Luke set us up for understanding the ministry of Jesus Christ. Luke did this by telling us of one His sermons that almost ended His life. What did He preach on? He preached from Isaiah 61:1–2, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Lk 4:18–19). It will be from this passage that we will see multiple themes be repeated on a regular basis as Jesus ministers through the area of Galilee (4:14–9:50). The remainder of chapter four will focus on Jesus fulfills the prophecy of giving liberty to them are bruised and deliverance to the captives.
Luke 4:31–44 is meant to be understood as a single unit. There is a one word that connects the remainder of the chapter creating a single theme: rebuke. In verse 35, Jesus is going to rebuke a demon. In verse 39, Jesus is going to rebuke a fever. In verse 41, Jesus is going to rebuke multiple demons. All of this pointing to the power and authority that Jesus is able to exercise over all infirmities from the natural and the spiritual realm. The section splits into three scenes. Scene one is vv. 31–37. Scene two is vv. 38–39. The third scene is vv. 40–44. The word “rebuke” occurs once in each of these scenes. Today we will only be covering the first scene (Lk 4:31–37). We will look at scenes two and three the Sunday following Easter.
The Setting (Lk 4:31–32)
After having been rejected by the people of His hometown and barely escaping with His life, Jesus comes down to Capernaum. Capernaum is a city that is located in the province of Galilee and is approximately only 12 miles from Nazareth. Capernaum is also located on the north-western shore of the Sea of Galilee allowing the city’s major trade to be fishing and agriculture. The verb, “came down” is appropriate. Nazareth is over 1200 feet above sea level while Capernaum is 686 feet below sea level, making more than an 1800 feet descent.92
Luke uses a periphrastic participle93 for taught (διδάσκων, or teaching) indicating that this was a common occurrence. This is reinforced from Luke 4:15. The parallel account of the narrative only mentions one Sabbath (Mk 1:21–28). We will be seeing Jesus in Capernaum for a while. It would make sense if this is His common practice like it was in Nazareth.
Lk 4:32. The people in the synagogue were extremely astonished with the teaching of Jesus. Astonished is from ἐκπλησσω which means “to cause to be filled with amazement to the point of being overwhelmed, amaze, astound, overwhelm (literally, strike out one’s senses).”94 Luke uses the same word to describe how Mary and Joseph felt when they found Jesus in the Temple after losing Him for three days (Lk 2:48).
The people were astonished at the teaching of Jesus. Luke is trying to emphasize the message that Jesus is speaking rather than the delivery of the message. While we do not know what specifically it was that Jesus was teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum, we do know why the people were astonished. Jesus was teaching them with authority. Power (KJV) is from ἐξουσία which is typically translated as “authority.”95 The parallel account in Mark helps us to understand Jesus’ authority by contrasting Jesus against the contemporary scribes (Mk 1:22). (Luke is probably writing to a Gentile so he had no need to mention the scribes.) One commentator explains that, “The teaching of the day often pitted one rabbinic opinion against another without any certain conclusion.”96 Bock explains further by stating, “The scribes would teach from tradition, while Jesus would handle the text directly and independently. His word alone was sufficient.”97 He gave certainty to what He was teaching. He rightly divided the Word of God and did so with full assurance. Jesus was preaching the Word, and the Word was having an affect on the people.
The Encounter (Lk 4:33–35)
Luke’s first recorded miracle performed by Christ is a bit of a doozy. The narrative of Jesus being tested in the wilderness ended with Satan departing from Jesus only for a season (Lk 4:13). Satan sends one of his minions to make a public spectacle. And while we would be interested in a quick summary on what the Bible has to say about demons, let it suffice to say for now to state that they are angels who disobeyed (2 Pe 2:4; Jud 6; Re 12:7–9) and now serve the Devil. However, it is important to remember that the focus should not be on the possessed man but on Christ. The story is not about how the possessed man disrupts the crowd in the synagogue but how Jesus is able to completely take control of the situation. The best thing we can do for ourselves is to imagine ourselves as one of the spectators that was enraptured by the teaching of Jesus Christ only to be rudely interrupted by a man possessing a demon crying out with a loud voice. You would have gone from extreme of emotion to the other.
Luke describes this demon as unclean. We would automatically think that a demon is ceremoniously unclean. However, Luke is writing to a Gentile audience. “In Greek thought spirits [δαίμων] could be good or evil.”98 We have the One that is anointed by the Spirit of God to preach the good news being opposed by an unclean spirit—a huge contrast! The scene almost feels like an old western. Two opposing characters stare each other down. The old sheriff upholds justice while the criminal is the embodiment of corruption.
Lk 4:34. “Let us alone” is from ἔα. “The exclamation ἔα may be an interjection expressing surprise or displeasure, found in Classical Greek.…Alternatively, it may be the imperative of ἐάω, with the sense ‘let (us) alone.’ In the latter case it forms part of the demon’s attempt to defend itself against Jesus.”99 The former seems to be more likely.
“What have we to do with thee” or “τί ἡμῖν καὶ σοί; literally means, ‘What have we in common?’, but in the LXX it translates a phrase which means, ‘Why are you interfering with me?’ (Jos. 22:24; Jdg. 11:12; 2 Sa. 16:10; 19:22; 1 Ki. 17:18; 2 Ki. 3:13; cf. Lk. 8:28; Mk. 5:7; Mt. 27:19; Jn. 2:4). It is rhetorical, implying, ‘Do not meddle with me’.” 100 This seem to be an odd statement since the possessed man is the one disrupting the service. Perhaps Jesus was hitting on a spot of conviction that lead to an outbreak.
