LUKE 4:31-44 THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS2011 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Luke 4:31-44 The Authority Of Jesus

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You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2011.

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This morning as we finish up chapter 4, we're moving along from what we studied the last two weeks, which was Jesus ministering in his hometown, the city of Nazareth where he was raised. He went to the synagogue there and we got to see the teaching that he brought forth from Isaiah chapter 61 and then how his hometown responded and they tried to put him to death, they rejected his teaching.

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And then, of course, the crowd miraculously parted and Jesus was able to walk away. Well,

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Well, from there he goes now to a place called Capernaum. We'll talk about that as we get into the portion this morning. And he's moving his home, really his headquarters of his ministry, there to the region of Capernaum. And now he's going to begin to use that as a base for his ministries. He goes out and returns to Capernaum throughout the rest of the three and a half years of his ministry.

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Now, if you want to later on check out some of the parallel passages and get a little bit of a better understanding of the portion we'll be studying this morning, then I would encourage you to write down Matthew chapter 8 and Mark chapter 1. In Matthew chapter 8 and Mark chapter 1, we have the parallel accounts and they give a slightly different perspective on some of the events that were taking place as this day is unfolding.

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But as we look at this portion before us this morning, we're looking really at the authority of Jesus. And there's five points I'd like to share with you about the authority of Jesus, five things to highlight as we see the different action that he takes and the authority that he has as he was here on this earth.

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The first thing we see about Jesus' authority is found in verses 31 and 32, and it's that Jesus taught with authority. Look at verse 31 again. It says, Then he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. And they were astonished at his teaching, for his word was with authority.

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And so Jesus moves on from Nazareth now and sets up camp in Capernaum. Now Capernaum was a town that was located right on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was right there on the lake, on the sea.

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It was on the northern part of the Sea of Galilee. And it was on a major trade route between Damascus and then the Mediterranean coast. And so it was a major area where people would be traveling through constantly. It was also a significant place because Rome had set up base there to take tolls, to receive taxes. And so it was a very busy place, lots of coming and going. And it was here that Jesus died.

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chose to live during his ministry again it was from here that he would go out and then he would come back it was kind of the base of his ministry and as a result most of the recorded you know miracles and things that took place in Jesus's life took place in Capernaum more than any other city because that was his base of operations that's where he ministered the most

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Well, Jesus goes into Capernaum and he follows his custom as we saw in previous weeks, and that was to be at the synagogue on the Sabbath day. On Saturdays, he would be there at the synagogue. He would be participating in the services that would go on. And their services would be a little bit familiar, a little bit similar to what we experience today as a church service. They would begin with some prayer. They would also have a time of worship and looking at and reading the Psalms. The

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Then they would have a time of reading where they would read through the scriptures together and they would read through the Torah or the law, the first five books of the Old Testament there, the books of Moses. They would read through those and they were on a three-year reading plan through the law. And so they would read the assigned portion for that week and understand and meditate on the law that God had given. But then that would be followed by a reading of one of the prophets. Maybe it was a prophet or a prophet of the Lord.

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maybe something from Isaiah or Jeremiah or Ezekiel or Daniel. And then that reading would be followed by a teaching or an exhortation on that portion from the prophets. And so it would be similar to what we experience today, you know, sitting and reading the Word of God and hearing a teaching or an exhortation regarding the Word of God. And so Jesus' practice was to participate in those services at the synagogue

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And so every Saturday he would be there and as he had opportunity, he would be teaching the people during that last portion of the service, reading from the prophets and teaching then also that went along with that. Well, as Jesus is here in Capernaum now, he's there at the synagogue, he's teaching at the synagogue and it tells us in verse 32 that the people are astonished at his teaching.

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Why are they astonished at his teaching? What was so astonishing about it? Well, it wasn't his voice. You know, there's some people who just have that really amazing voice. You know, you just really want to listen to them. I know I'm not one of those people. But there are those who just have that perfect voice for, you know, just so enjoyable to listen to them.

