Sent For This Purpose: Luke 4:31-44 | Power, Purpose, and the Kingdom of God
Why did Jesus come? In Luke 4, Jesus not only teaches with divine authority, but His power is displayed as He commands unclean spirits, heals the sick, and proclaims the kingdom of God. The people marvel at His authority, but Jesus makes it clear—He did not come just to perform miracles, but to preach the good news of God's reign. This passage challenges us: Do we recognize Jesus' authority in our own lives? Do we submit to His Word, trusting that He alone has the power to save? As the demons tremble and the sick are healed, we see that Christ’s ultimate mission was to proclaim salvation, bringing the dead to life and breaking the chains of sin.
📖 Sermon Points:
📌Jesus teaches with divine authority (Luke 4:31-37)
📌Jesus heals the sick and demonstrates His power (Luke 4:38-41)
📌Jesus proclaims the kingdom of God—His true mission (Luke 4:42-44)
💡 Jesus was sent for this purpose—to proclaim the good news! May we hear, believe, and submit to His reign over our lives.
Transcript:
Clarity is a good thing. I don’t know about you but there might not be anything more frustrating that not having any idea what someone expects you to do for them. If you were to think back on some of your least productive days I’m guessing it would probably be related to not having a clear focus lined out and you spent the day moving around without knowing exactly what it was you were supposed to be doing. But I’m also guessing that some of your most productive and focused days occur when you wake up with a singular purpose and you know what you need to accomplish. The clarity of having a goal and a focus makes sure that you are moving forward and doing what matters.
As we continue to see the ministry of Jesus unfold here in the early part of Luke we see that Jesus understands what it is that he has come to do. He has come to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God and we get good insight into what that looked like here in the passage that we have read today.
And so lets line out our three points for the day and follow the text where it leads us.
The first thing we are going to see is that Jesus has authority over unclean spirits. As we continue to see the ministry of Jesus unfold we are being told stories for a reason. Is Jesus just an ordinary guy wandering the countryside spouting words of wisdom to those passing by or do the words that he has to say have authority? By showing us this encounter with an unclean spirit we see that Jesus has power and authority beyond that of an ordinary person.
Secondly, we are going to see that Jesus has authority over sickness. We have gotten the idea in Luke thus far that Jesus is special and he has done some healing but as the ministry of Jesus is being lined out for us we see that this is a big part of what he does. Jesus is not just a teacher. He is a teacher from God and his power to heal makes this clear for us.
Finally, we see that Jesus has come to spread the message of the kingdom of God. Jesus hasn’t come to settle down in one place and build up his own little kingdom of followers. He is making his way all throughout Judea and going to the synagogues. The message is important and it must be taken to the people.
So, let’s get ourselves underway here in this passage as we look at how Luke tells us about the authority that Jesus has over an unclean spirit.
Luke 4:31–37
ESV
And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.
And as we start up here it is important that we remember where we were last week. You will recall that Jesus was in his home town and things didn’t go too well. He read from the book of Isaiah and said that the prophesy about the messiah was fulfilled in him and from there things escalated rather quickly to the point of the people wanting to stone Jesus. But he walked through the crowd safely because it was not yet his time.
So now we see that Jesus is going down to Capernaum. He is staying in the same region in Galilee but we see him moving away from his home town.
Notice here that once again we are told that Jesus is teaching on the Sabbath. I think, for the most part, the picture in our mind of Jesus teaching is that he is kind of wandering around and suddenly the mood strikes him and he stops and teaches on a hill someplace. Now, this certainly may have been the case but the idea being expressed here in Luke is that Jesus is teaching on the Sabbath and he is in the synagogues. I think this is important for us to understand because it lets us know that Jesus is going to the people of his day deliberately. He was teaching and preaching to people who were going to hear the scriptures read and explained. He wasn’t just starting up anywhere doing things in a haphazard way. As we saw last week he is a part of the ordinary rhythm of worship in the local synagogue. He read scripture. He sat down and gave the message based upon the scripture. You don’t get the idea that he is a revolutionary out there trying to stir people up. Instead, he is teaching about the kingdom of God from the scriptures. Now, we don’t know what the rest of his week looked like here but with what is revealed to us here in Luke we do get a sense of the methodology and rhythm of the ministry of Jesus.
And when we think about what it says here next about being astonished at his teaching these facts about where Jesus is teaching and preaching should help us to appreciate what Luke is saying. These are not people in the side of the road saying that the teaching of Jesus is amazing compared to the other guy saying stuff in the street. Jesus is going into the places where the people are used to hearing the teaching of God’s word. And we are seeing that there is just something different about Jesus. His teaching is different than the other rabbis who they hear on other Sabbath days. The people believe can hear the authority that he has when he is teaching. It is just different.
You know this from things that you enjoy or from your personal area of expertise. There are some people who you will walk over glass to go hear speak or to read their book because when they have something to say it carries more weight with you. You can just feel that they really know their stuff.