The reason for a first person plural as opposed to a singular is unclear. The possessed may be using an “editorial we,” it could be referencing both the man and the demon, or it could be that the man was possessed by multiple demons (cf. Lk 8:30). The last option seems to be the most logical considering the following question. There were multiple parties that were expecting judgment from Jesus but the man was never hurt (v. 35).
The next question that comes from the demonized man is, “Have you come to destroy us?” This is a question that is often asked by demonized men. “And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?” (Mt 8:29). “When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.” (Lk 8:28). The “torment” that the demons are referring to becomes clear in the Gerasenes demoniac, “And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep” (Lk 8:31). The deep is the abyss mentioned in Revelation 20:3 that will be holding cell for a thousand years. Christ states that hell was “prepared for the devil and his angels” (Mt 25:41). Ultimately, Satan and his demons will be cast into the Lake of Fire that will be eternal torment (Re 20:10). Therefore, “This is not an exclamation of surprise but of terror and dismay. In the presence of the Holy One the demon is convicted by the knowledge the for him and his kind only destruction is waiting. He knows and recognizes Christ as the Holy One of God, and therefore cries out, shuddering with terror.”101
Next, the demonized man makes an admonition. He is fully aware who Jesus is. He knows that Jesus is the Holy One of God. The demon completely understand that Jesus is the promised Messiah and the Son of God. What is remarkably sad is that Jesus’ hometown wanted to throw Jesus off of a cliff when He told them this, but now there is demon that is proclaiming it out loud. However, the demon means it without any means of dignity.
Lk 4:35. Jesus immediately responds by rebuking the demonized man. There is no hesitation seen from Jesus. Also, “Jesus, unlike other exorcists, uses only his words and forgoes the usual rituals or incantations.”102 Jesus rebukes the demon on His own authority and no one else’s.
Christ give two commands to the demon. The first is to shut up. “Hold thy peace” comes from the single word φίμοω which figuratively means to put on a muzzle.103 It is the same word used in the commandment to not muzzle the ox when he treads out the corn (1 Co 9:9; 1 Ti 5:18). Secondly, Jesus command the demon to come out of the man.
The demon had no choice but to comply. The demonized man threw himself down in the midst of the synagogue during the exorcism but the man was never harmed. Jesus likely provided safety for the man.
The Reaction (Lk 4:36–37)
The crowd’s reaction to the whole scene is pure amazement. Amaze comes from θάμβος which only occurs three times in the New Testament, all of which are by Luke’s pen (Lk 4:36; 5:9; Ac 3:10) and is appropriate for witnessing this scene. θάμβος is defined as “a state of astonishment brought on by an exposure to an unusual event, that is, amazement, or awe; in the Greco-Roman world, the word is frequently associated with activity of transcendent forces or beings.”104 The crowd also begins to ask each other about the words/message (λόγος) of Jesus Christ. The words were unique. Jesus spoke with authority (ἐξουσία same word as in Lk 4:32) and power (δύναμις). Jesus Christ spoke unto the demon and the demon had no choice but to submit the word. The narrative powerfully demonstrates the authority and the sovereignty of Jesus Christ. His sovereignty is no different than God’s sovereignty. He only needs to speak and even the unclean spirits will follow His commands. No man is able to claim such authority and power like Jesus.
Lk 4:37. Of course, when a person witnesses an incredible scene, he is going to talk about it. The news of Jesus’ actions and words against the demon went far and wide throughout the entire region. Soon everyone in Galilee will have heard of Jesus Christ.
While this may seem like an odd story for us today, it is still true nevertheless. The point of the narrative of Luke 4:31–44 is that we see Jesus’ authority and sovereignty over the dark spiritual realm and physical ailments. While we have taken the time to think over what it would have been like to witness the scene, I want to understand that the demonized man is the perfect picture of a man stuck in his sin and without Christ. Up until Christ’s word was effected, the man was subject to the will of the demon. Without Christ, we are subject to passions of our lustful flesh, even being willing to mock the Holy One of God. When the demonized man was confronted, Christ used his effectual power over and against the will of the demon. There was nothing that the man did. All the actions belong to Christ. All he had to do was speak and then the man was set free. Christ is not asking us to perform anything for salvation. We need only to place our trust in the cross and resurrection and Christ will declare us free from our sin—justified!
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92. I. Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke: A Commentary on the Greek Text, NIGTC (Exeter: Paternoster Press, 1978), 191; Robert H. Stein, Luke, NAC 24 (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 162; Darrell L. Bock, Luke 1:1–9:50, BECNT (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1994), 428.
93. See Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 647–8 for a definition.
94. BDAG, 308.
95. ἐξουσία is translated as “authority” 71 times of the 102 occurrences in both the ESV and NASB. See also BDAG, 353.2.
96. Alberto S. Valdés, “The Gospel according to Luke,” in The Grace New Testament Commentary, ed. Robert N. Wilkin (Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2010), 243.
97. Bock, Luke 1:1–9:50, 429.
98. Bock, Luke 1:1–9:50, 431; cf. Marshal, Gospel of Luke, 192; Werner Foerster, “δαίμων in the Greek and Hellenistic World,” in TDNT, 2:1–10.
99. Marshall, The Gospel of Luke, 193; cf. BDAG, 267; 1 Clement 39:5.
100. Marshall, The Gospel of Luke, 193; cf., J. Reiling, and J. L. Swellengrebel, A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke, UBS Handbook Series, (New York: United Bible Societies, 1993), 215.
101. Norval Geldenhuys, The Gospel of Luke, NICNT (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1968), 173.
102. Bock, Luke 1:1–9:50, 434. See Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 8.45–48 for a contrast where an exorcist uses incantations citing the name of king Solomon.
103. BDAG, 1060.
104. BDAG, 442; cf. Reiling and Swellengrebel, A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke, 217.