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It also wasn't his eloquence. It wasn't that, you know, it was just like, man, you have to listen to the way that he puts these words together. It's poetic or beautiful. It wasn't his voice. It wasn't his eloquence. They were astonished at his teaching, it says, because his word was with authority. They were astonished at the authority that went along with his teaching, the weight that it carried.

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Now you and I can look at this and that's really not a big surprise, right? Because we know that Jesus is God. And we know in John chapter 1, right? In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God. And then in verse 14, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We recognize that Jesus is God and that He is the Word incarnate, that He's

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Of course his words are with authority because he wrote the word of God. He's the creator. Of course he spoke with authority. This word authority means to have the right or the liberty or the power to do anything. And so he was able to speak in a way and from a perspective that nobody else was able to speak like. They were used to in their synagogue services listening to the rabbis teach.

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And the rabbis would teach by quoting other rabbis, quoting the interpretations of the law that were in circulation, that were written. Some of them, the rabbis that is, were really incredible speakers and great thinkers. I mean, there was depth and there was meat in much of what the rabbis were able to share. But Jesus taught from an altogether different position than they did. He taught from a different position than they did.

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He wasn't sharing something that he concluded by reading someone else's writing. He wasn't sharing something that he could logically understand by reading this written interpretation of the law. But Jesus was able to share the word of God and he was able to speak with weight and authority because, well, he is the truth. As Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

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And so he was able to share the truth directly and clearly and without apology, not from learning, not from study, but because of who he is and because he was walking with God, because of his relationship with God. As an example of this, you could check out later on Matthew chapter 5 and 6. There Jesus is giving the Sermon on the Mount. There's the series of teachings he gives where he starts out saying, you have heard that it was said.

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But then he goes on to say, but I tell you. And that gives you a little glimpse of the kind of teaching that Jesus would bring. Hey, yeah, you've heard people talk about, you've heard, you know, it read to you from the scriptures, but here's what I am telling you. He had the authority to say, this is what God wants. This is what God's saying. This is what you must do. And so they're astonished at the weight that's behind his words. It's blowing them away completely.

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And that's a good exhortation for us because you and I, as we have opportunity to speak with people around us, we are not Jesus. I'm sure you know that already. But we are able to walk with Jesus and have relationship with Jesus. And because we do,

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we are able to speak with the same authority that He had. Because He entrusts words to you. He entrusts things to us. He entrusts the Bible that we have before us to us. And He reveals Himself to us through these scriptures. And so we are able to share with authority by personal experience because we have a connection with God.

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We are able to share not just, you know, hypothesis or something that we've concluded, but something that has been revealed, something that God has shown us. And so I want to encourage you that when you share the Scriptures, when you have opportunity to share with people around you,

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Don't be wishy-washy. Share the truth that God has revealed and share it with authority. Share it with boldness. This is what the Bible says. This is what God has declared. This is what is right and what is wrong. Well, Jesus had this authority and he spoke with this authority. His words were with authority.

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Well, that's not the only thing that is regarding Jesus' authority. As we go on now in verses 33 through 37, we see He didn't just speak with authority, but He had authority over demonic forces or over demons. Look at verse 33.

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It says, Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying, Let us alone. What have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God. Now again, as you're considering the synagogue service and how it would be somewhat similar to what we're participating in this morning, picture yourself thinking,

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being there for just a moment. You're here, enjoying a nice service, some good worship, some good readings, the teaching's going on, and then all of a sudden, some guy stands up and he begins to scream and shout and cause all kinds of commotion. This demon-possessed guy interrupts the synagogue service. It says it was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. He was demon-possessed.

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Now, you and I need to understand that demon possession is real. We may not like to think about it too much. We may not like to talk about it. But it is a reality. There is demonic forces. And you can, I encourage you, come back tonight, Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10 through 20. You can prepare yourself by being fully armed in the armor of God for those spiritual battles that are going on.

