Preached at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Rocklin on the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany on February 3, 2013 by Pastor Todd Peperkorn
Sermon Text: Luke 4:31-44
Sermon Theme: “Authority”
Jeremiah 1:4–10 (17–19)
1 Corinthians 12:31b—13:13
Luke 4:31–44
Jesus Has Authority to Forgive Your Sins and Give You Life
Jesus was sent to “preach the good news of the kingdom of God” (Luke 4:43). His preaching is an epiphany or manifestation of God, because His Word reveals the authority of His Cross and Resurrection, by which He has atoned for the sins of the world. By the preaching of His Gospel in every place, He silences the unclean spirits and casts out demons, heals the diseases of body and soul, and restores life and health to His creation (Luke 4:40–41). For the sake of His divine love, He is “patient and kind” toward us; He “bears all things,” “endures all things,” and “delivers up His body” to save us (1 Cor. 13:3–4, 7). So also for the sake of His love, He calls and sends His prophets, as ministers of His Word, “to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant” (Jer. 1:10).