11.09.07
Christ’s Authority to Preach (Matt. 4:23-25; Mark 1:35-39; Luke 4:42-44)
Christ’s Authority to Preach (Matt. 4:23-25; Mark 1:35-39; Luke 4:42-44)
It had been a strenuous day yesterday. Jesus had taught in the synagogue and cast out a demon there. Then he went to Peter’s home and healed his mother-in-law. Then the crowds came and Jesus healed all comers until the day was done. Whew! But if you look in Mark 1:35 you see that Jesus got up before the sun rose. He went to a private place so He could pray.
What is prayer? How about if we define it as ‘an attitude of complete dependence on God’. You may not like that for yourself and may (perhaps even rightly so) reject that definition. But for Christ, you will find that to be totally sufficient. Even though Jesus had authority in Himself to heal the sick and cast out demons, He did not act independently of the Father. Prayer was absolutely essential in His life and ministry.
But – that doesn’t stop people. We have problems, we have concerns, we have needs. And the people who had listened to His word and saw His miracles crowded to Jesus. They wanted to hear more, to see more. The disciples found Jesus and let Him know many were seeking Him. Much to their surprise, Christ decides to leave Capernaum so that His message could be preached to other folks that had not heard it in regions a bit further out in Galilee.
He had decided to leave the popularity He had found in Capernaum to extend His ministry to other areas in Galilee. He considered Himself to be bound by a necessity to do so. He said ‘I must preach…to other towns also.’ He knew His mission was to proclaim the good news that God had made good on His promises and had sent the Messiah.
The interesting thing is, Christ recognized a compulsion to preach. This was evidence that He had been commissioned to preach, and this conveyed authority from God on the one that was told to preach! It wasn’t one He undertook Himself, but was one that had been appointed to Him, and that appointment conferred authority on Him.
So, Christ traveled throughout Galilee teaching and authenticating His word by the miracles He performed. The result was multitudes were reached, not only in Galilee but in Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and the region across the Jordan. The influence of Christ widened because of His words and His works.
If we got ‘popular’ somewhere, would we stay or go? Common wisdom says strike while the iron is hot. Why was what Jesus did the right thing? What if preachers / leaders did this today?