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And so that will be happening tonight at 6 o'clock as we continue on in the book of Ephesians. But spiritual warfare is a reality and demon possession is a reality. And you personally may not have seen much of it or any of it at all, but that doesn't mean that it's gone away. It was a reality in Jesus' day and it still exists today.

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Here in our nation and all around the world, there are those who are demon-possessed. There are those who have made themselves available in such a way that a demonic force has come in and has taken control of them. And sometimes, as we've seen in the scriptures, it's not just one demonic entity, but multiple or many demonic forces have occupied or taken up residence within a person.

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It's something that is serious. It's something that is real. And it's something that you don't have to fear as a believer. The Bible is very clear. As a believer, you cannot be demon possessed. In 1 John chapter 4, John is talking about the false spirits and demonic spirits. He says, listen, you are of God, little children, and have overcome them because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

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And so first of all, as we talk about demon possession, don't get all freaked out and worried about maybe you're demon possessed. Listen, if you are walking with God, if you're abiding in a relationship with Jesus Christ, greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. Now, if you are not walking with God, well, then there's reason for you to be concerned because that is a reality. It really does exist. It really does happen, although you may not have seen it personally.

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Now we may look at this and consider why would a demon-possessed person be at church? Why would a demon-possessed person be at the synagogue? What would they be doing there? We ask that because we normally associate demon possession with crazy behavior, right? And maybe it's based on some of the movies that you've seen or some of the stories that you've heard. But we normally associate it with some really off-the-wall, outlandish, head-spinning-around type of behavior, right?

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But that's not what demon possession always is. There are those cases, as we even see that in Jesus' ministry. But understand that Satan has his plans.

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And his plans, you know, are his plans. He plans to disrupt, to distract, to terrify. He has all sorts of plans for whatever he wants to accomplish. And so he will use demon possession and those who are possessed to accomplish whatever it is that he wants to accomplish. And so it's not surprising that, you know, someone would be at church and be demon possessed because the enemy is at work in the midst of the church. He's at work trying to take away from what God wants to do.

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It's no surprise that those who are in authority and in power in the government could be demon-possessed. Because he's at work in the world seeking to accomplish his purposes and his plans and his will. And so don't think that demon-possession has to be manifested in absolute craziness and chaos. It can also be manifested in power.

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you know, a powerful business person or in someone, you know, within the church, someone that you wouldn't expect. If you think about, you know, when Judas betrayed Jesus, it says there they were at the table, you know, and they're enjoying the Last Supper and then Satan entered into him.

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And there wasn't like this, you know, all the disciples turned and look and say, what just happened? You know, like he just went crazy all of a sudden. No, they didn't even know that he got up and left and they weren't the wiser. Judas went to the high priest and, you know, gave him the location. They gave him the money, but they weren't like, oh, you must be demon possessed, right? I mean, it was the power and the influence that...

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that Satan, you know, put upon Judas's life in order to accomplish what he wanted to do. But it doesn't have to manifest itself in absolute craziness. And so here's this demon-possessed guy at church. And right in the middle of the service, he stands up and he's shouting, he's crying out, Hey, leave us alone. What are you doing here? What do you want with us? Are you here to destroy us? I know who you are. I mean, he's just going on a rampage. He says, you are the Holy One of God.

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It's interesting that the people around had no idea what was going on. They didn't really know who Jesus was. But here, this demon that's possessing this man recognizes, he knows this is Jesus. He's the Son of God. You may not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of the world, but the demons do. In James 2, verse 19, James tells us, look, you believe there's one God? Hey, you do well.

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Even the demons believe that, he says, and they tremble. And James' point is, hey, don't just believe in God intellectually and have it not affect your life. You need to have a response. You need to respond to him and be obedient to him. And this demon recognizes this is Jesus. He's the Son of God. So he's crying out. He's causing this disturbance, making...

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A big disruption to the synagogue service. Well, it goes on in verse 35 and says, But Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be quiet and come out of him. And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.

