1995 Issue 6 - Sermon on Luke 4:31-44 - The Authority and Power of the Preaching of Jesus - Counsel...

8/12/2019 1995 Issue 6 - Sermon on Luke 4:31-44 - The Authority and Power of the Preaching of Jesus - Counsel of Chalcedon

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m re l - u t l r n r i ~

tmr

: ower .of

t re

: rea:.dring

o

Wesus

Luke 4:31-44

Introduction

THE

NATURE

OF

LUKE'S

CCOUNT

OF

THE

GALILEAN

MINISTRY

Luke's account of

Christ s

Galilean ministry is in closer and

more comprehensive agreement

with Mark's account than with

Matthew's

account.

Luke is

obviously dependent uponMark for

much ofhismaterial, although Luke

is remarkably distinct from Mark

at

other points.

There

are

three blocks of material

Luke s lack of concern for in Luke's account of the Galilean

chronological order underlines the ministryofJesuswhichareobviously

fact the he isnotmerely an historian dependent upon Mark's account:

or

chronicler

of

events; Luke is

an

(1). Luke 4:31-44, (Mark 1:21-39);

evangelist. Luke

is not writing

as

a

detached

historian, but as

a passionate

evangelist, who

is preaching the

true and histor

ical gospel to his

readers, with the

earnest desire

that they know,

believe and act

on

the exacttrnth

about the things

you

have

been

taught, 1:4. As

(2).

Luke

5:12-6:16,

(Mark

1 : 4 0 ~ 3 : 1 9 ) ; and (3). Luke 8:4-9:17,

(Mark3:20-6:44). However, inthese

parallel passages,

there

are

differences, showing that Luke was

not slavishly following Mark's order.

inserts between parallel sections orie

and two, the account of the

miraC]1lous

catch of fish, Luke

5:1-11. (2). There is a greater

insertiOn of material in Luke, not

included by Mark, but much of

which is included by Matthew, in

Luke 6:7-8:3. (3). Luke suddenly

and sharply

leaves off

paralleling

Mark, following the third parallel

section, and includes nothing

inhis

Gospel corresponding to Mark

6:45-8:26.

THE

POINT OF

THESE

P R LLELS

ND

DIFFERENCES

W h i e

these diver

gencies

by

Luke from

Mark are no

real contra

d i c t i o n s

between the

two, (which

would make

impossible

the inerrancy

ofthe Bible),

they

are

im

portant

for

ourunderstandingofLuke'smethod

and message.

(1).

Luke is usually more concise

than Mark, probably because Luke

wants to conserve space for treating

other issues and incidents that

an evangelist he

q.n

allow himself

considerable flexibility in the

ordering .of

his

materials.

Nevertheless, there is no evidence

that he is taking liberty with or

doing violence to the facts at this

point. - Stonehouse. He is not

creating a new chronological order

of the events in Jesus' life that suit

his purposes, he is

choosing

incidents in the life and ministry of

Jesus which are meant to illustrate

the

character of

His Galilean

ministry,

Lk.

4:43.

As we have seen, Luke had his own advance his theme and suit his

motif and audience, and those two audience.

THE COMPARISON OF LUKE'S

ND

MARi< s CCOUNT OF THE

G LILE N

MINISTRY

THE PARALLELS BETWEEN

LUKE

ND

M RK

factors play an important role in

Luke's choice of information he (2). In placing events.in the life

would include and exclude in his of Christ in a different order from

Gospel. that of Mark, Luke is not

disregarding the original historical

setting of hose events. Surely in the

teaching and preaching of Christ,

He repeated Himself often, so that a

particular sermon or parable could

have a variety of historical settings.

'We must think of hundreds of

instructions delivered in dozens of

THE

DIFFERENCES

BETWEEN

LUKE

ND

M RK

In addition to these parallel

sections in Luke and Mark, Luke

makes three major departures from

Mark's outline of events in the

GalileanministryofJesus.

(1).

Luke

4

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July,

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places.

So

there must have been an

almost infinite

repetition of

material.' (Bunon Scott).

He

further

observes that, while many of the

parables and sayings would have

been repeated

in

the same form,

other sayings and parables would

have received different fOim and

different grouping on different

occasions.

