A. Opening illustration: Super Bowl LIII, elephants are the biggest babies born on earth except for Patriots haters
B. Background to passage: It is a common misconception of most religions that there is a great battle of good and evil going on through the ages with Satan/evil (or whatever form he/it may take in various religions) fighting against God/good with all its undulations throughout the centuries. During this battle the virtuous men and women are soldiers in this epic struggle for both sides hoping that their team wins. The bible does not teach this worldview, and this text demonstrates how evil works in God’s economy. Luke spends the remainder of chapter four with Jesus’s visit to Capernaum where Jesus casts out demons and heals the sick. Here Jesus acts for his missional purposes of authority and preaching.
C. Main thought: We are going to see two purposes in Christ’s triumph over evil.
1) To Demonstrate His Authority (v. 36, 40-41)
a. We are not going to take time to give a long study on demons. However, understand that the bible teaches that they are real, knowledgeable, evil, cunning, crafty, dangerous, and actively at work in our world to kill, steal, and destroy. C. S. Lewis said that we can make two errors in relation, we can deny that they exist/or completely ignore with unconcern or we can become overly fixated, either is acceptable to them for our abdication of our kingdom mission. This passage (and the bible as a whole) demonstrates God’s absolute authority over them. They exist and operate only by the permission of Almighty God. This is why they said, “we know who you are…” Their knowledge is followed by rejection not submission. This raises a lot of “why” questions, one of which I will address in a minute. However, here, his authority is the issue before the crowd. It was also a personal issue because they were all affected by these conditions. His command of demonic activity and the bodily harm of disease testified to his divinity, and if to his divinity, to the glory of God. They were amazed.
b. Argumentation
c. Illustration: read the quote below! What if Jesus looked at Hurricane Michael and just said, “Cease and desist?” Or after the fact, put the trees back up and remove the waters and fix the houses? We just don’t have a category for absolute power.
d. We often find ourselves in the position of the citizens of Capernaum. We give lip service to the omnipotence to God over all, and yet grant him no authority in our lives, nor expect to him to do anything miraculous with us. We have a long history of knowing the miracles of Jesus, especially those that relate to healing. Do we truly believe in the absolute sovereignty of God? Do we rest in that fact? Do we gladly submit to his will in all circumstances, or just the ones that are easy for us? Do we really believe that we rise in the morning with our hearts still beating because of him, that each atom holds its because of Him, the tides come and go by him, the animals give birth by him, that not a bird in some unknown forest doesn’t fall apart from your Father’s will?
e. Or we become selfishly focused on the healing aspect, become fixated on it, and lose sight of the Healer. In such a case, if God does not heal in the time or fashion that we want, we become angry, embittered, or feel jolted by the Almighty. James says that our prayers sometimes do not get answered because of our improper motivations – we seek blessing simply to consume it for ourselves alone. What happens to our faith and feelings if God doesn’t answer our prayers in the affirmative? Are we comfortable praying not my will but thine be done?
2) To Further the Purpose for Which He was Sent (v. 43)
a. On a number of occasions Jesus declared the explicit purpose for his coming, one of which was in the previous passage. His purpose was to preach the good news of salvation. The miracles he performed gained him an audience. The messiah was prophesied to do miracles, and in Israel when oppressing governments controlled, deliverance was always looked for. So, when a miracle-worker was found, the anticipation rose. This is the main reason that his fame grew, and word spread far past the areas in which he had ministered. When he arrived in town the gate swung wide for his arrival, and thus his opportunity to preach the gospel. Salvation is the most God-glorifying act of all time, and for Jesus to proclaim it and accomplish it was to fulfill the purpose for which he sent. Therefore, demons and sickness were simply opportunities to fulfill the calling and plan for him.
b. Luke 5:32 - I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance,” Matthew 5:17 - “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them,” Matthew 20:28 - even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many,” John 10:10 - The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly,” John 12:27 - “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour,” John 18:37 “Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose, I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice,” John 9 – man blind since birth,
c. Illustration: Matt Chandler’s cancer outlook
d. The people of Capernaum looked for casting out, healings, miracles, etc. We always look for deliverance. Learn contentment. Learn rest. Through the gospel become counter-human because of your greater longing for His glory than for your deliverance. There is much evil in our world. Perhaps the greatest testimony in your life is how you face it. The world needs to see believers that view suffering in this life as a path to sanctification. We need to view evil in this world as a means to an end. The end is that God be seen as all-satisfying, all-sufficient, completely sovereign, and worthy to be worshipped in the darkest hours, having never forsaken us. We must cast off the lies of Satan that you have been forgotten or forsaken. This doesn’t mean that we can’t say that there is immense pain in our hearts, but that simultaneously say, it is well with my soul. This is unnatural. It is counter-human. It is what says to the world that our Christ is more valuable than anything. Evil is used to call people to repentance.
e. Ah, to call people to a loving, caring, sheltering God who offers rest for the weary and grace to the contrite. Evil is a chance for you to offer its solution. Not always deliverance, mind you, but solution. A healing balm in the good news that Jesus forgives. Good news in that Jesus went to the cross for you to die for you, to put on your pain, and take it all the way to the cross then the tomb to triumph over it, and offering forgiveness, adoption, justification, satisfaction, and joy! We must use evil as Jesus did and call others to him. No evil is purposeless, it has design. So, don’t waste it. Repent and believe, and encourage others to do likewise.
A. Closing illustration: John Piper’s interview with the NPR reporter about the tsunami
B. Recap
He is always infinitely admirable in everything and over everything supreme,
• over all galaxies and endless reaches of space,
• over the earth from the top of Mount Everest 29,000 feet up to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, 36,000 feet down in the Mariana Trench in the Pacific rim.
• He is sovereign and supreme over all plants and animals from the peaceful blue whale to the microscopic killer viruses.
• He is supreme over all weather and all movements of the earth, hurricanes, tornadoes, monsoons, earthquakes, avalanches, floods, snow, rain, sleet.
• He is supreme over all chemical processes that heal or destroy, cancer, AIDS, malaria, flu and all the amazing grace of antibiotics and a thousand healing drugs that we do not deserve.
• He is supreme over all countries and governments and armies.
• He is supreme over al Qaeda and the terrorists and the kidnappings and the suicide bombings and the beheadings.
• He is supreme over bin Laden and Al Zarqawi.
• He is supreme over all nuclear threats from Iran and Russia and North Korea.
• He is supreme over politics and elections and debates.
• He is supreme over media and news and entertainment and sports and leisure.
• He is supreme over all education in universities no matter what they teach and he is supreme over all scholarship and science and research.
• He is supreme over all business and finance and industry and manufacturing and transportation
• He is supreme over the internet and all informational systems.
• As Abraham Kuyper, famously said—and many of you know: There is not one square inch on planet earth over which the risen Christ does not say: Mine and I rule it. I am supreme over it.