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Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, What a word this is! For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out. And the report about him went out into every place in the surrounding region. And so as this commotion is taking place, Jesus looks at the guy who's causing it. He looks at the demon-possessed man, and he says, Be quiet! Come out of him.

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It says here that Jesus rebuked him. This word rebuke simply means to speak against. And it doesn't even have to carry with it the idea of obedience or responding to the rebuke. In Matthew chapter 16, you remember that situation where Jesus was talking about his death? And Peter begins to... He pulls him aside and he begins to rebuke Jesus. Remember that? It's the same word that's used. Now...

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Peter had no right rebuking Jesus and his rebuke had no effect on Jesus. And the point here that I'm making is that if Jesus did not have authority, the rebuke would have meant nothing. If he didn't have authority over that demon, the rebuke would have, just like Peter's rebuke had no effect upon Jesus. If he had no authority, his rebuke would have had no effect upon that demonic entity. But it did have effect.

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And the demonic spirit came out of the guy and as a result, the people there are amazed. It tells us in verse 36, they say, what a word this is. For with authority and power, he commands the unclean spirits and they come out. They're amazed. They're realizing, they're recognizing Jesus has authority over demons. This is amazing. This is like nothing they've ever seen before. And they're seeing that

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The authority that Jesus has. Now, we could talk a lot about demon possession and demonic forces, but that's not what this study is about. We're going to continue on. But just a couple quick points, because it is a reality. If you do ever find yourself having to deal with someone who is demon possessed, three basic things I want to share with you to prepare yourself for that encounter. Number one, prayer and fasting. Remember when the disciples, they were trying to cast out a demon of a boy and

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They couldn't do it and then Jesus came back and he did it and later the disciples said, how come we couldn't do it? And Jesus said, this kind only comes out by prayer and fasting.

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Now you can't wait for the situation and then suddenly start praying and fasting. The idea is you need to be prayed up, you need to be fasting regularly, and you need to be on guard, you need to be spiritually charged and prepared for those encounters. And so you need to be walking in a relationship with God that you would be prepared for that reality if you should face it. Well, the second thing is rebuke in Jesus' name.

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You don't have authority. I don't have authority. We see in the scriptures the danger of saying, you know, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus who Paul preaches or who Jerry preaches or who anybody else preaches. Jesus is the only one who has the authority. So you rebuke the enemy in Jesus' name. And then thirdly, share the gospel. You must share the gospel. Once that person has been released from the hold of the demonic force...

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Jesus describes it as a house being swept clean in Matthew chapter 12. But he says, look, it's like a house swept clean, but then that unclean spirit, that demonic force goes from that person and then comes back bringing seven more. And the end result, that person is in a worse condition than when they started, before that demon was cast out of them. And so that's why it's so important that whenever someone is

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released from that hold of a demonic force, that we share the gospel with them. That the Holy Spirit would fill their life. That Jesus would take up residence within them. That he that is within them would be greater than he who is in the world. Otherwise, they're leaving themselves open to a much worse condition. And so make sure, prayer and fasting, rebuke in Jesus' name, and then share the gospel with the person who's been delivered.

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Well, the third thing we see here in this portion, as we continue on, is that Jesus also has authority over disease. Look at verse 38. It says, Now he rose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house. But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made requests of him concerning her. So he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them.

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It says there, he arose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house. So maybe like your practices, after church, they went to lunch. So he goes to Simon's house after the synagogue service, and he goes to there, and they're going to have a meal together. They're enjoying some time after the service. Well, he gets to Peter's house, and he finds there that Peter's wife's mother,

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or we would refer to her as his mother-in-law, is sick. And so there at Peter's house, his wife's mother is staying and she's sick. She's got a high fever. I find it interesting here at the end of verse 38, it says, they made request of him concerning her. And so Jesus walks into the house and they begin to ask Jesus, Jesus, is there anything you can do? Can you heal her? Can you work in her life? Can you bring healing in this situation?