(3). The differences in order of

various incidents are explainable,

i f

we constantly keep Luke's method

and message

in

view. Lukeincludes

nothing that he thinks

is

inappropriate in a Gospel designed

fornon-jewish readers,

as

he tries to

make clearto them that]esus Christ

is the Divine-human Savior of the

world.

ExPOSITION:

THE AUTIfORITY AND POW R

OF

THE WORD OF JESUS

(4:31-32)

THE AMAZING

AUTHORITY OF TH

TEACHING OF

JESUS

THE TEACHING MINISTRY

OFJESUS

IN

CAPERNAUM

THE LOCATION

OF

HIS TEACHING

MINISTRY:

CAPERNAUM

Capemaum was an important

jewish city

in

the region of Galilee.

t was a trade-center, wheretraders

from all over the region would come

and do business. It was a strategic

location, because from this point

most of the towns and villages

in

and around Galilee were easily

accessible, by land or by sea. Every

Sabbath day jesus would go to the

local synagogue and teach His

congregation the word of God and

how it was fulfilled in Him, Lk.

4:16-27; 24:44f. Capemaum was

the center of Christ's ministry, and

His headquarters during His Great

Galilean Ministry. It was here that

HecalledHisfirstdisciples,1n.l:35;

and where He called Peter, James

andJohn

to

be fishers of men,

Lk.

5: 10. He performed many miracles

there,

LIe

4:23, 31-37, etc. It was

in

Capemaum that He preached His

sermon on the bread of life, In.

6:24f.

Matthew even

calls

Capemaum Christ's own city,

Mt.

9:

1. Capernaum is no longer a City,

although the ruins of its synagogue

have been unearthed and partly

restored.

Capernaum s population

remained generally impenitent and

unbelieving

in

spite of all the

preaching, teaching and healing of

Jesus.

For this reason

Jesus

prophetically condemned it in Luke

10: 15. His prophecy soon came

true.

TH NATURE OF

HIS

TEACHING

MINISTRY

IN

CAPERNAUM

THE SCHEDULE

OF CHRIST S

TEACHING

Jesus would teach in the local

synagogues every Sabbath day,

because

of:

(ll. His desire for

congregational worship and the

word of God, (2). That was where a

ready-made

audience for His

teaching would be gathered; and

(3).

The Lord of the church came to

visit His church to call her to

repentance. Luke, and Jesus, had a

great love for the Sabbath as is

evident from 4:31-37,

38-41;

6:6-22; 13:10-27; 14:1-6.

TH NATURE OF CHRIST S

TEACHING

(ll. Teaching, DIDASKO

in

Greek), is one ofthe main aspects of

Jesus' saving mission to the world,

Mt. 4:23; 9:35; 11:1.

(2). The style of His teachingwas

that of a typical Jewish rabbi or

teacher of His

age.

He would stand

to read the Scripture, then sit down

and expound the passage,

Lk. 4:

16f;

Mt.5:lf.

(3). The material from which

Jesus taught was typical for aJewish

teacher of that day: t was the Old

Testament, Lk. 4:16f; Mat. 5:2lf.

He orders all of life in terms oflove

for God and neighbor, Mt. 22:37f.

He calls for a decision for or against

God. He sees the Scripture as the

absolute and final revelation ofGod's

character and will for man, Mat.

5:

17f. But, as over against all other

rabbis, the differencein His teaching

was His own self-awareness as the

Messiah and Son of God, which

moved Him to apply the Scriptures

to Himself

as

their fulfillment.

(4). His teaching was devoid of

the cold and arrogant intellectualism

and empty but eloquent rhetoric

that was typical of Greek orators of

His day,

and

which style

was

developed by Hebrew teachers in

an effon to check the disintegrating

force of Hellenism, so that in some

circles studying

the

law can

be

ranked higher than doing

it.

Theological Dictional) of the New

Testament

(5). The content

and

power of

His teaching indicated direct Divine

inspiration

and

Divine revelation,

John 8:28; 14:26; I John 2:27.

Similarly

in

Luke 11:1 DIDASKEIN

expresses the thought of a readiness

for total subjection to the direction

of Jesus and is thus parallel to the

confession

in

Matthew 16:13f and

John 6:60f. -Theological Dictionary

of the New Testament

(6). jesus taught absolute truth,

whereas the sermons of the scribes

and Phalisees were characterized

by dishonest and evasive reasoning,

In.