Jesus was that person and so much more. He spoke as though he really knew and understood what was being taught in the scriptures. He spoke with power.
And as the text continues we get the idea that this isn’t just a matter of personal opinion. It isn’t that some people prefer his style. He has an authority beyond personal opinion and Luke shows us this by showing the authority he has over an evil spirit.
Now, I think it’s important to point out the unique nature of what we are reading here. There are not many demon possessions in the pages of scripture. Most of them are found in the gospels and they were able to identify Jesus as the messiah. In other words, this demonic activity is heightened because of the opposition to the work of the Son of God. This story and the others like it in the gospels are to let us know something about who Jesus is and what he has come to do.
And so we see that this man who has an unclean demon cries out and interrupts Jesus. Now, I have always gotten a little kick out the description of this demon. An unclean demon. Is this the demon who didn’t wash his hands like his mother told him? I would think all demons would be unclean but the point here is clear. This is one who is opposing the work of God and it is clear in the words that are uttered.
What have you to do with us? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are the Holy One of God.
Let’s take a second to break down what is said here because this short collection of words packs a punch. Notice that the demon is able to identify Jesus and also there is a sense of fear here. He knows that Jesus has the power to destroy evil spirits. Then, this demonic being identifies Jesus even further. He is more than just someone from Nazareth. He is the Holy One of God. You can tell by the way our English Bible capitalizes this it is important. The demon isn’t just saying that Jesus is someone who lives and upright and godly life. Once again we see a messianic title used for Jesus.
And what we see is that the authority that Jesus is teaching with is not just that he’s the best teacher on the block. While he has the best rhetorical skills around his authority is rooted in something more than just skilled speech and an excellent grasp of language. He is something more and even evil spirits know this.
And we see that even when this demon speaks truth Jesus has the power to silence it and cause it to leave the man and the man is not even harmed after being thrown down. Jesus is amazing and the people notice it. Look at their reaction. What is going on here. It isn’t that Jesus just speaks well and really knows his Bible. Even unclean spirits are obedient to him.
That’s the big story in this small story. Jesus has authority to teach and it is a divine authority ordained by God and you can imagine that people left that place and the word continued to spread all over the place about this Jesus. They had heard good teachers before but the word on the street is that Jesus is different. And we are going to see this point continue as we move on to the next part of our passage and our second point where we see that Jesus has authority even over sickness.
Luke 4:38–41
ESV
And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.
Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
As we transition to verse 38 we encounter a familiar name but if we were just coming to the text of Luke for the first time without any knowledge of the Christian story we would likely be wondering why we are hearing a name without knowing who it is. Jesus leaves the synagogue and goes into Simon’s house. This would be Simon Peter. We haven’t heard anything about him yet and we won’t see Jesus calling disciples in Luke until next week as we venture into chapter five. But here we have Jesus going to Simon’s house. We don’t have knowledge of his relationship to Simon at this time but clearly they knew one another.
What we find is that Simon’s mother-in-law is quite ill. We read that she has a high fever. Remember, they weren’t going to send Simon down to the local pharmacy to pick up some ibuprofen to help bring her fever down. This would have been a very dangerous thing. We worry about fevers but generally have common treatments that we can use. That simply wasn’t the case in the first century. Remember an infection would have to simply pass and the likelihood for dying from it was much, much higher than what we experience in our day with the blessings of modern treatments. This isn’t just the inconvenience of someone being sick in this family. This is a crisis of life and death.
And so they make an appeal to Jesus for her. Clearly, the people in the household have knowledge of what Jesus has already done. There is substantial faith and trust in this household and their desire for healing has them putting their trust in Jesus.
And this instance of healing is a rather interesting one. The different ways that Jesus heals in the gospels is interesting but this first healing that we see details of in Luke shows us the authority that he has. He stands over Simon’s mother-in-law and he rebukes the fever. Imagine being able to stand over someone and simply say fever, be gone and they are healed. That is amazing power. And we are meant to feel just how amazing this is by the way that Luke describes the recovery. Jesus doesn’t heal her and she says “That’s better but I need to get some rest to get my legs under me. I’m going to stay in bed here and finish binge watching a show on Netflix for a bit and then we’ll see how I’m feeling a little later.“
Instead, we read that she rises immediately and serves the people around her. Her healing is not Jesus making the infection go away and then she feels better a little later. The healing that he bring is absolute and we need to take notice of this. We are being told that Jesus teaches with a authority. Then we see he speaks and has authority over demons. The demon has ears to hear but this infection does not. He speaks and has authority and power even over every thing. He speaks and things happen. He has authority as a teacher but also as one who speaks and everything around him acknowledges that authority. Do you feel that idea flowing out of the text? Jesus is the Holy One of God and when he speaks you should listen because even the demons and nature are subject to him. As we set out to hear more about Jesus this is what Luke wants us to understand.
