A great storm arose on the lake. The wind howled; the waves crashed; water flowed into the boat faster than the men could scoop it out. There was no doubt about it; they were going under.
Meanwhile the Lord Jesus slept in the back of the boat. Finally, the men ran to him and cried, “Lord, save us.” Quietly Jesus got up and talked to the wind and the water: “Hush. Be still!” Immediately the wind calmed down and the waves fell. All became perfectly quiet. The friends of Jesus were astonished. They asked each other, “What kind of a man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey Him!”
How well, dear friends, you know that story and its significance. Just think! Jesus can talk to the wind, tell it to be quiet, and it quits blowing. Likewise He can tell the thunder to quit rolling, the lightening to quit striking, the rain to quit falling, the fire to quit burning, the sickness to quit hurting – and everything must do exactly what He tells it to do. Why must it do what He says? He explains, “All authority is given to me in heaven and on earth.” He has authority, divine authority over all things.
What is authority? The dictionary defines authority as “the power or right to give commands, enforce obedience, take action, or make final decisions.” Authority is influence or power over something. It gives a person the right of final say. Jesus as God's Son has final say over everything, everything, for He has made it, keeps it, and protects it with a power and an influence that goes beyond our world. He Is In Control.
As believers we know that to be true, but as sinners we so frequently live as though it were false. The winds of adversity blow, the waters of hardship arise, temptations and doubts assail. They toss our hearts about like a ship in the midst of a stormy sea. What will save us? We need an anchor to hold us firm, a hope that will keep us steadfast. And here it is in good part. No matter what takes place, this simple truth always stands: Christ Is In Control “for all authority is given to Him in heaven and on earth.
May the Holy Spirit graciously guide us in the study of our text and increase our faith today as we see this Christ at work. It shows us that He Is In Control I. with an authority that gets our attention; and II. with an authority that delivers us from evil.
I. Christ Is In Control with an authority that gets our attention.
Our text begins, “(The disciples and Jesus) went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at His teaching.”
There are many things that get people's attention , many things that amaze them, inspire them, and impress them.
I'm often amazed and inspired by the wonders of nature. This world is simply astounding, if you just take the time to look at it and measure its richness and depth.
You can go outside and view the vast array of heavenly bodies that light up our sky. Point to any star, any planet, and realize that it's millions and millions of miles away - but you can still see it! They have to be awfully big, so big that it's hard for us to imagine how big.
At the same time you can take a small teaspoon. Looking at it you see nothing but the spoon itself. Yet within that empty spoon lie millions and millions of atoms, so small that they can't be seen with your eye – even millions of them.
God made them both. He made the atom and the stars at the same time. Stars so very, very big that we can't imagine how big they are. And atoms so very, very small that we can't imagine how small they are. Inspired by it the psalmist writes, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars which You have set in place….” (8:1,3f) and then he simply drifts off in amazement of God's creative power. It got his attention .
What gets your attention? What amazes you, inspires you, impresses you?
Notice what got the people's attention in our text – the teaching of Jesus. Does the Bible rate that way with you? A look at nature may be inspiring, but even more inspiring and attention-getting is a journey through the teachings of Jesus. Why? Our text responds, “Because He taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law….They were so amazed that they asked each other, ‘What is this? A new teaching – and with authority!'”
Sometimes when we buy a used car we say, “I bought a new car.” Well, it's new to us, but it's really not brand new, is it?
The same was true about Jesus' teachings. These teachings were not brand new, but they were “new” to the people of Jesus' day because their teachers never taught like this. They only quoted
human authority; Jesus could quote God as His authority. And He quoted God about things which had always been there.
The gospel has always been there. The promise of a Savior goes way back to Adam and Eve. Right after they fell into sin, God promised the Savior saying, “I will put enmity between you (the tempting serpent) and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
This promise became ever clearer through the prophets, like when Isaiah said, “He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.”