14:6; Mat. 5:2lf.

(7). jesus teaching was

concerned with issues

of

life-and-death imponance, issues of

etemal consequence; whereas the

scribes wasted their hearers' time on

trivialities, Mat. 23:23; Lk. 11:42.

(8).

jesus teaching was

July, 1995 THE COUNSEL

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5


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systematic, i.e., it was given

in

a

unified and orderly system, because

any word for

God

will manifest His

perfect rationality; while the scribes

often rambled.

(9).

jesus' teaching

eJ


4/7

total message,

Mt

24:35. Whatever

the reference, the word of Jesus

carries infallible and incomparable

authority and power, I Cor. 7:10.

The autholity is that of genuine

words that are spoken, heard, and

recounted; it is in the word made

flesh that the glory is

seen. Theological Dictionary of the

New

Testament.

The word ofjesus often arouses

displeasure and anger, Mk 10:22.

It offends, Mt 15: 12, not

Jesus' authority is not simply

the powerto decide, but to

COMPEL

DECISION.

The Greek word for authority is

exousia, which means the right

and ability to govern all social

relationships, backed with the power

to enforce that right to govern. In

the

Greek Old Testament, the

Septuagint, exousia isused for God's

unrestricted sovereignty, Whose

word is omnipotent power, Dan.

person and work, exousia denotes

the divinely given right and power

to act along with the related freedom,

Mat 28: IS; Rev 12: 10. This is a

cosmic power but with a

spedal

human reference, In. 17:2; Mat.

11:27;Jn. 1:12; 5:27. Thehistorical

Jesus clairnsexousia within the limits

of His commission, e.g., to forgive

sins, Mk.

2:

10, to expel demons,

Mk 3: 15, and to teach, Mat. 7:29;

Mk 11:28; Mt. 9:8; Lk 4:36. This

just because it is hard to

swallow, In. 6:60, but

because

it

carries such

incomparable claims, Mk

2: 7. It also

causes

astonishment because of

its obvious authority,

Mt

7:28. Response to His

word is eternally decisive,

Mk.

8:38, because

it

demands faith in Him.

The word

of

Jesus

is

power

It brings healing,

It is

bec use

Jesus is

the Lord's Christ nd

Christ the Lord

th t

His

word h s such

wesome uthority

nd power.

power is inseparable from

the imminence of

the

kingdom;

with the

presence of him who

exerdses it, the kingdom

itself draws

near.

Theological DictionQJY of

New Testament.

Jesus'

teaching

has

authority because in

Him the

Jubilant

Kingdom

of God has

dawned

upon human

history. The authority

Mt

8:8. It casts out demons,

Mt

8:16, raises the dead,

Lk 7:

14f, and

rules the powers of creation, Mk

4:39. ItisbecauseJesus

is

the Lord's

Christ and Christ the Lord that His

word has such awesome authority

and

power, In. 14:24; 6:63, 68.

The word

of

Jesus is on par with

Holy SCripture,]n. 2:22. TO GRASP

THE WORD

OF JESUS

IS

TO BE

GRASPED

BYIT,]n. 6:65;Mt. 19:11;

Mk. 4: 11;

LIe

9:45. The Bible keeps

inseparable the Word, Christ, and

the Word ofChrist. Faith believes

in

the LivingWord, Christ, and believes

His spoken, written and preached

Word. Jesus Christ still speaks His

word into the minds, hearts

and

lives

of

His people through the

faithful preachingof those called

by

Him to preach His Word, Rom

10:17.

TH MEANING OF AUTHORITY,

EXOUSIA

4: 14. In the N.T. God gives Jesus

authority over everything in

heaven and on earth as a reward for

His humiliation, Mat 28: IS.

In the New Testament, exousia

has a rich significance: (1). Exousia

rests on three foundations: first the

power indicated is the power to

dedde; second, this decision takes

place

in ordered relationships, all of

which reflect God's lordship; and

third,

as

a divinely given authority

to

act, exousia implies freedom for

the community. (2). Exousia

denotes the absolute possibility of

action that is proper

to

God alone as

the source of all power and legality,

Lk 12:5; Acts 1:7; Jude 25; Rom.

