The Surprise of Jesus – Part 2: The Exorcism

The Surprise of Jesus – Part 2: The Exorcism

by | Feb 23, 2025 | Sermon Recaps

At GSBC, we emphasize Christian freedom. If grace is the root of faith, freedom is its fruit.

Some claim it means we can do whatever we want, preaching that new life in Christ is unfettered. But, bondage to self is not freedom.

Others undersell it in fear of making mistakes of eternal significance for their souls. To these we ask, didn’t Jesus already take the penalty of your sins past, present, and future? Lest we forget, bondage to the Law isn’t freedom, either.

Our lack of freedom reveals both our bondage to self-righteousness and our addiction to our unrighteousness. It brings us to uncharted territory, where we have to trust in the sufficiency of Jesus and the new identity He has given us without prerequisite work of our own.

It is precisely in this freedom where true transformation actually occurs. Grace isn’t supplementary to our own work. Grace is everything.

Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it has seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.) Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.

When the herdsment saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and the country. Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. And those who had seen it told them how the demon-posessed man had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

Luke 8:26-29

Grace Is Way More Powerful Than Your Darkness

What do you have to do with me? It’s the normal response of all who live in an anti-grace paradigm. Our posture and desparation at the feet of the Son of God is not dissimilar.

There are things we think we can’t be freed from. Though we may not be posessed by Legion, the grip of sin is oppressive. Alarmingly, spiritual darkness is even attractive to the human heart.

We don’t have to be posessed to be overwhelmed by the power of sin. Our hearts desire things that aren’t named Jesus—things that leave us feeling completely defeated, unclean, and unrescuable.

Thankfully, there is nothing God can’t redeem. These demons were powerless to resist Jesus and could do nothing but submit completely to His authority. Jesus is certainly about casting out evil, but He does so in a way that brings redemption and overflows with grace.

The sin that haunts and plagues you has been paid for on the cross. Even the sins you’ve not yet committed are already judged and put to death. Upon the cross at Calvary, Jesus said “it is finished,” and He meant it forever.

Grace Blows Up Natural Economies

When someone is given freedom from the worst kind of oppression, you would think there would be great rejoicing. Instead, the people of the city found Jesus’ grace to be an affront. They saw what happened but could not embrace it. They were struck with fear.

This reaction reveals that there are sometimes things we don’t want to be free from. We like control. We trust our own efforts more than God’s grace.

The real scandal is not the financial impact of the lost pigs or some other earthly concern. The real imbalance at play here is God’s grace, freely given despite rejection.

Grace wrecks the system because it refuses to be earned. We don’t want to be free from our responsibility because our work to earn status, wealth, and accolades makes sense to us in a human, transactional sense. Grace is an attack on the achievement-obsessed person we’ve built ourselves to be.

In Christ, there is now not only freedom from self and Law, but redemptive grace—a grace with which we are armed to share good news with others who are enslaved.

Grace Commissions Us With Only One Message

There is nothing that is keeping you from being used by God. Stop and reflect; do you believe this? Or do you still fear that some hidden sin in a dark corner of your heart makes you unusable?

The man Jesus helped couldn’t keep silent. His heart burned to proclaim what Jesus had done for him. This is what every heart transformed by Jesus wants to do.

Jesus didn’t tell the man to prove his worth. He simply said, “go and tell.” The power of the gospel we have been given lies in Christ’s work. We simply recognize that Christ has given us everything we need and walk in freedom, going and telling.

The grace that saved you is the same grace that Jesus pours out to save others. Our message is singular: grace. Because of Jesus, we have a life beyond the grave. We are secured by the One who bore the wrath that we deserved.

You, Christian, are free. Live in that freedom. Declare His grace.

This article is a recap of a sermon preached by Pastor Hunter Sipe at Good Shepherd Bible Church on Sunday, February 23, 2025 entitled The Surprise of Jesus – Part 2: The Exorcism. This sermon continues our expositional series on Luke’s gospel entitled Luke: Good News for the Rest of Us. This sermon and others are available for listening on the Good Shepherd Bible Church Sermon Podcast.

Good Shepherd Bible Church is an Acts 29 church located in Pataskala, OH serving the eastern Columbus area.

We invite you to explore our website to learn more about GSBC, consider connecting at our church, or read about our core beliefs.

