Server Outage Notice: TheSeed.info is transfering to a new Server on Tuesday April 13th
| Order Of Worship (Liturgy) TH 55 - To God Be the Glory Psalter 317 - God an All-Sufficient Helper Psalter 71 - The Fearlessness of Faith |
Christ Shines in Galilee
Luke 4:31-44
Singaporeans are a fickle people. We go for the latest fad. We see a queue and we line up. Why? Because at the end of it must be something good - good food, a good deal, some freebie being given out. Sometimes it’s by word of mouth - you hear about it and you come to try. Some taste and it’s not to their liking. Some like it for only a little while, but then, they queue up somewhere else. We’re fickle. But this is the same with everyone. And this was the same when Christ first came. He had a large following. People rushed to see him - they didn’t even queue. But when his teaching became too difficult, those who followed him, stopped following him.
In our study of the life of Christ, we’ve seen the beginnings of Christ’s ministry. After his miracle at Cana, where he turned water into wine, he went to Jerusalem. Many people marveled at his teachings and miracles there. Even an important leader sought him out; and heard controversial teaching. God saves not only the Jews, but all kinds of people who believe in Christ - even the enemies of the Jews. Some hated this message. Others loved it. But his own family and friends - those who grew up with him - rejected him and even tried to kill him. As the Cantonese phrase goes - “?????” - local ginger is not hot. But he knew there’d be many others that would flock to him. Many pressed to see him, to taste whether his message was good or not. He chose disciples to spread that news. And here, he declares himself publicly. There are 2 things he does. Firstly, Jesus declares and demonstrates his deliverance. Secondly, Jesus targets teaching amidst tenderness.
Firstly, Jesus declares and demonstrates his deliverance. Verses 1-2 say, “And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days. And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.” After Jerusalem and Samaria, Jesus came back to Capernaum in Galilee. He taught on many sabbath days. As verse 3 says, it was in the synagogue. The result? It was powerful preaching and the people were astonished at his doctrine. What was the content of his preaching all of those Saturdays in Galilee? Why were they amazed? Why was it powerful? As I unpack the verse and answer the questions, let’s be astonished by his doctrine. What did he preach in the synagogue on the Sabbath day? To have an idea, we look back at Luke 4:18 where he preached on the sabbath in another synagogue. He read from Isaiah the prophet - “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Why did God send Jesus? To preach good news. To whom? The poor in spirit. Why? So those whose hearts have been broken by sin may be healed. So those who are slaves to sin, might be delivered. So those who are blind to their sins, will see their need of a savior. So that those who are oppressed may be freed. Jesus preached because God’s kingdom had come. He didn’t preach how to have a better life on earth, neither how to be rich or healthy; but to be saved from sin, to belong to God. This was Christ’s message.
We’re all sinners. But there’s a savior. This was the message Jesus expounded over several Sabbath days. And he needed to preach it. None of us can see our sin and need for a savior without such a message. We live daily distracted by many things. We work to make a living - and we all struggle with rising costs and increasing taxes. There’s work stress, family stress, marital stress; we raise children with school stress. As a result our physical and emotion health deteriorate. And what we all experience is how sin makes these things worse. We respond to these triggers sinfully - anger and bitterness; or we give into lust. We even lie to ourselves - saying everything’s okay when it’s not. In fact, we pour our sins into our problems. We have problems because of the sins of others. And we make them worse by our sins. There’s no escape from sin and misery - wealth doesn’t solve it. Some of those most enslaved to sin are rich people. We all face sin and misery. Why? Because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And that’s why Jesus’ message was so radical. It was a message that astonished the people. Why? He offered deliverance and salvation from sin. Teachers in those days taught obedience; good morals If you do this, you’re good. You’ll have a good life. But we know that’s a lie. Good morality doesn’t translate to good life. And it frustrates people. Frustration leads to more struggle. Some learn to cope. But only Christ dealt with the sin issue - the root issue - the rebellion of self against God. And how are we freed from this root issue? We need a savior. That’s why the people were astonished. He provided hope.