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We don't know exactly what kind of fever it was, but the wording here in this verse tells us it was something that was life-threatening. It was a serious condition. She's got this high fever. Her life is at stake. Hey, Jesus, can you heal? Would you work and provide healing in this situation? I think it's interesting because James tells us in his epistle that sometimes we do not have because we do not ask. God wants us to ask.

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He gives us the opportunity to participate in his work by asking him to work. Jesus did not walk into the house and just automatically heal everybody who is sick. He didn't walk down the street and automatically heal everyone who is sick. He waited for people to ask. He's a gentleman. He doesn't force upon us salvation or healing or anything else. And so I want to encourage you to ask. You want Jesus to work in your life? Ask him to.

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You want Him to heal someone in your life? Ask Him to. It doesn't mean that, you know, He's our genie and He does everything that we ask. But a lot of times we miss out because we don't ask. You see, God loves for us to be involved in His work, to participate, to be part of the work. And so He allows us to do that by waiting for us to ask. And then we get to be a part when God does the work.

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When He works the miracle, we're part of the blessing. We get blessed as well, having participated in the work of God. Prayer is not informing God. It's not telling God, okay God, this is what's wrong, this is what I need, this is the situation, in case you didn't know. No, of course He knows. So if He knows, why pray? Because that's how He's invited us to participate in His work.

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And so they asked Jesus about her. And so he goes to her. It says he stands over her and then he rebukes the fever and it left her. It's the same word rebuke that we just looked at a moment ago. If Jesus had no authority, the rebuke would have meant nothing. I can stand over people all day long and rebuke the illness that's within them. But I don't have that authority.

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And so that's pretty meaningless. It's pretty worthless. But Jesus standing over her can rebuke the fever and it will leave. If he had no authority, it would have meant nothing. Even the best of the best, as far as the doctors and medical profession is concerned, even the best of the best do not have this kind of authority. Even with the best equipment and the most latest procedures and

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The lasers and the microscopes and everything. Even with the best, all they can do is the best that they can and hope for it to work out. But Jesus rebukes. But Jim, could you imagine? You know, you go to the doctor. Oh, I got this flu. And the doctor just rebukes it. And you're gone. You're healed. You're safe. You're fine. That'd be nice. But that's the authority that Jesus had. He has authority over illness. He didn't have to, you know, rebuke it and then hope it worked.

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You know, he didn't have to do something and, oh man, I hope there's not complications. He has the authority to heal. He has the authority over every sickness. Now this leads some people to conclude that a real Christian will never be sick. And they'll say, you know, a real pastor will never need crutches. But that's not the reality. Although Jesus has authority over every sickness...

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He doesn't heal every sickness. Not because he can't, but because he's submitted to the will of God as we'll see later on in this portion. And so ultimately it's up to the Father, it's up to God in his will whether or not he heals. But the point here is that he has authority to do so. He has the power to do so. And so when we encounter those who are sick...

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We can follow that same example as what we talked about with demon possession. Number one, pray and fast. Number two, ask for healing in Jesus' name. But then number three, recognize it's not your will, but it's God's will that must be done. Because God's will is what's best.

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So Jesus has authority over, or in his words, he has authority over demons. He has authority over disease. And then point number four, Jesus has ongoing authority. It wasn't just a one-time thing. Look at verse 40. It says, when the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them.

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Here in verse 40, we see that the sun is setting.

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If you ever wanted to know what a day in the life of Jesus looked like, this portion is a pretty good picture of that. Because we find in the beginning of the day, in the morning, he's there at the synagogue. And then there's that commotion. He casts the demon out of that guy. Then immediately from there, he goes to Peter's house. He performs a healing there.

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And then later on in the evening now, the sun is setting and now there's some more work to be done. The people are gathered to the door of Peter's house. Mark chapter 1 tells us that the whole city was gathered together at the door. We don't know exactly how many were there at the time, but it's probably in the range of 2,000 to 4,000 people that were living in Capernaum. So there's this big crowd there that is gathered at Peter's door.

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And they waited until the sun was setting because...