The Surprise of Jesus – Part 2: The Exorcism

The Surprise of Jesus – Part 1: The Storm

by | Feb 16, 2025 | Sermon Recaps

We like to think we trust Jesus and act accordingly. We focus on the truth of the Word on Sunday, but by midweek, hardship and sin threaten to steer our gaze elsewhere.

We know Jesus cares for us, but fears, circumstances, and shame challenge our belief in His person and work. We ask, Do you really care?

If we’re honest, we don’t trust Him as much as we claim. Life’s storms shake us. But there is good news—though we fear, Jesus remains in full control.

One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”
Luke 8:22-25

The Storm Reveals Our Lack of Trust

This storm wasn’t a drizzle. Luke describes real danger. The disciples believed they would die. Yet, Jesus slept. No fear. No panic. Just peace.

The disciples found His calmness alarming. Did He even care? He wasn’t panicking like they were. Their trust in Him depended on an expectation of smooth sailing. The crashing waves against the hull rocked that expectation.

Storms don’t create doubt; they expose it. When we face broken relationships, bad diagnoses, unhealed pain, and financial strain, do we trust He is Lord?

The Rescue Reveals Jesus’ Prior Grace

Instead of rebuking His disciples for their lack of faith, Jesus rebuked the storm. Though they doubted, He responded to their cries for help.

Grace never comes to us due to an absence of doubt. Jesus, full of grace, was already gracious as He slept. His grace works before we even begin to doubt. Faith is not something we muster; God creates it in us amid our struggles.

Jesus doesn’t wait for us to get our act together before pouring out His grace. He always acts first. He is our help in times of trouble.

Who are you trusting in your daily life? Your own effort, or His grace?

Jesus, as both Creator and Savior, commands the wind and waves. He alone rescues. Once we recognize we can give Him nothing that isn’t already His, our only response is worship. Our only posture is the receiving of all that He gives. Faith itself is a gift from Him.

God’s rescue isn’t based on how well we respond. He already loves you.

The Relief Reveals a Deeper Fear

One might expect the disciples to rejoice after the storm calmed. Instead, they stood in awe. The wind and waves had terrified them, but now they faced something greater and more worthy of their fear: the One who commands creation.

Jesus didn’t come just to help with problems. He came to be Lord over your entire life. He isn’t here to make you a better version of yourself. He calls you to be a child of a sovereign, holy God. That’s more unsettling than a storm. It means your life belongs to Him.

The disciples were awake, fearing the storm while Jesus slept. But in the garden, on the eve of His salvific task on the cross, Jesus stayed awake while His disciples slept. Our priorities are often backwards. We fear the storm but not the Lord.

The disciples knew Jesus’ words were true, but the storm forced them to act on that belief.

The Gracious Gift of Faith

If this passage only challenged us to have stronger faith, it would crush us. Thankfully, we are saved not by the strength of our faith, but by its object: Jesus Himself.

Christ doesn’t demand perfect faith from His sheep. He gives it. He doesn’t scold us when we panic, but comforts us. He calms the storm despite our doubt.

When we fear and our footing is unsteady, He remains sure. When we doubt and panic, the anchor holds. When He declared on the cross, “It is finished,” He meant it forever.

This article is a recap of a sermon preached by Pastor Hunter Sipe at Good Shepherd Bible Church on Sunday, February 16, 2025 entitled The Surprise of Jesus – Part 1: The Storm. This sermon continues our expositional series on Luke’s gospel entitled Luke: Good News for the Rest of Us. This sermon and others are available for listening on the Good Shepherd Bible Church Sermon Podcast. Good Shepherd Bible Church is an Acts 29 church located in Pataskala, OH serving the eastern Columbus area. We invite you to explore our website to learn more about GSBC, consider connecting at our church, or read about our core beliefs.
The Surprise of Jesus – Part 2: The Exorcism

Mystery & Division in the Kingdom

by | Feb 9, 2025 | Sermon Recaps

In this journey of faith in Christ, we often encounter what seem to be paradoxes that challenge our understanding. One such case is in how the Kingdom of God operates: it’s both mysteriously hidden and remarkably clear, creating distinct divisions among those who encounter it. Through Luke’s account in this week’s passage, we see how Jesus used parables to reveal truth about His Kingdom.

Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.
And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.
“No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”
Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”
Luke 8:1-21

Jesus: the Mystery and the Key

If God gives us a door through which to walk into His Kingdom, the mystery of Christ is the key that unlocks it. He Himself is the hope of glory.

It’s interesting that other places in Scripture refer to Jesus as the “mystery.” This week’s passage introduces two parables—proverbs and illustrations that reveal a truth about the Kingdom and give us the lens to see who Jesus is and what He does in His lordship. These parables create a sharp divide. Jesus equips His disciples with the mystery of His gospel and sends them out to share it.

The Division of the Kingdom Is Clear For…

Those Who Are All In With Jesus (v. 1-3)

The passage begins by introducing us to an oft-overlooked group: the women who supported Jesus’ ministry. These weren’t casual followers, but individuals who had experienced transformation through Jesus’ ministry. Mary Magdalene, freed from the grip of seven demons, Joanna, the wife of Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, along with many others, didn’t just intellectually assent to Jesus’ message. They invested their resources in its advancement, footing the bill for gospel proclamation. Their commitment was anything but half-hearted. They were “all in” with both their lives and their means because they had been transformed by the person and work of Jesus.

Those Who Are Transformed by the Word (v. 4-15)

When we refer to “the Word,” most of us probably think first about the Bible and its contents. This is true, but we can turn to the opening mystery of John’s gospel account: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Jesus Himself is the Word.

Jesus tells us that the liberally-sown gospel message will surely land in all kinds of places. The people we encounter may appear rebellious, hard-hearted, or uninterested in the good news, but we are to cast the light out everywhere we possibly can.

Some hearts are hardened and the message never takes root. Though their ears hear, their hearts do not receive. Still, we share the gospel.

Some receive the Word with initial excitement but are not changed. They seem to be excited about the truth but don’t ultimately root themselves in it. Still, we share the gospel.

Some allow life’s worries and pleasures to choke out the possibility of bearing spiritual fruit. They go on their way and are consumed by the cares and riches of selfishness or the mundane routines of life. Still, we share the gospel.

When the seed is cast on good soil, God reveals His power to faithfully cultivate that seed to the point of rich, hundredfold harvest and lasting fruit. Though we do not see signposts directing us to whom we should preach the good news of Christ’s gospel, we are to preach it liberally. What a joy it is that our sovereign Lord chooses to use us as instruments to redeem His people.

There’s a sharp distinction between those who receive the mystery of the gospel and hold onto it for dear life and those who reject or try to add to His gospel, ultimately missing the mark through the pursuit of moral progress apart from the good news of His Kingdom.

Those Who Are Laser-Focused On the Gospel (v. 16-18)

Jesus then uses the metaphor of light to emphasize the importance of properly handling the gospel message. God’s grace is like a light that illuminates dark places, exposing everything it touches. This calls for serious attention to how we hear and share this message. The focus must remain on grace.

We cannot move past grace or try to supplement it. The light of grace cannot be faked or mustered up within ourselves. It grows in hearts that God has brought from death to life, gradually dispelling darkness more and more as the Spirit sanctifies, shapes, and molds us further into the image of the Son.

Those Who Are Jesus’ Spiritual Family by Faith (v. 19-21)

When told that His mother and brothers were outside waiting and held back by the busyness of the crowd, Jesus declares that His true family consists of those who hear God’s Word and put it into practice. These words aren’t a repudiation of His earthly family, but a declaration that His service to God and His work as Messiah is more urgent than natural relation. Those who hear and heed God’s Word belong to Jesus’ family.

The Call: Be All In

Jesus remains the key to entering the Kingdom of God. We do not enter through religious performance or moral achievement, but through faith in His finished work on the cross and His resurrection.

This Kingdom extends a welcome to we, the needy, even when we recognize we are at our worst and darkest outside of Christ. Be “all in” on His grace. Be about advancing His gospel. The mystery of the Kingdom invites commitment to the One who is Himself our hope of glory and the giver of all we need to persevere in faith.

This article is a recap of a sermon preached by Pastor Hunter Sipe at Good Shepherd Bible Church on Sunday, February 9, 2025 entitled Mystery & Division in the Kingdom. This sermon continues our expositional series on Luke’s gospel entitled Luke: Good News for the Rest of Us. This sermon and others are available for listening on the Good Shepherd Bible Church Sermon Podcast.