And he drives it home even further by telling us that Jesus is healing even more people and casting out more demons. People are bringing him their sick. He heals them and he demons come out of people and, once again, they are able to identify him as the Son of God but we see that he keeps them silent because it is not time for everyone to hear he is the Christ.
And as we move to the final few verses of our passage today we see that this is the ministry of Jesus. It is what he has come to do.
Luke 4:42–44
ESV
And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
We find that Jesus goes away to a desolate place. We find this throughout the gospels. He goes off by himself to pray or to rest but people still seek him out. And of course they are, right? You know someone you would like Jesus to heal and so did they. They have desires and needs that they believe he can fill. We see that they want to keep him for themselves. This is not a heavily populated region but there are enough people that he could spend his time fulfilling their needs for healing but he has not come for just one region and he has not come for just one group of people.
He tells them that he has to move on because he must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well. Notice the two words here. I must. It needs to be done. It must continue. It must go forward. We have to understand in looking at this that Jesus is on mission. He isn’t moving around haphazardly in his ministry. He has a purpose and he is going to stay on task proclaiming the kingdom of God. And this is the first time we see that statement from Luke. Jesus speaks about the kingdom of God all the time and this is the first reference we find to it. He is going to be proclaiming the reign of God and the truth of his kingdom, not just in Capernaum but in all the regions.
And why is that? Just like I said before, it is because he must. That is his mission and Jesus confirms this as we see him say that he was sent for this purpose. In the midst of casting out demons and healing the sick Jesus is making it clear that this is not his purpose for coming. The miracles show us that he has authority to teach as the Holy One of God but the important part of his ministry is not making people well or rebuking evil spirits. The real mission is to proclaim the kingdom of God. The coming reign of the ascended Son of God is where this is story is going and he must be out proclaiming the good news. For the good news of this reign is far better than healing fevers or making the blind see. It is more important than causing the lame to walk and causing the deaf to hear. The kingdom of God and its proclamation is about making the dead live and breaking the chains of sin.
And so this is the purpose that he was sent for and so what does he do. He continues doing what he has been doing. He goes about preaching in the synagogues all throughout Judea. Yes, he will heal. Yes, he is still going to cast out demons but at the end of the day he is going to proclaim a message and he is going to the people of God in the synagogues where the Psalms are sung and the words of scripture are read and he is going to teach with authority so that people can hear the good news.
And so what do you and I take away from these fourteen verses here at the end of the fourth chapter of Luke. What can you and I take into the world this week as we desire to be the faithful servants of God in his world?
There has been one consistent theme through the text we have been looking at today and that is that the word of Jesus has authority. When he speaks not only do people listen but evil spirits and even nature are subject to him. How much more so should we submit ourselves to the authority of what the Lord has spoken? And the question is do we really believe that he has authority? It is easy to talk about the authority of scripture when it is the things we agree with or the things that are easy, right? The question we need to ask ourselves is where do we have areas where we find ourselves refusing to submit to what the Lord has spoken. Do we really believe that he has authority to tell us how to live or do we let some of the stuff we really don’t like go on a little list of things we don’t need to worry about? It is so easy to say that we believe Jesus has authority but then boldly live like you and I have authority over the standard of how we should live. This is a struggle in our age and every age. Will we trust the word of the Lord to have authority in our lives in how we live, in how we worship, and in what we believe?
And so, I believe submitting to this authority begins with going back to the purpose for which Jesus came. We are a people who needs to hear the word of the Lord persistently or we will forget it. We need to put ourselves in the presence of the word of God in the presence of the people of God. We need to be proclaiming the kingdom of God and proclaiming that his reign has come because Jesus has taken on the wrath of God for our sin in death, rose from the dead for our salvation, and reigns now at the Father’s right hand. This truth must have authority in our lives because it the gospel. The message that saves us and fills us with hope and joy.
And our submitting to the authority of God starts with understanding the gospel because if I don’t understand that I am a sinner in need of God’s grace, I’m not going to find it very necessary to submit to the authority of God’s law. If I don’t understand that my forgiveness isn’t about me but about the price Jesus paid for my I won’t be very likely to think that I need to submit to him because I can do this on my own. If I don’t understand that Jesus paid the price for my sin and rose again to defeat death I’m not going to think that there is much value in sharing the gospel because I will think it is just about this life and there are many paths to earthly happiness and pleasure. You see, when we start with the gospel we get the reason that Jesus came right and it flows into how we view the world and how we view our place in it and because Jesus is at the center of our salvation from sin, death, and hell we will then see that he is our only hope and he has the place of authority not only in the highest heavens seated at the right of the Father but in our lives as well.
And so, may we see Jesus as the one who has authority in our lives that we might have peace and joy and so that we might faithfully share the message of Jesus in our world that others may hear and believe and submit to the authority of the one who is Lord of Heaven and Earth. Amen.
