Luke 4:31 - 37, An evil spirit confronted
Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority.
In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice,"Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!"
"Be quiet!" Jesus said sternly. "Come out of him!"
Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.
All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!" And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.
In verses 14-15 of this chapter, Luke mentions that Jesus had already been ministering in the region prior to visiting Nazareth. If Luke is putting his story in chronological order then Jesus is returning to that ministry in the Galilee. Although Jesus is identified as "Jesus of Nazareth", he will spend much of his ministry centered around the Galilean town of Capernaum, apparently the home of Simon Peter.
Jesus's teaching is backed up here by an unexpected authority and power that catches his audience off-guard.
Why does the demon announce Jesus? And why does Jesus tell him to be quiet? (What temptation is being offered to Jesus here?)
Luke 4:38 - 41, Simon and his mother-in-law
Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ.
Luke records a miracle witnessed by Simon Peter, the healing of Peter's mother-in-law. After the incident in the synagogue and the healing at Simon's home, people begin to bring him sick people, including those with an "unclean spirit". Again, Jesus tells the unclean spirits not to speak and does not wish them to announce him!
Luke records a miracle witnessed by Simon Peter, the healing of Peter's mother-in-law. After the incident in the synagogue and the healing at Simon's home, people begin to bring him sick people, including those with an "unclean spirit". Again, Jesus tells the unclean spirits not to speak and does not wish them to announce him!
How does one "rebuke" a fever? (Luke, identified by Paul as a doctor, says it was a "high" fever.)
Luke 4:42 - 44, Jesus moves on
At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent." And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
After the initial events in Nazareth and Capernaum, Jesus moves on to "other towns". Judea is to the south, centered around Jerusalem. But some early manuscripts have "land of the Jews" or "Galilee" instead of Judea. Jesus traveled back and forth between Galilee and Judea on several trips to Jerusalem; all of this is in the more general "land of the Jews".
There are even more "announcements" by the demons in verse 41. Again Jesus does not allow them to continue to speak.
For further thought: what Messianic agenda would be ruined by the demons announcing that Jesus is the Messiah (Christ)? What does this say about the overall plan of Jesus's ministry?
At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent." And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
After the initial events in Nazareth and Capernaum, Jesus moves on to "other towns". Judea is to the south, centered around Jerusalem. But some early manuscripts have "land of the Jews" or "Galilee" instead of Judea. Jesus traveled back and forth between Galilee and Judea on several trips to Jerusalem; all of this is in the more general "land of the Jews".
There are even more "announcements" by the demons in verse 41. Again Jesus does not allow them to continue to speak.
For further thought: what Messianic agenda would be ruined by the demons announcing that Jesus is the Messiah (Christ)? What does this say about the overall plan of Jesus's ministry?
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