Teacher and Savior


Luke 4:31–37
31And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, 32and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. 33And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34“Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 35But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

Jesus moves into His formal ministry with grace, healing, and power. After being rejected in Nazareth He now takes the Gospel into the surrounding area, healing and teaching as He goes. The first miracle that Luke tells us about is the casting out of a demon. This interaction between Jesus and the demon is so interesting for a few reasons.

First of all, I find it so interesting that a demon possessed person is found in the synagogue – right in the heart of God’s people. I wonder if that demon knew that he would be meeting Jesus that day. The demon was most certainly bold as I can only assume they always are. This demon even declares openly and loudly that Jesus is the “Holy One of God.” He wasn’t wrong, but he was not acting as pleased Jesus, who instantly shuts him up and sends him away from the person he is possessing. Of course, the word of this event spreads and Jesus’ fame grows. One has to enjoy the juxtaposition of the fact that while His own home-town neighbors refused to accept who He really was the demons already knew it and spoke it aloud. That these two stories would be together in the text is so clever of Luke. It cannot be lost on us that even when we want to deny who Jesus is as Lord of the Universe, those who know more than us (such as the demonic) understand and even declare the truth. Had I been wandering the shores of Galilee during that time, I think that seeing this demon dispatched would have driven me to my knees.

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