February 3, 2013 at Calvary
Evangelical Lutheran Church – Mechanicsburg, PA
“And [Jesus] 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.”
It’s the Sabbath, and Jesus
shows up in the synagogue. You may have heard the Gospel Reading begin and
wondered why it was being read. Didn’t we hear this last Sunday? Jesus goes
into a synagogue on the Sabbath because it was His custom. He reads the
Scriptures there and teaches the people. They won’t like it because they think
Jesus is just some sort of impostor or pretender. He’s a Galilean, just like
them. What does He know about the Scriptures? And how do they even speak about
Him? That’s what you heard took place in Nazareth.
But as you heard what took place
in Capernaum—another city of Galilee—there was a notably different reaction. Jesus
speaks, and the people listen. They hear what He has to say. But they also receive
His teaching, recognizing that it carries something that the other speakers in
their synagogue did not have. They note that Jesus is wielding a power, an
authority: “[Jesus] 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.”
This is what the people in
Nazareth would not acknowledge. When Jesus spoke there, the people showed
amazement at what He said. But their amazement was not a positive reaction to
what Jesus said. They would not accept Jesus as being anything more than Joseph’s
son. The claim that Isaiah had prophesied about Him and what He would do was
dismissed. The Nazarenes wanted to push Jesus off a cliff because of what He
said. But when the people of Capernaum hear that message from Jesus, they
receive it as something precious to possess.
The authority that Jesus carries
is shown further in another action that takes place in the Capernaum synagogue.
You heard of the presence of someone who doesn’t really belong: “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.’” The demon stands as a challenger to Jesus’
authority. It is a usurper who has taken what does not rightfully belong to it.
Jesus demonstrates His authority through what He says: “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.”
What is shown in this action?
That Jesus holds power over all spiritual things. This Man from Nazareth bears
authority even over the realm of the invisible beings. And He exercises that
authority for the benefit of people, so that they may be under His rightful
rule and not enslaved by what does not recognize that order. Jesus gives the
command, and the demon must comply with it. He speaks, and it must obey. And
the people notice this about Jesus’ speech: “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.” The people
of Capernaum recognize that Jesus’ words had authority. Jesus’ authority comes from His identity. It is what He bears as the
Incarnate Lord. And He bears it
with a purpose. He has come to exercise His authority, to bring His rule into
this world where there is all sorts of opposition to it. That is His agenda. It
is revealed in His actions: preaching with authority, casting out demons,
healing the ill and infirm. This is what Jesus declares to the people at the
end of the Gospel Reading: “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.”
What Jesus speaks is
authoritative. His words carry all His power and ability as the Holy One of
God. He is sent to speak them. But those words accomplish two different
results. The words of the Incarnate Lord
accomplish the same things as the words that the Lord gave His prophets to speak. Recall what you heard
concerning the call of Jeremiah to be a prophet. The Lord gives Jeremiah the authority to speak for Him: “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all
to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.” And the Lord gives Jeremiah the words to speak: “Then the Lord
put out His hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord
said to me, ‘Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have set you
this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to
destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.’”
The Lord’s statement concerning His words and His authorizing of
Jeremiah to speak them show the two different actions that are accomplished.
The Lord’s words will pluck up and
break down, destroy and overthrow. This happens as His authority is exercised
in judgment, as His words of conviction and condemnation are spoken. It took
place in Nazareth when Jesus spoke against the people who were rejecting Him,
comparing them to their ancestors who rejected Elijah and Elisha. It also
happens in Capernaum, as Jesus rebukes the demon in the man and rebukes the
fever in Simon’s mother-in-law, expelling them both.
But such authoritative speech is
not frozen in time. It is heard in this place where the Lord’s people gather. The Lord
speaks conviction and condemnation here. His authoritative words are spoken by
people sent to preach them. Those words carry the divine ability and power.
