changed in a moment.

00:18:36:36 – 00:18:46:21
Michael Gewecke
Jesus had completely turned the kingdom upside down. And that’s the kind of person who we serve, and that’s the kind of person that Luke intends to introduce us to.

00:18:47:11 – 00:19:05:49
Clint Loveall
Yeah, Yeah. I think, you know, again, we’re going to see a lot of these stories. We’ll try not to go as far into them every time as we have today. We’ll move through a little quicker. But there’s some things we want to kind of get established on the front end. And I think this is a good, good point to do that.

00:19:05:49 – 00:19:15:32
Clint Loveall
So hope you can join us tomorrow. See a little bit of a different spin on Jesus work and then a really interesting text as we continue through the story. So thanks for being here today.

00:19:15:41 – 00:19:34:03
Michael Gewecke
Thanks for being here. Give the video like certainly comment with questions, thoughts, concerns and we would love to talk with you through that channel. That said, and we look forward to seeing you all tomorrow.