Now, how more specific can the teaching of the gospel get! How clear these words are to us as we see them fulfilled in Christ. How often haven't your preachers and teachers of the past proclaimed them joyously for your salvation? But the teachers of that day didn't proclaim them. Instead the people heard from them only human musings that crowded out God's promises. That's why Jesus' teaching caught their attention. It was new and fresh and inspiring to them. It brought them the good news of salvation
How sad that is when these glorious promises of a Savior and help for sinners that go way back in time are never taught – never heard. But we have the same thing happening today.
There is an abundance of teachers in our world today who only teach man-made rules, regulations, and empty human musings. Once again they have crowded out the gospel.
To them the Bible becomes like a book of myths and stories, a book that is old and lifeless. They think it's necessary to add something to it to make it more acceptable to people. They are just like the teachers of the law at Jesus' time.
That's how the gospel is a “new” teaching that must be taught and reviewed every day, even though it is as old as time itself. We must always be reminded that we daily sin against God and our neighbor and that we deserve His judgment as a result. And then we must always be reassured that all those sins have been paid in full by Jesus' innocent suffering and death. Through Him we are changed from sinner to saint, from sad to glad, from self-serving to self-sacrificing, all because of Christ. This is what Jesus was telling them, not quoting human authorities but quoting God as His authority. Boy, did that get their attention. And it get ours, too!
With Jesus, dear friend, you come face to face with heaven's authority. It's the authority of the Gospel that soothes our spirits when we are sad, comforts our souls when we are afraid, floods our hearts with peace when we are upset, and promises that for Jesus' sake all will work out for our good. It brings stability and comfort to our world that so often seems out of control. Out of control! Is that the way you see your life? No, never in the Lord Jesus. He's your Savior. He's In Control with an authority that amazes us; it's God's authority – the gospel. And it gets our attention.
II. Christ Is In Control with an authority that delivers us from evil.
It gets our attention because of what it means for us. It means that we have been delivered from evil . That truth happened in a most concrete way in our text that showed Jesus' control.
In the middle of His teaching, a man cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God!”
It's not at all surprising that the devil took hold of this man and had him cry out against the Lord Jesus. Remember, Jesus is in the middle of his teaching that for the first time had brought a wonderful hope to these people who had never heard the gospel before. Isn't that just like Satan, trying to destroy what is good and seeking to keep evil in people's lives?
The devil never looks out for your welfare, friends, and he never brings anything that is good. Oh, he gives that appearance as he tempts us into sin, but he never delivers anything good to us – only evil. He promised good to Adam and Eve; he promised them great wisdom. Did he bring them anything good? No, he deceived them and brought them evil. That's all that he wants to give you.
The same was true here. When good had finally come into these people's lives in the promises of the Savior, the devil tried to undermine it and take it all away. But Christ would not allow him to, for this is the reason Jesus came – “He came to destroy the works of the devil” (1Jn.3:8).
Christ was in Control. With a word of rebuke and a word of authority He drove the devil out of this man and delivered him from evil. You know, in some ways it was just like He had done when He calmed the raging storm on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus can talk to the wind, tell it to be quiet, and it quits blowing. He can tell the thunder to quit rolling, the lightening to quit striking, the rain to quit falling, and the devil to keep hurting us – and everything must do exactly what He tells it to do, for “all authority is given to Him in heaven and on earth.” This is why He came; to destroy the works of the devil, to deliver us from evil.
There is no greater way that He showed His control over Satan than when He died on the cross, defeated him forever, and delivered us from the storm of our sin. If through His holy wounds, He did that, He will, as we look to Him in faith preserve us in safety to His heavenly kingdom. As the Bible says, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phlp.1:7). He is able to do it for He Is In Control. Believe it.
And so it is, dear friends, that the less our hope is fixed on ourselves and the more firmly it is established on Christ, the more immovable He will make us. The storms of life cannot prevail against Him. The devil has no authority over Him. So hope in Christ in everything. He will not leave you without help. He will not leave you without comfort. He will not depart without His kindness resting upon you. Because of what He is we are raised up for He Is in Control with an authority that gets our attention and with an authority that delivers us from evil. God grant it in our lives of faith for Jesus' sake. Amen.