9:21. (3). God's authority may be

seen

in

creation, Rev 14: 18. The

forces ofcreation derive their power

fromGod,Rev.6:S;9:3, 10, 19. (4).

God's will encompasses Satan's

sphere of dominion,

Acts

26: IS;

Col. 1: 13. (5). Inre1ationto Christ's

with which]esus spoke presupposes

a commission and authorization

from God inseparable from

the

proclamation ofthe kingdom drawn

near. --- The gap between Jesus

and the Rabbis

in

respect of the

subject

of

teaching is

to be

found

not

in

the matter itself, but in HIS

OWN PERSON, Le.,

in

the fact of

His self-awareness as the Son of

God. This is why His teaching,

whether in the form of exposition or

otherwise, causes astonishment

among His hearers. '- Lane, pg. 73.

(4:33-37,41) THE AMAZING

AUTHORITY

AND POWER OF JESUS

COMMAND

TO

DEMONS

THE

CONTEXT

OF

THIS TEXT

After Jesus had so decisively

repelled the devil's temptations

in

the wilderness, the evil one brought

all possible manner of hellish rage

to bear

on

Christ

and

tried to oppose

the establishment of His kingdom.

July, 1995 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 7


5/7

Demon possession was one of the THE REALITY OF

means used

by

the kingdom

of DEMON POSSESSION

darkness in this struggle, . ---

In THE REALITY AND NATURE

OF

orderto be

truly

the

Redeemer,]esus

DEMONS

had also to engage in strife with

demon

possession and to prove that The Bible teaches

us

that there is

He had indeed overcome the power one devil, diabolos, and many

of the evil one. This is the reason demons, daimonia. A significant

why

in

the Gospels numerous minority of he created angels sinned

instances are described where Jesus along with Satan

and

together with

delivereddemon-possessedpersoI)s.

him

were c.ast out, II Pet.Z:4; Rev.

Luke realized the importance of his 1:4:4, thereby becoming demons

matter and

therefore herelates at

underthe

leadership of the devil.

this

early stage. iIl his Gospel a Greg BahrtSen, The petson,.Work

striking example of how Jesus and Present Status ofSatan, iIi .The

triumphed overtheforcesofdemons Journal

oj

Christian ReconstructiOn,

by casting out

an

evil spirit. -

Vo. ,NO.Z,WinterW74,Va edtO,

Geldenhuys. CaL..

Therefore. Satan

is called

One

striking

fact

in

bibHcal . the.

prince

of .demons

in

history is that whenever Godwork.5 Matthew9:34, theprince ofthe

in

a urtique way to vindiCate His

powers

ofthe

air

in

Ephesians

name

in

the lives ofHis people, and 2:2 and King over the swarln

to

fulfill His covenant promises to

them, there is a confrontation With from the abyss

in

Revelation 9: 11.

These. e m o ~ are Vlitked, unclean

spiritualistic, occult, and d e m o r t ic

orces, that challenge and attempt and Vidous, Mat. 8:28; 10:1; Mk.

to

negate

all

He

is doing- --for 5:2f; 9:20; Act. 19:15.

example, deliverance from Egypt,

When

Satan is called the prince

entrance

into

the promised

land of of

the powers

of

the air, Eph. 2:2,

Canaan, the Incarnation and we can learn several things about

ministry

of

Christ, and the

demons:

(1).

The demonic

establishing of

the

church. At the

controllers

of sinful n:belliori

same time,

Godused

these situations (darkness) over whom Satan rules

to

prove

His authority and power are INCORPOREAL

powers of

over

the

total creatiOn, including

d kn

. ( )

at ess, Eph. 6:12. 2 These

Satan.. Thus the biblical .evidence

demons fill the air or occupy the

would lead us

to

expect recurring

atmosphere around the earth, who

manifestations ofsuch activity until

the

final confrontation at the Second are spiritual forces WITHIN

REACH:

Coming ofChrist. _

F.