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The Jewish calendar, you know, based days upon evening to evening. And so Sunday really began Saturday evening is what we would consider it. And that would be the end of the Sabbath. And so in the evening time, Sabbath was over. The people were free now to travel about the town. And so they all now gather. They all come to the door of Peter's house. And Jesus begins to work in their midst. It says, "...all those who had any that were sick."

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They came and Jesus healed. It wasn't just a one time, you know, he got lucky with Peter's mother-in-law. His authority over illness and disease was ongoing. In fact, we'll see it throughout the rest of his ministry as well. We also see here he didn't just have authority over one type of disease or illness. You know, that was his specialty. That's what he could cure. But all those who had any that were sick, all types of diseases, all types of illness, all types of sickness,

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were brought to him and he healed them. I think it's amazing as we look at this too that it says that Jesus laid hands on every one of them. Again, we don't know how big this crowd was, but it's been a long day. And now there's a crowd who has people that want to be healed. And Jesus didn't just wave his hand over them and say, be healed everybody. He individually connected with each one, laid his hands on them and healed them. Amazing.

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How Jesus loves to connect with individuals. He loves to connect with each one to minister to their need. Well, it wasn't just illnesses that he was healing in that situation. There was also, it tells us in verse 41, that demons also came out of many. And so he's healing people and then there's also demon-possessed people amongst the crowd. And again, we see that it wasn't just one demon that he had authority over.

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It wasn't just one type of situation that he was able to cast out the demon. But many were there in the crowd that were delivered and set free from that demonic possession. What we're learning here, what we're seeing in this life of Jesus, in this account of Jesus, is that he is unique. There's no one else like Jesus. He had authority in his teaching. He had authority over demons. He had authority over illnesses. And it wasn't one time that

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situations, but it was ongoing throughout the rest of his ministry. It makes him unique. You could look at history and you can see that throughout history there have been many good teachers. Many good teachers. Lots of great teachers. You can look at history and you can see that there's many great leaders. Whether you're looking militarily or morally, there's been really good leaders who've led people to do terrible things.

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But there's been great leaders throughout history. There's been amazing prophets throughout history. There's been many who have worked miracles. But there's been no one who has authority like Jesus. He's unique because he's the Son of God, the Savior of the world. And so we're getting a glimpse of his authority. We're getting a glimpse of the reality that he is God, that he is the Creator. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

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Well, finally, point number five, as we finish off the chapter, we find that also Jesus was under authority. And so he has all of this authority. He has the right. He's the creator. He can rebuke disease. He can share the truth with power. He can rebuke demons and they flee. But Jesus also was under authority. He was submitted to authority.

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He was submitted to his heavenly father. Look at verse 42. It says, Now when it was day, he departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought him and came to him and tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said to them, I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also. Because for this purpose, notice, I have been sent. And he was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee. Now the...

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Sun is starting to rise. Daybreak is happening. We don't know how late into the night Jesus was ministering. We don't know if he got any sleep at all. But we do know from the other gospel accounts that he goes off at this time to pray. He finds some quiet space, some quiet time to spend time with his father. And so he's there in a deserted place and the crowd is looking for him.

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As the day's breaking, they're yawning, they're like, hey, where's Jesus? We want to see more. We want to hear some more. I can imagine, you know, it just must have been amazing to hear him speak and teach and the authority and the power and to see the miraculous works. It had to have been so exciting to be a part of it. And so they go looking for Jesus. We want to hear more. We want to see more. We want to participate in more of your ministry.

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And so they find him, and it says that they try to keep him from leaving them. They're trying to talk Jesus into staying. Come on, we'll give you some steaks, some carne asada, you know, give you a couple tacos, you know, will you stick around, will you share with us? They're trying to talk him in, trying to convince him, don't go, no, stay here. But Jesus responds to them and says, I must preach the kingdom of God. I must preach the kingdom of God. How can someone who has all authority...

