Text: Luke 4:31-44 | Listen to Message
The Power of Jesus’ Words
When Jesus spoke, sinners heard THE Good News.
When Jesus spoke, the demon-possessed were liberated.
When Jesus spoke, the sick and diseased were healed.
When Jesus spoke, the dead were raised.
When Jesus spoke, countless people found purpose for their lives.
You see, when Jesus spoke, power came out. Everyone saw it. Both his words and the manner in which he spoke them were authoritative. They were like dynamite – except the explosions they touched off were explosions of truth, hope, and grace.
These words – the words of life and peace – were absolutely central to the ministry of Jesus. He knew that people needed to hear and believe the Gospel above all else. They needed to be transformed by the Good News about a Good God.
Maybe it’s hard to believe, but the miracles were not the centerpiece of Jesus’ life – as remarkable as they were. They were just external signs of the inward reality that Jesus came to rescue and restore. He came to make his blessings flow as far as the curse is found. But the miracles weren’t the main event. Because if Jesus fixed bodies without fixing souls, we’d have no hope beyond this brief life.
The Gospel is central to Christ – and therefore it must be central to the Church. We cannot dance around the fringes of Christianity making our lives and meetings about everything but this. The apostle Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God…”
What we observe in the collection of stories in Luke 4:31-44 is still true today: the Word of Christ is God’s power. If we want God’s power, we’ve got to get ourselves in His Word and His Word in us. And when we do, by faith, the Seed does what it does: it grows stronger and stronger and bears much fruit!
Sermon Notes & Application Questions