And where he preached this was important. Sure, he preached it in Jerusalem and Judea, but he didn’t stay there. He returned to Galilee. But Jerusalem was the religious center then. Why didn’t he stay there and preach? Simple. This message is not readily received by religious people. Nicodemus asked how these things could be? It’s an offensive message. If you’re religious or moral code, you won’t easily concede you’re sinful. But Jesus ministered in Galilee. Why? This region was looked down by the religious elite. The citizens were considered impure because they interacted frequently with Gentiles. They were also seen to be uneducated commoners. As such, they’d be more likely to consider their need for a savior. And the Bible predicted this. That Jesus message would be well-received in Galilee. Isaiah 9:1-2 - says that darkness and despair will not go on forever. There will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles will be filled with glory. “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.” So when Jesus shone that light - to speak about salvation from sin - they were astonished. Never before had they heard this. Jesus preached this because he was fishing for the souls of men. Friends, if you’re not too proud or religious to admit you’re a sinner, then you may see Christ as a savior. God can forgive your sins, if you look to him to save you.
And Jesus didn’t only declare his doctrine, he also demonstrated deliverance. And it was amazing. We must be amazed at his deliverance. We learn in verses 33-34 that in the synagogue was a man listening to Jesus. He was possessed by a demon. Why was he there? Perhaps he went to find deliverance. But there was no deliverance in the religious message of morality - do good, be good, and you’ll be blessed. But he wasn’t good, neither blessed; he needed a savior. But while Jesus’ message on deliverance was met with astonishment by the people who saw the light; it was met with dark opposition from the demon inside him. He cried with a loud voice, saying, “leave us alone!” speaking on behalf of demons everywhere. “What’s your business with us, you Jesus of Nazareth!” So he knew who Jesus was. “Have you come to destroy us?” The demon heard the sermon well - he knew Jesus would deliver his followers from captivity of sin, Satan, and hell one day - destroying them. But why was he so certain? Because of Jesus’ ultimate identity - “I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God.” Jesus is God himself, who’ll conquer all evil. And we see Jesus’ power as God. Verse 35 - “Hold thy peace, Be quiet! Come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not.” What Jesus preached about deliverance, salvation, healing, and freedom - he demonstrated. He simply spoke - come out, and the demon came out. The man was delivered. The time of deliverance had indeed come. The people were amazed. Verse 36 - “what kind of words are these? He commands demons with power and authority, and they come out.” They were astonished at his doctrine and were now amazed at his deliverance. What he said he’d do, he did. He saves people from sin. And he became famous in every place in Galilee - people heard about him. The gospel is simple. It’s a message. It teaches us what God does for us. He saves those who believe. The gospel is about Jesus, who saves. And from what does he save? Sin. And he’ll destroy sin one day. The gospel is not - be good, do good, earn your salvation. It’s God saving sinners. Are we astonished by that doctrine? Are we amazed by what Christ can do? He can save you from your sin. He declares and demonstrates his deliverance.
But secondly, Jesus targets teaching amidst tenderness. Why did Jesus heal and deliver? He’s a compassionate and kind savior. And we must respond to his tenderness. Jesus saves. Why? Because he’s merciful. In verse 38, we learn that after he leaves the synagogue, he goes to Simon’s house. Simon - his disciple. But we learn that his mother in law was very sick. It was a great fever. It wasn’t just a fever - which would’ve been threatening enough in those days, but it was a great fever. She was at its mercy. And they - possibly Peter and his wife - besought him. They pleaded with him for her. Why? After all, he’d been preaching that he’d bring the good news to the poor, heal the broken hearted, deliver captives, give sight to the blind, etc. They saw how his deliverance matched his teaching. Wasn’t it natural to go to him? He could heal. He m transformed water into wine, he cast out demons by his word, and preached deliverance - how could they not go to him? They responded to his tenderness by asking him. We go to Jesus because he saves. And we see how he responded in tenderness. Verse 39 - “And he stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her: and immediately she arose and ministered unto them.” What did he do? He just stood over her, meaning she was lying down - the fever was that severe - and he simply spoke. He rebuked the fever; meaning he censured, scolded, told it off. Now, we don’t know what he said in commanding the fever to leave her; but we know he spoke. Just as he preached in the synagogue, he commanded the unclean spirits, he rebuked the fever. And we learn that it left her. As the demon left the man, the fever left her. And we also see her response to his tenderness. “Immediately she arose and ministered to them.” She who was lying down, incapacitated, in response to his immediate healing, she arose immediately and served. She became the hostess. From great fever, to fervent service. Beloved, you who have received deliverance from sin, continue to be forgiven for sin - how do you respond to Christ’s tender deliverance? We serve him. Immediately, getting up, to worship and serve. That shows understanding of the deliverance we have.