Seth Dymess, ofus and with

whom

we must fight,

Types

of

Satanic Intervention

in

The

Eph.3:lOf;6:1Z. (3). ThesedeII)OI)s

Journal of Christian Rtc011$truction, create

an

ethical atmosphere, or

Vol. 1, NO.2, Winter,. 1984, PERVADING OUTLOOK IN A

Vallecito, CaL, pg. 46. CULTURE, Eph. Z:Z; 4:17. --- A

As Luke teaches

us

these things,

sodety

or culture can come into

an

he also impresses us, deliberately, intellectual frame of

mind

which is

with the authOrity

and

power of the properly designated 'demonic';

it

word of Jesus. t astonishes can develop

an

atmosphere of

audiences;casts out demons, heals opinion which is worthless, lawless

the

sick,

and draws multitudes of and destructive ... Bahnsen, pg.

people to Himself. 16f.

8

I

TIlE COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon I

July,

9 9 ~ l

THE NATURE

OF

DEMON

POSSESSION N THE BIBLEI

THE REALITY AND CHARACTER OF

DEMON POSSESSION

(DEMONlZATION--DAIMONIDZOMAI)

There are at least 55 instances of

demonic acdvity mentioned

in

the

Bible, the classic examples being

Mat. 8:28f;

Mat.

9:32f; Mat. 12:22f;

Mat. 15:22f; Mat. 17;14, and their

parallels.

Demon posseSSion,

therefore, according to the Bible is

an

~ t u a l occurrence, and

not

merely

ametaphoncal

or mythological

description. It is

not

mental illness.

The Gospels clearly distingnish

between

sickness and demon

possession as separate experiences,

although sometimes they can be

related as cause

and

effect, Mat.

4:24; 8:16;

Mk.

1:32; Lk. 4:33f; Lk.

4:40[; 6:

17f;

9: 1 Jesus spoke to

demons as distinguishable from the

person that demon possessed, Mat.

17: 18; 8:32; Mk. 1:25.

And

possession can include a large

number of demons in the same

human

person, Mk. 5:9; Lk.

11:Z6.

Demon possession could hl\ve a

profound and dominating influence

onone'sBODY,Mk. 9:17-26, WILL,

John13:2.7,WORDS,Mk.l:23,and

MIND, Mk. 5:1-18. The demoniac

could lose control over himself,

and

that against his will, Lk. 9:39. 2

Demon possession is caused

by

a demon being inflicted

on

a person

by

Satan forthepurpose

of

distorting

or destroying that person as the

image bearer of God, and perverting

all that God has intended

him

to

be. - Dryness, pg. 52.

THE CHARACTERISTICS

Of

DEMON

POSSESSION

IN THE

BIBLJil

(l).Theperson

possessed gives

evidence of being controlled by a

force or personality apart from his

own personality, that uses his body.

(2).

The possessed

person


6/7

manifests bizarre, anti-social

behavior, Mat. 8:28; Mk. 5:2; LIe

8:27.

(3).Hecanmanifestsuperhuman

strength beyond his own normal

abilt )" Mat. 8:28; Mk 5:3,4;

Lk.

8:29.

(4).He experiences intense

convulsions, seizures and bodily

self-harm

in

destructive

records, "the Son of the Most High to gain control ofjesus (bymagic) in

God,"Mk. 5:7. This is one ofChrist's accordance with the common

names revealing His Deity, for concept of that day, that the us of

Isaiah's favorite name for Jehovah the precise name of an individual or

was "the Holy One of Israel," spirit would secure mastery over

thereforeJesusisJehovahinhuman him. --- 'The demon knows the

flesh

. The demon also recognized divine purpose of)esus' comingand

the threat the presence ofjesus was the divine character of his status;

to him---He had come to destroy and by giving

full

expression to its

knowledge

it

seeks to

and distorted ways,

Mat.

17:15; Mk. 1:26; 5:5;

9:

18, 20, 22, 26;Lk. 4:35;

9:39,42.

(5).He often cries out

with a loud shlieking

voice, Mk. 1 26; 9:26; Lk.

9:39.

(6).He speaks either

coherently

or

incoher

ently, (possibly

in

an

unknown language)

through the use of the

individual's voice.

In the presence of the

Holy One

o

God the

demon

is

made

even

more painfully aware

that eternal

destruc-

tion

and

punishment

await all demons.

ward off the threatened

offensive ofits dangerous

opponent

...

