Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him. Luke 4:33-35 [NKJV]
When I read this passage today…Jesus’ response to the ‘unclean spirit’ just caught me funny. Although there is nothing funny about the evil lurking in the spiritual realm and the ruler of this world who enjoys and organizes the destruction of souls, the power of my Savior the Lord Jesus Christ is demonstrated in this recollected story by Luke. Jesus’ response is almost with a tone of annoyance.
My takeaways from the passage (Luke 4:31-37).
- This set of events (in Capernaum) happened a little after Jesus had left Nazareth and His altercation with His hometown. Capernaum is also the hometown on Simon Peter and Andrew. Jesus was spending most of His time teaching in the synagogue.
- The man with the unclean spirit was in the synagogue when Jesus was teaching. This tells me that satan and his underlings have the ability to mingle in houses of worship. It wasn’t until the demon had an outburst that Jesus addressed the demon.
- Jesus’ response of “be quiet” is likely due to the fact that He was still trying to manage His exposure and His ministry at this point. Jesus was silencing the demon because it was drawing too much attention to Himself as the Messiah.
- Not only was the demon no match for Jesus but the demon knew exactly Who He was and why He was on earth – “Are you coming to destroy us?” As the eschatological High Priest, Jesus is also expected to wage a holy war against the kingdom of darkness.
- The fact that the demon referred to itself in the plural makes me wonder if even though satan and his demons can’t be everywhere at once, they might all still be able to communicate with each other regardless of their location.
- Jesus deals with the demon quickly and deftly. The demon responds without hesitation and obeys without harming the man it was possessing.
- Jesus’ words have power (Raema). The people who listen to him notice the authority with which He teaches and the demons respond immediately when He commands.
Application:
I am listening to a book right now called “Truth or Territory” by Jim Osman and he has done a ton of research through the Word of God on Spiritual Warfare and this book debunks a ton of misconceptions and myths around exorcism and understanding how we combat the evil in the spiritual realm. Most important point for me today -> Greater is He Who is in me than he who is in the world. Clinging to the Spirit within me is the best way to identify (with discernment) and combat the evil in this word; as I seek to glorify God in all that I do.