Luke 4:31-37
"And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days. And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power. And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice, Saying, Let us alone, what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not. And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out. And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about," Luke 4:31-37.
One of the things that we see consistently in Christ's public ministry is that He continually taught the people. Whether it was a few, or great crowds, He taught them the Scriptures. Even after His resurrection He continued to teach (Luke 24:27). "Expounded" in Luke 24:27 means to explain thoroughly; expound. Christ took the Scriptures and thoroughly explained them. This is what Christ did during His public ministry. Those who belong to Christ desire to hear and understand the words of Christ. If you are hungry for the Scriptures and have a desire to mature as a Christian, then you will want to be under expository preaching and teaching. Once you have been exposed to expository preaching and teaching, you don't want any other kind. The Scriptures thoroughly explained satisfies your soul. When someone doesn't want the Scriptures explained but would rather have entertainment and experiences, you must really question if they are followers of Jesus Christ (John 10:27; 5:38-39).
In our text, Christ came down to Capernaum and taught, instructed, the people on the sabbath days. It is obvious that He would take a text and explain the text. As He did this, the people were struck with amazement at the manner of His teaching. What Christ taught had power. This is different from the word "power, Greek dunamis" in verse 36 which means power, authority, might resulting from external sources and circumstances. "Power" in verse 32 is the Greek word "exousia" and means powerful; with point and effect. This power produces an effect. This teaching reveals what was not formerly obvious. There was a demon possessed man amongst the people in the synagogue. Picture this synagogue service, everything going as usual, there is the excitement and anticipation of hearing the Scriptures taught, and hearing the Scriptures expounded upon with amazement, and then the guy next to you begins to speak out. He isn't saying "amen" to what Jesus was teaching, but instead he is commanding that Jesus leave him alone. The expositional teaching of the Scriptures revealed what was in this guy, and brought out what was in this guy. As a result of the teaching of the Scriptures the people found themselves in the midst of a battle. Christ Himself was again in the midst of a battle. Who would win this battle?
The man himself did not cry out, but the demon did. "Spirit" in verse 33 means a spirit, a simple, incorporeal, immaterial being; spirits of demons. "Unclean" is in the sense of lewd. "Devil" is a demonic being, devil. This man was possessed by a lewd demon. Lewd means sexual behavior or remarks that are highly inappropriate or obscene. What kind of life was this man living? Was he a minister in the synagogue disguised as a minister of righteousness? Or was he a visitor? We do not know these things, but what we do know is that this guy was possessed by a demon. Obviously his life was not as bad as the demoniac in Mark 5, but nonetheless he was filled with turmoil and sin.
He cried with a loud voice. This was loud and clear. Did he start out by crying out in fear and submission to Jesus Christ? No. This is an imperative, so the demon started out by giving Jesus an authoritative command. Look what he said in verse 34, "Let us alone." He was commanding Jesus to get away from him. Away, away, let us alone! Jesus Christ was simply teaching the Scriptures, and now He is in another battle. The attitude of the demon begins to change, and changes quickly. He asked "what have we to do with thee". His command to Jesus didn't work, so now he is quickly trying to reason with Jesus. Look Jesus, we aren't bothering you, so there is no reason to bother us. Let us continue wreaking havoc on all those we possess. Then the demon called Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth, which was a derogatory term. To be from Nazareth was to be a nobody from nowhere. At this point the demon was trying to barter with Jesus.
We must understand that demons are not how Hollywood has made them out to be. Nor are they stupid, or ignorant of what the bible teaches. They were once part of the heavenly angelic host (Revelation 12:3-4, 9). There is no redemption or forgiveness for the fallen angels. They know that the day is coming when God will cast them into the lake of fire (Matthew 25:41). They know who God is, and they tremble (James 2:19). With all this knowledge the demon asks the question, "art Thou come to destroy us?" In this verse "destroy" speaks of future judgment, not annihilation. Though the book of Revelation had not been written at this time, the demon fully understood that he had rebelled against God, and that his time was limited, and that there are consequences for sin. The demon starts out by being assertive, then trying to bargain, trying to belittle Jesus, asking if now was the time, and lastly he tried using flattery to get his way. Flattery is sin. Nothing the demon said or did deterred Jesus from His mission. Jesus rebuked the demon with authority, and muzzled the demon. The demon had no power or persuasion to resist the authority of Jesus Christ. The demon did exactly what Christ told him to do. There was never any doubt that Christ was in total control.
How much evidence was there that this guy's life was in shambles? We don't know, but there is no doubt that on the inside this guy was experiencing a living hell. Only Jesus could deliver him. Only Jesus has the power, authority, ability, and the love to save you from your sins. He saves you and makes you a new creation. He delivers you from the guilt of your sins, and ultimately from the punishment because of sin, which is the wrath of God. Word about this event spread (verses 36-37). It is wonderful to hear about Jesus Christ saving souls. He takes someone in the depths of sin, saves them, makes them a new creation, and uses them for His glory and their good. There would be an obvious difference in this man's life. If Jesus Christ has saved your soul, there will be a difference that others will be able to see. In seeing what Christ has done in you, others will praise the Lord, and all of heaven rejoices.
If you are not saved, I beg you to trust Jesus Christ alone to save you. The authority and power of Christ's teaching did this. Soli Deo Gloria.
