Authority & Power

Luke 4:31 – 44


If you've ever been to Disneyland, you'll know that there's an area called, 'Backlot'.
Here you get to see what goes on behind the scenes in the making of an action movie:

you see how they set up ramps and special effects to make a spectacular car chase.
you see the crash mats that save the stunt men as they're shot and fall from upstairs windows.
You see that the buildings are just wooden fronts... and so on.

Then, when you've seen all this, they show the finished film – and it looks for all the world as if it's real – as if this is all there is – no ramps or crash mats or stunt doubles.


As we live our day-to-day lives, we generally take life at face value – what you see is what you get. That's all there there is.

We're unaware that there might even be a 'backlot' to life – an unseen world behind the scenes of life.

But there is. It's the unseen spiritual world – the heavenly places – the place where God dwells and the place where the Satan dwells.

And at various ways and at various times, the unseen world breaks through into the seen world – the director steps onto the stage.


When Jesus arrives on earth, it's as if the director is making an appearance in his own film – like Alfred Hitchcock used to do.

But initially, the actors don't recognise Jesus as the director – they think he's just another actor.

So when Jesus goes to his synagogue in Nazareth and reads from the scroll of Isaiah, the people don't recognise what he's saying about himself – they think he's just one of them, “Isn't this Joseph's son?” they say, v22.
But then Jesus suggests that he is a prophet – that he has a message from behind the scenes – they force him out and go back to their ordinary little lives on set.


So Jesus goes down to Capernaum, v31, it's the sabbath, and he begins to teach the people. When they hear him, they're amazed at his teaching because his message has authority.

Now if you read the commentaries, they suggest that Jesus' message had authority because he wasn't like the other rabbis.
Normally, rabbis would quote other, more famous rabbis; 'Rabbi Jonathan Sacks said... , or perhaps, Rabbi Lionel Blue said...'

But Jesus doesn't quote other rabbis, and this, the scholars tell us, is why his message had authority.

But surely there's more going on here than that. Surely Jesus' teaching has authority because he really does know what's going on behind the scenes – he knows what the rabbis could not possibly know.

Jesus knows God's plans & purposes for the world and for these people sitting in front of him. He is God's Son from heaven.
And it's his knowledge of life behind the scenes that gives his message real authority.

But he also knows that God is not the only person who is active behind the scenes. The devil, or the Satan, is also active, trying to thwart God's plans - something he experienced first hand when he was tempted in the desert.

And, as we see in this passage, when Jesus appears on set, the devil shows up as well.

And then we discover that Jesus' doesn't only teach with authority, but that he commands the demons with authority as well.


So as Jesus teaches in the synagogue, a man possessed by an evil spirit cries out, v34, 'Oi, Jesus! What do you want with us? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God!'

The people may not see who Jesus really is, but this evil spirit does – here is someone from 'behind the scenes' – someone who knows that Jesus is The Holy One – the One uniquely set apart by God for a special purpose that only he can fulfil.

And that's why the spirit is afraid that he'll be destroyed – he knows that Jesus has unique power & authority to overcome evil.

So Jesus commands the evil spirit, v35, 'Shut up! Come out of him!' And the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.

Once again, the people are amazed, and say to each other, 'What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!'
And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.

The people see that there's something astonishing about what Jesus says and does – and clearly the two are linked – his authority is clear both in his teaching and his ability to command the evil spirits.
But where this authority is from and what it's for, they have no idea.


Well, Jesus leaves them with their questions, and sets off for Simon's house, v38. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.

The striking thing here is that Jesus treats the fever just as he did the evil spirit – he rebukes it, and it leaves her.
Jesus is demonstrating that he has authority & power over all the destructive causes and effects of sin and evil.

Behind the scenes, God does not struggle to overcome evil – the Son of God gives a command, evil obeys and the effects of evil are undone.

And then, as evening comes, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, 'You are the Son of God!' But he would not allow them to speak because they knew he was the Christ.'

So you see it doesn't matter who they bring, Jesus heals them – Jesus deals with the causes and effects of sin and evil.

What do I mean?

We know that sickness & disease is symptomatic of a world gone wrong. God didn't create a world with pain, sickness, disease or death – he created it very good.

But when man said 'yes' to evil – when we succumbed to the temptations of evil, we become trapped by the powers of evil and its consequences – sickness, disease and death.

But along comes Jesus and commands the powers of evil and rebukes the diseases of this sick world.

Such is his power & authority that with a word he frees people from the ravages of a fallen world.

And now we begin to see what's really going on here.

It's not simply that Jesus has compassion on a few sick and demon-possessed people. What Jesus is doing is to confront the evil that overshadows and blights our lives.

Jesus did not just come to his home town of Nazareth 2000 years ago – not that they wanted him anyway.
And he didn't just come to Capernaum – even though they wanted to keep hold of him there: v 42.

No, Jesus has come to preach this good news to everyone, v43, 'I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, that is why I was sent.' And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

Jesus has come with a message – a message of good news about the Kingdom of God.
And so we need to take a step back, & remind ourselves of Jesus' mission.
Look back to vv18-19, & hear again what Jesus says he's come to do: READ.

And we see that this is precisely what Jesus has been doing
releasing people oppressed by evil spirits.
Freeing those imprisoned by pain, disease & suffering.
proclaiming the year of the Lord's favour – the coming kingdom of God.

Of course this begs a whole host of questions about how we enter that kingdom, and what it's like, and why we're not free from sickness & disease, evil and sin, and so on – questions that this passage doesn't answer.

But what this does show is how Jesus came from heaven with the authority of God to open the doors of the Kingdom of God

Jesus has demonstrated that he has God's authority to set up and to rule this new kingdom.

Now if you really believe this to be true, you need to learn what it means to live the whole of your life in the light of this reality.

All too many Xns live just like their non-Xn neighbours - except that they go to church on a Sunday when there's nothing better to do and say their prayers each day.

But consider how radically the K o G is described here – it gives freedom for prisoners; sight for the blind; release for the oppressed.

A freed prisoner won't enjoy his freedom on a Sunday, and then go back to prison on Monday morning.

Over the coming weeks, as we walk with Jesus through Luke's gospel, we'll begin to see what life in the K o G is really like.