The King’s Loving Authority

1. The King’s Loving Authority Luke 7 – His authority over the Centurion, Death, the Fundies,and the “Wild, Wild Woman”

2. “Speech on the Plane” "Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?” • Luke 6:46 • Good Question! • To Religious Peoplle, JC is: • Offensive • Boring Luke 6:47-48 I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against the house, it stands firm because it is well built. “The King of God’s Salvation”

3. His Authority Over: A CENTURION • “Jewish Elders” • Religious People • Distort the Message • “I DESERVE…!!!” • God-in-a-Box When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people, he returned to Capernaum. At that time the highly valued slave of a Roman officer was sick and near death. When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some respected Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his slave. So they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man. “If anyone deserves your help, he does,” they said, “for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us.”

4. His Authority Over: A CENTURION • The Centurion • A tough guy, a killer • Knows he is dirty • JC is Greater than his own Great Empire Luke 7:6-8 So Jesus went with them. But just before they arrived at the house, the officer sent some friends to say, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor. I am not even worthy to come and meet you. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”

5. His Authority Over: A CENTURION Luke 7:6-8 So Jesus went with them. But just before they arrived at the house, the officer sent some friends to say, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor. I am not even worthy to come and meet you. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.” • The Centurion • A tough guy, a killer • Knows he is dirty • JC is Greater than his own Great Empire “the foundation on solid rock”

6. His Authority Over: A CENTURION Luke 7:9-10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!” • Jesus, the King, was taken by surprise 2 times: • By the unbelief of religious people • By the genuine trust of this Roman pagan When the officer’s friends returned to his house, they found the slave completely healed.

7. His Authority Over: DEATH • The Widow • A nobody from nowhere • A tragic life • Her worse fears Luke 7:11-12 Soon afterward Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, and a large crowd followed him. A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her.

8. His Authority Over: DEATH • The King of Salvation John 11:25-26 “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.” • “Sleep” or “Die” When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said. Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young man,” he said, “I tell you, get up.” Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother.

9. His Authority Over: DEATH Fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying, "A great prophet has arisen among us!" and, "God has visited His people!" We submit to the one we fear.

10. His Authority Over: INJUSTICE John’s two disciples found Jesus and said to him, “John the Baptist sent us to ask, ‘Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?’” • John the Baptist • Isaiah 40:3 Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the LORD! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God! • JB is facing death

11. His Authority Over: INJUSTICE Luke 7:22 Then he told John’s disciples, “Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. • The King of God’s Rescue: Luke 4:18-19 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim the captives will be released, the blind will see, the oppressed will be set free, and the time of the LORD’s favor has come.” Who CARES?

12. His Authority Over: INJUSTICE Luke 7:28 “I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is!”

13. His Authority Over: INJUSTICE But the Pharisees and experts in religious law rejected God’s plan for them, for they had refused John’s baptism.

14. His Authority Over: INJUSTICE But the Pharisees and experts in religious law rejected God’s plan for them, for they had refused John’s baptism. God’s authority promotes relationships,not dictatorships.

15. His Authority Over: INJUSTICE Luke 7:31-32 “To what can I compare the people of this generation?” Jesus asked. “How can I describe them? They are like children playing a game in the public square. They complain to their friends, ‘We played wedding songs, and you didn’t dance, so we played funeral songs, and you didn’t weep.’

16. His Authority Over: INJUSTICE Luke 7:33-34 For John the Baptist didn’t spend his time eating bread or drinking wine, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’

17. His Authority Over: INJUSTICE Luke 7:35 "Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children." • The “children” of God’s Wisdom keep multiplying… • The “family of God” is not a religious organization or a manmade institution… • The “King of God’s Rescue” is the only One who worthy of complete trust and submission. • Not Stalin • Not Obamma • Not the Republicans • Not your Boss

18. His Authority Over: THE DIRTY ONE Luke 7:36-37 Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him, and He entered the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table.And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume. • The “Dirty Woman” • A life of despair & terror • Throws it all at his feet • Even the “alibaster vial” Luke 7:38 and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume.

19. His Authority Over: THE DIRTY ONE Luke 7:39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!” • The Religious Guy • Jesus is an embarassment! • Jesus is not “good” enough • Jesus is weak!

20. His Authority Over: THE DIRTY ONE Luke 7:40 Then Jesus answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.” “Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied. • The King of Rescue • Can read your thoughts!

21. His Authority Over: THE DIRTY ONE Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts.” • The King of Rescue • Is the author of love. • Grace is foundational for love to work, not justice. “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” Who do you suppose loved him more after that?” Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.” “That’s right,” Jesus said. Luke 7:44-47 Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.

22. His Authority Over: THE DIRTY ONE Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts.” • The King of Rescue • Is the author of love. • Grace is foundational for love to work, not justice.

23. His Authority Over: THE DIRTY ONE Luke 7:48-50 Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.” The men at the table said among themselves, “Who is this man, that he goes around forgiving sins?” • The King of Rescue • More than a prophet! • He is Yahweh, the true God 2 Corinthians 5:19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.

24. The King of King’s Authority is LOVE And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” • Jesus is the only worthyauthority in the universe. • Will you trust in the freegift of rescue Jesus offers?