Verses 40-41 tell us the extent of his tenderness. It was almost night time, but all the people who had friends or relatives who were sick, brought them to him. He tenderly laid his hands on them - every one of them - and healed them. There were many who were possessed and oppressed by demons who were also brought to him. He expelled them. Verse 41 says they cried out and acknowledge he was the Christ, the Son of God. Now, in verse 34, they called him the Holy One of God. Here, they used 2 other titles. They called him the Christ - God’s anointed. And they call him the Son of God - a title that refers to his kingship. Even the demons acknowledge his divinity, his right to rule, that God had appointed him to save. A king, but a tender one towards those he saves. But one feared by those who refuse his deliverance.
Then we see something interesting. In spite of his tenderness, he rebuked the demons - stopped them from speaking because they knew he was Christ. He rebuked the demon in the synagogue, he rebuked the fever, and he rebuked all the demons he cast out. The tender savior delivers, but in delivering, he destroys. But why did he stop these demons from proclaiming who he was? There are many possible reasons. But one we see here clearly is that his fame had already spread. It would be difficult for him to preach if he was always approached by others, with others queuing up, to see him for healing, like he was the latest fad. And that reminds us that as much as Jesus was tender and compassionate to those who had such needs; his healing of them physically, was only temporary. Those who were healed would fall sick again. They’d die one day.
He came to teach - to shine the light of the gospel. And we must listen to his teaching. Ultimately, spiritual healing was Jesus’ purpose. And that’s the message he had to get out. After healing all night, verse 42 says, “And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place: and the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them.” He wanted to leave. Why? Verses 43-44 - “And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent. And he preached in the synagogues of Galilee.” Tender as he was, healing all night - he had to get away to teach. That was his job - to preach the kingdom of God to other cities. He was sent for this purpose. And he went again to the synagogues. What was his message? “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He’s anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to deliver captives, to make the blind see, and free the oppressed from sin.” That’s the teaching of Christ. It’s simple. He came to bring deliverance so sinners can be saved from their sins to live forever when they die. That they’d be freed from sin. They’d be free from judgment of sin. And we must hear it.
Like I said at the start, people are fickle. We line up for the latest fad. People came to Jesus for all sorts of reasons. Yes, some come to him hoping for healing. Hoping their problems will go away. Many trust in morality - that if they pray, or give, or live righteously, they’d have blessings. But there are no blessings without surrender. No deliverance without receiving Christ as Savior and Lord. Unless you hear the good news that you’re a sinner, and run to Christ for deliverance, the root problem of sin will always remain. Christ shone in Galilee - among humble people - and many followed him, hearing his message of salvation. Will you follow him? And beloved brethren, are you continuing to follow? Remember, many follow Christ but his message on deliverance is not always easy - we must continue to see our sins and our needs.
1. Jesus Declares and Demonstrates His Deliverance
A. We must be astonished by his doctrine
B. We must be amazed at his deliverance
2. Jesus Targets Teaching Amidst Tenderness
A. We must respond to his tenderness
B. We must listen to his teaching
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Mark Chen, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2025, Rev. Mark Chen
Please direct any comments to the Webmaster