Good Shepherd Bible Church is an Acts 29 church located in Pataskala, OH serving the eastern Columbus area.

We invite you to explore our website to learn more about GSBC, consider connecting at our church, or read about our core beliefs.

The Surprise of Jesus – Part 2: The Exorcism

Authority & Transformative Forgiveness

by | Feb 3, 2025 | Sermon Recaps

We often believe that our goodness is the key to God’s acceptance. We think that if we project competence, righteousness, and control, we’ll earn His favor. But as we wrap up Luke 7, Jesus challenges this assumption. He reveals that it’s not our perceived goodness that draws us near to God, but our recognition of need and brokenness. This passage presents two contrasting figures: a self-assured Pharisee and a knowingly sinful woman. One relies on his righteousness and distances himself from Jesus. The other, fully aware of her sin, experiences transformative grace.

One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”
“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Luke 7:36-50

Those Who Relate to God on the Basis of Their Goodness Reject Jesus

There’s something terrifying about having our sin exposed. We spend much of our lives managing an image of goodness, competence, and respectability. We hide our struggles and downplay our failures, hoping they aren’t too noticeable. We convince ourselves that as long as we’re better than someone else, we’re doing okay. This need to prove ourselves shapes how we interact with others, how we respond to criticism, and even how we relate to God.

We pray, highlighting the good and softening the bad. We confess sin but with excuses to make our failures more acceptable. And when we see someone else’s sin on full display, there’s a subtle sense of relief. At least I’m not that bad.

But what if our biggest problem isn’t that we occasionally fail to be good? What if the belief in our inherent goodness is actually keeping us from God? This is exactly what we see in our passage.

Simon the Pharisee invites Jesus to dinner, likely as a form of religious schmoozing or curiosity about this new teacher. Yet, Simon relates to Jesus on the basis of his perceived righteousness. He offers no water for Jesus’ feet, no welcoming kiss, no anointing. The basic gestures of Hebrew hospitality are missing. In Simon’s mind, his goodness should be enough to warrant Jesus’ favor. But when a “woman of the city” enters, everything shifts.

Those Who Relate to God on the Basis of Their Badness Are Transformed by Jesus

This woman, known publicly for her sin, does something radical. She brings expensive ointment, weeps at Jesus’ feet, washes them with her tears, and dries them with her hair. She kisses His feet repeatedly and anoints them with the ointment. Her actions are extravagant and scandalous in the eyes of the religious elite, but they are a profound expression of love and gratitude.

Jesus then tells Simon a parable about two debtors. One owes much and the other owes significantly less. Both debts are forgiven, but who loves more? The one forgiven much. The point is this: awareness of our sin and the grace we receive generates love. Simon, blinded by his self-righteousness, cannot comprehend this. He sees no need for forgiveness, and thus, no capacity for deep love.

Jesus turns to the woman and says, “Your sins are forgiven… Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Her transformation doesn’t stem from striving to be good but from being bestowed with God’s grace.

The Heart of Transformative Forgiveness

The Christian’s transformation isn’t found in the perfecting of goodness, but being upended by the gracious forgiveness of God by the blood of Jesus alone and made alive when death is all that’s deserved. It’s about recognizing that our righteousness doesn’t earn us a place at God’s table. After being redeemed by Christ Jesus, the more we understand how much we’ve been forgiven, the more His love fills our hearts.

If we relate to God on the basis of our goodness, we’ll constantly strive, hide, and reject His grace when it meets the darkest corners of our sinful hearts. But when He draws us to Himself in a contrite state of badness, and we acknowledge our deep need, His love is expressed in His forgiveness.

Where do you find yourself today? Clinging to your goodness, or washed by His grace? Because of Jesus, you are forgiven. Go love much, and go in peace.

This article is a recap of a sermon preached by Pastor Hunter Sipe at Good Shepherd Bible Church on Sunday, February 2, 2025 entitled Authority & Transformative Forgiveness. This sermon continues our expositional series on Luke’s gospel entitled Luke: Good News for the Rest of Us. This sermon and others are available for listening on the Good Shepherd Bible Church Sermon Podcast.

Good Shepherd Bible Church is an Acts 29 church located in Pataskala, OH serving the eastern Columbus area.

We invite you to explore our website to learn more about GSBC, consider connecting at our church, or read about our core beliefs.