(pg. 74).

THE REBUKE

AND

CASTING our OF THE

DEMON BY JESUS

THE REBUKE OF

THE

DEMON

BY

JESUS

Jesus commanded the

demon, Be qUiet.. ..

"

"The

defensive address of the

demon was powerless

before

the sovereign

(7). Some demon possessed

persons confess names other than

that of the individual whom the

demons are inhabiting. Thisusually

gives some aspect of their evil

character, Mk. 5:9;

Lk. 8:30.

(B).There is a recognition of and

resistance to the person of Jesus

Christ, Mat. 8:28; Mk . 1:24; 5:6,

7;

Lk. 4:34, 41; 8:28.

(9).ThedemonmustobeyChlist,

Mat.

8:16, 32; 17:18; Mk. 1:27;

5: 12, 13; 9:25, 26; Ue 4:35; 8:32,

or a command

given

in

His

name,

Acts 16:18.

THE REACTION OF THE DEMON TO

THE

PRESENCE OF

JESUS

Hal

What

o

we

have

to

o

with

You, Jesus

of Nazareth?

Have

You

come to destroy us? I know who You

are--the

Holy

One

ofGod "

-Lk.

4:34.'

He recognized the physical identity

and the Deity ofjesus, as "the Holy

One of God" incarnate, or as Mark

the works of the devil and all his

demons, IJohn 3:8.

The demon's exclamation was

not an exclamation of surprise but

of terror and unsettling fear. In the

presence of the Holy One of God,

the demon is made even more

painfully

aware

that eternal

destruction and punishment await

all demons. The demon clies out

shuddering with terror. "It was not

in

flattery that the evil spirit thus

addressed Him but in horror. From

the Holy One he could expect

nothingbut destruction. - Plummer.

"The final destruction of the power

of the evil one will be canied out

only at the final Consummation. In

plinciple the power of darkness has,

however, already been overcome

and convicted."- Geldenhuys.

Lane gives us his unique insight

on the testimony of the demons to

Christ's Messiahship andDeity: The

recognition-formula is not a

co nfeSSion, but a defensive attempt

command of Jesus.

Lane. In malice

and

terror the

demon

had

clearly and loudly

testified to the Deity and Messiahship

of Jesus of Nazareth, as "the Holy

One of God,"

and

"the Son of the

Most High." Jesus did

not

want the

demon to speak openly about His

Messianic identity, because

0

f the

adverse effectit wouldhave on hose

whoheardthem. Theywouldaccuse

Him of being in league with Satan

and demons. Furthermore, Jesus

wanted people to discover who He

really was from His words and

works. And there were good reasons

for Jesus' strategy: (1). Other

claimants to be the Messiah would

make their appearance; (2). There

was wide-spread confusion about

the true nature of the Messiah, and

what He would accomplish. 0 .

There was a deeply set cultural

pattern

of Jewish thinking,

and

an

established mode of Messianic

expression to which Jesus was

conforming.

July, 1995

tH

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Christ did not avoid any

reference to, or acting out of, his

OWN

accepted FUNCTioNS

of

he

Messiah, but

rather

He avoided the

public and open

use

of (and hence

the public's understanding of) the

TITLE. He apparently did so not

onlybecauseof,asiscommonlyand

correctlyrecognized, the rather stark

nationalistic

hopes

to

which the title

itselfwas

wedded, but

also because

of the deeply

set

cultural

pattern of Jewish

thinking, and the

established mode of

Messianic expression.

It

was

in

fact this particular

cultural mode of

Messianicself-expression

that provided

the

vehicle

for

Jesus' reinterpre-

tationofthe title Messiah.

It

is

not until

after His

suffering, indeed,

BECAUSE

of

His

suffeting,

thatHE

is shown speaking

more openly

o Himself

as the

Messiah.

Lk, 24:26,

46

.

By dealing

in His words

and

deeds with the

functiQnsof Messiahship, as

opposed to

the title, 'Messiah: Jesus

was able to affirm certain individUal

aspects

of

contemporary Messianic

expectation ... without at the same

time supporting those elements of

Messianic expectation .. with which

the

title itself was so closely

assodated."- Robert Sloan, Jr.,

The

Favorable Year oj the

Lord, pg.

