THE GIFT OF POWER & AUTHORITY IN CHRIST
Luke chapter eight taught us about faith. Faith is hearing and obeying – listening and putting the Word of God into practice. We saw how the storms, demons, sickness, and death obeyed the words of Christ. Through those things, Jesus taught His disciples that we could trust His Word and put it into practice.
In Luke nine, Jesus’s disciples get to put their faith into action. They will be sent out to do precisely what Jesus did in the previous chapter. This band of ordinary people is about to do uncommon things because of their relationship with Christ.
When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick (Luke 9:1-2).
After performing mighty miracles, Jesus gathers His disciples and says, “The power and authority you have just witnessed working in me, I am giving it to you!” Jesus authorizes these disciples to do what they saw Him do in Luke 8.
Two key words pop up in Luke 9:1 – power and authority. Let’s take a moment to define these terms.
Power is the raw ability or capacity to do something.
Authority is about the right to do that thing.
Jesus links these words because giving someone power without authority leads to abuse. On the other hand, giving someone authority (the right to do something) and not the power (the ability to perform it) leads to frustration. Power and authority are inseparable in the economy of God’s kingdom because they speak to the capacity of believers and the permission of God to perform pre-ordained works of God (see Ephesians 2:10).
In the context of our passage, Jesus gives the disciples power and authority to cast our demons and cure disease (Luke 9:1b). In my opinion, Jesus’s gift of power and authority is about instilling confidence in His disciples. Let me explain.
In Jesus’s day, people were generally unaware of germs or bacteria and were convinced most diseases came about because of demonic powers. There are spiritual forces at work in some cases. In other cases, however, the cause of sickness came from other sources. Fear of demons and disease in new areas of ministry is real.
My wife and I currently work in the poorest nation in the world. We only have access to adequate healthcare if we travel abroad. Hygiene practices, or lack thereof, often cause concern for us. Not to mention the spiritual forces of darkness at work attempting to prevent gospel proclamation.
I imagine the disciples felt similar fear as they took their first missionary foray. But Jesus assuages their fear by giving them power and authority over demons and disease! The underlying premise of Jesus’s gift is, “Do not fear. I am giving you the power and the right to exercise it over those things that may hurt you.”
How often do believers fail to act in God’s power and authority because of fear of what might happen to them? Anxiety over the unknown prevents more missionary calls than a lack of resources ever did. Christ has conquered death; therefore, His followers must step into the mission with confidence that He is able to keep, protect, and preserve them in every facet of life.
The gift of power and authority over demons and disease frees God’s children to boldly “proclaim the kingdom of God and heal” (Luke 9:2a). When I teach biblical interpretation (hermeneutics), I tell my students to look closely for conjunctions – words used to connect thoughts and ideas.
In English Bibles, Luke 9:1 and 9:2 is separated. These verses should be read as one sentence, not two because they convey a single thought. Jesus’s disciples are given power and authority:
To drive out demons
To cure disease
AND to proclaim the kingdom of God
AND to heal
Jesus empowered His disciples to set aside the fear of demons and disease, so they could go and preach the kingdom of God and heal. They are spiritually and physically able to enter the mission of God.
Every believer receives power and authority over demons and disease at salvation. Why? Because every believer has been commissioned (given power and authority) to proclaim the good news of the kingdom and heal (we will look at what healing means next week).
Holy Spirit-empowered believers must walk in this fearlessness and preach the gospel everywhere. Christ dwells in us by the Spirit. And “in Him,” the demonic forces of this world possess no power and authority over us!
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