They pluck up and break down, destroy and overthrow. What are the targets of
such words? The unrighteous acts that you have done, all the sins that you have
committed. But there is more than just the listing of the wrong actions you
have performed. The Lord addresses
your unrighteous character. The exposition of that was found in the apostle’s
words to the Corinthians. Take the things that he says concerning love and find
the opposite: impatience and meanness; envy and boasting; arrogance and
rudeness; insistence on your own way or no way; irritability and resentfulness;
joy at wrongdoing. Those are the descriptions of what is not right in your
lives. They testify to what is wrong even in the life of this assembly of
believers gathered together. The Lord’s
words spoken against them begin to tear them down.
However, the reaction to that
can be like what took place in Nazareth. Wrath boils up. You don’t want to hear
it. You take offense at the one who dares to speak them. But those words of
truth must still be spoken and received. The plucking up and breaking down, the
destroying and overthrowing must take place. You must hear the rebuke that
comes from Jesus’ mouth and from those He has authorized to speak is given. You
must experience it. Why? Because that rebuke casts out what is unclean and points
out what is harmful. It is not to bring you to total destruction; it is actually
to cleanse and purify you, so that you may live. The kingdom of God is coming
here, as Jesus says.
“[T]he good news of the kingdom of God” must
also be spoken. That authoritative word of Jesus must also be spoken. It brings
benefit to you through building and planting. What type of building and
planting? The giving of a new life, the creation of a new will, a restoration
of a status that you were meant to have. This is what “the good news of the kingdom of God” is all about. The good news
is that Jesus has come and done what is necessary to place you under His rule.
He has come and rebuked what is evil and destructive. He has come and atoned
for all the wrongdoing that you have committed. He has come and driven a stake
in the heart of the Usurper, the one who desires to be your tyrant. He has come
and endured affliction in your place. He has come and swallowed up the den of
death with His life. Jesus has come and shown you the Lord’s favor.
This is “the good news of the kingdom of God” that is preached in this
assembly. Jesus does not only come with words of conviction and condemnation.
He also speaks words of pledge and promise. That is what builds and plants. His
words reconcile and forgive; they create and sustain. Such words are
astonishing: the divine became human; God died and rose for you; the Lord’s power and authority are found in
this place. But those words are heard with your ears, and you recognize the
authority behind them. You recognize how they show the salvation meant for you.
And when that happens, there is a clamoring for what they bring. You want Jesus
and His authority present among you. The desire for divine characteristics is
created in you: to be patient and kind; to avoid envy and boastfulness,
arrogance or rudeness; to insist on following the Lord’s way; to be cheerful and content; to find joy in
virtue and righteousness. You know this is not how you naturally are; it is
what the Lord builds and plants in
you.
Not only do you want it for
yourself; you desire its presence to bring the same life and gifts to others.
The recognition of Jesus’ authority found here causes the same reaction shown
in Capernaum: “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.” The
people of Capernaum received the truth about Jesus and His authority. So they
brought all sorts of individuals to Him, so that these could also benefit from
what they had heard. That is the action found among you, when you receive the
truth about Jesus and His authority and as you receive and hear the truth of
His words that cut down and build up. What you have experienced is the Lord’s favor that Jesus displays. You
want others to have the same forgiveness, life, and salvation that Jesus’
divine and authoritative word of pledge and promise distributes wherever it is
preached.
This is what Jesus’ appearance
in the Capernaum synagogue reveals. He bears authority to rebuke what is sinful
and destructive. But He also bears authority to speak the words that build up
and plant. You are part of the kingdom of God that He ushers in. You have the
salvation He brings. Recognizing Him as the source of it, you now make Jesus
the subject of what comes from your mouth—your prayers and praises: “Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may
continually come; You have given the command to save me, for You are my rock
and my fortress…. My mouth is filled with Your praise, and with Your glory all
the day.” So it is for you who believe the truth about Jesus’ authority, as
you welcome and receive Him.
+ In the Name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
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