The Surprise of Jesus – Part 2: The Exorcism

Authority & Expectations

by | Jan 26, 2025 | Sermon Recaps

We all have problems we can’t solve on our own. No matter how hard we try, some challenges remain stubbornly beyond our control. The most significant and eternal example is our inability to earn God’s forgiveness. We struggle with this reality in two ways: we resist submitting to authority, and we have trouble accepting the free gift of grace in Jesus.

God’s love comes with no strings attached; it’s firmly out of our hands and entirely in His. This feels unnatural because we’re conditioned to believe we should be in control. Our expectations of earning our keep clash with the reality that we’re not in charge. If submitting to authority is challenging, coming to terms with pure grace is even more difficult.

In this week’s passage, we see how Jesus’ authoritative grace completely upends our expectations.

The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And when the men had come to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the One who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” In that hour He healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind He bestowed sight. And He answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by Me.”

When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written,

“‘Behold, I send My messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’

I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” (When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

“To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,

“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’

For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at Him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”
Luke 7:18-35

The Specificity of Authoritative Grace Creates Doubt

Even John the Baptist, Jesus’ own cousin and forerunner, struggled with expectations about the kind of kingdom Jesus would establish. He discovered that Jesus’ kingdom wasn’t primarily political or militaristic, but spiritual. Jesus consistently chose tactics and people that seemed counterintuitive by human standards.

When doubt takes root, it forces us to look outward and examine what we’re truly putting our faith in. Genuine faith is accompanied by an ongoing process of repentance. When we find ourselves asking, “Jesus, are You really the one who can redeem the darkest places of my heart?” Jesus points us back to the cross.

The miracles Jesus performed weren’t just spectacular displays of power—they signaled our deeper spiritual need. While He healed physical ailments, these miracles illustrated His ability to heal our soul-deep problems: unworthiness, anxiety, loneliness, and fear. These internal struggles can only find their resolution in Jesus’ authoritative grace.

The Scope of Authoritative Grace Creates Offense

Look at who receives Jesus’ grace in this passage: the blind, the lame, lepers, the deaf, the dead, and the poor. These weren’t the powerful or privileged, but society’s outcasts. This challenges our merit-based thinking. If we believe we can contribute even 1% to our salvation, we’ll struggle with God’s sovereign grace. Blessed is the one who sees in faith that their death is eternal apart from the salvific work of the One Who makes dead hearts alive.

We’re wired for a world of hustling and achieving. Jesus’ authoritative grace reveals the futility of working to earn salvation through our own efforts. Trusting in His sufficient grace requires faith that He alone provides.

The Clarity of Authoritative Grace Goes Deeper Than We Want

God the Father sees us through Jesus and counts us as righteous. When others saw weakness in John the Baptist’s questions, Jesus saw a faithful proclaimer of truth. God didn’t just become human, but chose to be counted among the worst of us for our sake, purposefully taking on death and sin to demonstrate His authoritative grace.

The Purposes of Authoritative Grace Are Broader

Jesus makes the remarkable statement that even the least in God’s kingdom can be greater than John the Baptist. While many in the crowd acknowledged God’s gift of righteousness for sinners, the religious elite rejected it. They couldn’t let go of their self-righteousness and status, refusing to accept that God’s purpose was to justify sinners through Christ.

The Logic of Authoritative Grace Is Uncontrollable

We can’t reshape Jesus into the kind of Savior we prefer. As Jesus says, “Wisdom is justified by her children.” We resist His authoritative grace because it shatters our expectations, yet it’s precisely this shattering that brings us face to face with His mercy.

No matter your fear, sin, or struggle, come back to the authoritative grace of Jesus. It may not work the way we expect on this side of eternity, but our Lord redeems us in precisely the way we need.

This article is a recap of a sermon preached by Pastor Hunter Sipe at Good Shepherd Bible Church on Sunday, January 26, 2025 entitled Authority & Expectations. This sermon continues our expositional series on Luke’s gospel entitled Luke: Good News for the Rest of Us. This sermon and others are available for listening on the GSBC Sermon Podcast.

Good Shepherd Bible Church is an Acts 29 church located in Pataskala, OH serving the eastern Columbus area.

We invite you to explore our website to learn more about GSBC, consider connecting at our church, or read about our core beliefs.