80f,

(Austin, Texas, ScholiaPress,1977).

IRE CASTING OUT OF THE DEMON

BY JESUS

Jesus did

not

exordse the demons

by

cultie

titualsand

formulas, He

simply expelled, or cast them out,

(ekballo),

of

the

possessed

individual, thushealing him,

by

His

powerful Word---

..

come

outofhiml'

And

when the demon

had

thrown

him

down in their midst. hewentoutojhim

without doing him any harm," 4:35.

"There had been no technique, no

spells or incantations, no symbolic

act. Therehadbeenonlytheword."

Lane. There is only one mention of

"exordsm"

in

the Bible, in ACts

19:13, and there the

situation

backfired, and the demon attacked

the exordsts.

Jesus muzzles the demons, who

obey

Him

instantly "This was a

display of the omnipotent power of

Jesus tight in

Satan's own domain.

The raising of the dead as well as

this expulsionof demonsby a single

command

exhibit Jesus' power in

the highest degree." - Lenski.

"In desperate rage the demon

threw the man down,

but

Jesus'

manifestation

of power

was

so

perfect that He even prevented the

man from being

in

any way hurt."

Gelden'huys.

THE RESPONSE OF TIlE

ON-LOOKERS

"And amazement

came

upon

them

all,

and

they began discussing

with

one

another.

al)d saying, 'What is this

message (word, LOGOS)? For with

authority

and power

He

commands

the

unclean

spirits.

and

they came out.

And the report about

Him was

getting

out into every locality

in

the

surrounding

district.

Never in their

lives had the people seen such a

powerful victory over the powers of

darkness. "Amazement" in Greek is

10

THE ,COUNSEL of Chalcedon

July,

1995

I

akin w "rerror." N e v e ~ before had

they heard a person speak with such

Divine authotity, (exousia), and

Divine power, (dunamis). 'Just as

Christ's doctrine 'aniazed them in

comparison with the formalism of

the sctibes, so His authotity over

demons in comparison with the

attempts of the e x ) ~ i s t s : all the

more so, because ,

:i

single

word

sufficed

for Bim,

.whereas

the

" exordsts,

used

'incan-

tations,charms, and

much

superstitiOUS

ceremonial."

l u ~ m e r

As

a result

of

this

inciderit

with

demon

possession.

rumors

about Jesus'

PQwerful

word able

to

cont,rol and

overcome the

pOWers

of

darkness began spread

ing like,Wildfire all over

the

vjcil\hy. ' The

distUrbance

oj

men by

God had

begun;".W-ne.Q

, IThis section is rriostJYbised on F.

SethDymess'artic1e. "1ypesofSatanic

lnierventiori' in The

Journal ,'

of

Christian: Reconstruction,

pgs .

49f,

veil 1 ,

No., 2, Winter 1974,Vallecito,

Cal. ' , ",

G r e g I i ~ h n s e ~

~ T h e

PeTson:Work '

and.PresentStatus f S ~ t l I . r i . pg. 16, in

Thejo"rnal oj

Christian

ReconSt 1(ction,

VoL I, No.), Winter 1974, Vallecito,

California.

'Py"mess, pg. 50 .

. fN b.tice

the 1l;se

,

of "wet us/' nd

I: in the worqs oftbe demon In the

man.

, t is "distinctly-possible h a t the

demoniac identifieS himself with the

congregation,

in

thesYnagogtlewhere

the c;Iemoniac a p p ~ a r e d ) , a n d speaks

from

their perspectiye:

Jesus'

presence

e n t ~ i l s

the danger ofjudgment for all

present. ---

...

when"theagitation of.

the demoniac is regarded in the light

oftbe dismay arid turmoilin the

SynagogLle,

'this

is

even the obvioLls

interpretation."'-

Lane,

The Gospe of

MatliNICNT.

fig.

:

'

1995 Issue 6 - Sermon on Luke 4:31-44 - The Authority and Power of the Preaching of Jesus - Counsel...

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Transcript of 1995 Issue 6 - Sermon on Luke 4:31-44 - The Authority and Power of the Preaching of Jesus - Counsel...