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also be able to say, I must do anything. Who does he give account to? Whose direction is he following? He says, I have to go preach the kingdom of God to the other cities. He says, because for this purpose I have been sent. Jesus was sent. Who sent him? Whose authority was he under? The Heavenly Father. The Heavenly Father. We all know John 3.16, For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten Son.

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Whoever would believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life. The Heavenly Father, because he loves you and my, because he loves this world, he loves us, he sent his only son to die upon the cross, but also, as we see here, to preach the kingdom of God there in the region of Israel. Jesus was submitted to the will of his Father. He was under authority.

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We always think, we look at positions of authority and power and we think, oh man, it'd be great to be there, you know, to answer to nobody. Oh, it'd be so wonderful. I could do whatever I wanted. Those who have authority, you'll recognize, you'll realize, the more authority you have, the more authority you're under. The more you're accountable for the way that you use your authority and the actions that you take. Jesus, he has all authority.

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but he's also completely and totally submitted to his heavenly Father. In Luke chapter 2, a few chapters back, Jesus was there in Jerusalem with his parents, Mary and Joseph. And remember, Mary and Joseph go off. They're all heading back to Nazareth. Mary and Joseph think that Jesus is with them. They get part of the way there and they realize, hey, where's Jesus? So they go back and try to find him. And they find him at the temple and

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But Jesus tells him in Luke 2.49, he says, why did you seek me? Did you not know that I must be about my father's business? From a very young age, Jesus was about the father's business. He realized, he recognized, I must be about my father's business. Later on in John chapter 4, Jesus tells his disciples, my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.

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Jesus says, look, more important than eating is me obeying God and doing what he sent me to do. In John chapter 6, verse 38, he says, I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but to do the will of him who sent me. Jesus says, I've come down. Remember, Jesus is God. He became man. He says, look, I did that. I'm here not to do my own will.

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Not to do whatever I want or to bring pleasure to myself, but to do the will of Him who sent me. Jesus' life was lived out in complete submission to our Heavenly Father. Even though He had such great authority, He lived in obedience. He lived in obedience. And so we see, although He had authority, He was submitted to God. Never once in Jesus' life did He make a decision

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for His own pleasure, for His own will. Every decision was made to accomplish the will of His Heavenly Father. Never once was there a moment where He put aside what the Father desired to do something He desired. He lived in absolute and complete submission to the Father, under the authority of the Father. And so He had great authority, but He lived in obedience to the Heavenly Father. Even though He's equal with God,

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He's part of the triune nature of God. He is God. And yet he's submitted to the order that is there, that is present. Submitted to the Heavenly Father. And so here we see Jesus was a man of authority. He taught with authority. He had authority over demons. He had authority over disease. His authority was ongoing, not just a one-time thing. And as impressive as all that is,

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we see that he was under authority, that he was obedient to God in everything. And as we finish up this morning, I want to ask you, you don't have near the authority that Jesus had. Are you submitted to God? If Jesus had so much more authority, but he submitted himself completely and wholly to the Heavenly Father, he lived to accomplish his will and his purposes, I would ask you this morning, is that how you're living your life?

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Are you living in all-out obedience to God? We see here that Jesus was unique. There's never been anyone like him. Although there's been many good teachers and great leaders and prophets, there's no one who has authority like Jesus, but he submitted himself to the Father. How much more do you and I need to submit and surrender ourselves to our God? We also see here that Jesus is the only one who can save. He's unique. No one else is like him.

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He has all authority. He lived a perfect life. And then He died upon the cross for our sins. And so Peter tells us in Acts 4, verse 12, there's no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He's the unique, all-powerful Creator who became man and died upon the cross for us. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, as we consider these things,

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Lord, I pray for those who know you this morning. I pray, God, that you would help them to see how unique, how incredible you are. And I pray, Lord, that our faith would be bolstered and encouraged and strengthened in you, recognizing that you have all authority, recognizing that you truly are the Son of God, our Savior. Strengthen us in that truth, Father. Encourage us in that.

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But Lord, I pray that you would also help us to follow your example and fully submit ourselves to the Father.