31 Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. 32 They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority. 33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34 “Go away! 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!” 35 “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. 36 All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” 37 And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area. ~ Luke 4:31-37
In today's text, Luke continues to introduce us to the Lord Jesus Christ, this One who is the only one who has it all together. Luke directs our attention in on the power of the Lord Jesus over the demonic world.
According to Scripture, demons are fallen angels, banished from heaven with Satan because they rebelled against God. In Revelation 12:3-4, we read, "Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth."
Mentioned in nineteen out of the twenty-seven New Testament books, demons are real. Demon possession is when one comes under the control of the spirits of darkness. It is not a physical disease, but there could be physical torments associated with demon possession.
Luke mentions the authority of the Lord Jesus in v.32,36, showing His engagement in the domain of Satan. Here, the Lord Jesus displays His power over Satan on the behalf of this one who had availed himself to this possession. One is not just possessed without knowing it. One has to knowingly allow the residence of the demonic within.
Most do not know that the people of this world who are not saved are under the control of the god of this world. Of course, this is not the same as demon possession. But, we read in 2 Corinthians 4 that "the god of this world has blinded their minds lest the light of the gospel should shine unto them." This means Satan and his followers deceive, lie to, and keep the world of unregenerate people in his clutch of darkness.
In today's text, the Lord Jesus is confronted by a demon possessed man in the Synagogue in Capernaum. The emphasis here is not the demon-possessed, the emphasis is on the fact that the Lord Jesus had power over the demons. He had the power to show that He can break the power of hell and set the prisoners free.
The Lord Jesus just spoke the Word of God which came with tremendous clarity. No one could escape its meaning. And, it came with tremendous conviction; nobody could escape its application. And when the force of the Word hit that place, it strangely hit a demon in v.33-34 which reads, "33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34 “Go away! 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!"
Now, you will notice that the man doesn't even say anything. We don't even see this man repent. We don't even know whether he believed. A demon spoke out of him and in v.35 the Lord Jesus rebuked the demon and said, "Be quiet and come out of him." Then, after this, "the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him." The Lord Jesus commanded the demons to come out of this man and they did.
Since the Lord Jesus is the Messiah, He has the power over the kingdom of darkness, and so, He delivered the man from the control of the demons. In Colossians 1:13 we read, "He has delivered us from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of His dear Son." We, even though we are not possessed by demons, have been delivered like this man in the synagogue that day.
In v.34, we know the demons knew that the Lord Jesus was the Holy One of God. This demon in this text screams in the middle of the Lord Jesus' sermon and it's apparent to everybody that a demon is in this man. The demon knew the identity of the Lord Jesus. He said, "I know who You are, you're the Holy One of God." The demon panicked because his kingdom is being plundered and Jesus is after the soul of that man in whom that demon lives.
Now, there are four things in this text that gets the attention of the demonic world. The preaching of the Word of God, the purpose of the Son of God, the purity of the Son of God and, the power of the son of God.
The word "amazed" in v.36 means to be stunned or shocked, literally to be out of yourself, to literally lose your equilibrium you're so shocked. It could be translated “dazed,” or “dumbfounded.” It was in this confusing context that the truth produced clarity and conviction.
So here is this man just sitting there and this gospel is coming out of the mouth of the Lord Jesus with tremendous force and it hits the demon and the demon screams. Literally the demon screams with a loud voice, right in the middle of the preaching. The proclaiming of the word of God exposed the demon. And the demon felt the power of the word. The Lord Jesus came to provide salvation to the poor, the prisoners, the blind, and the oppressed. This demon-possessed man in the synagogue in Capernaum became the recipient of the first miracle recorded in Luke.
The response of the Lord Jesus, recorded in v.35, is "Be quiet!" Even though what the demon said was true, the Lord Jesus did not want the testimony of a demon. We must not base a theological position on the testimony of a demon. The Lord Jesus would not accept the testimony of a demon because Satan is the "father of lies." And if we start taking what demons say as what we ought to do, we'll have a tough time discerning what is true from what is false since Satan is the father of lies.
After saying, "Be quiet," the Lord Jesus then said, "come out of him!' Notice that there were no theatrics or magical incantations. The Lord Jesus simply commands the demon to be quiet and come out.
According to v.35, "And the demon, after he threw the man in the midst of the crowd, came out of him and did not hurt him. The implication seems to be that in coming out of the man, the demon tries to hurt him, but failed even in this. Though the demon had threatened to hurt the man, it was unable to do anything other than throw him down in the midst of the crowd. The Lord Jesus is in complete control here, even over the disruptive and destructive intentions of demons.
In v.36, "All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out.” The authoritative word of the Lord Jesus was accompanied by this powerful miracle, but the emphasis is still on His word. It is His word, not His works which changes us. It is through His word that we are defined. Of course, we must allow Him to define us, but this is the emphasis in this passage.
According to v.37, as a result of this event, "And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area." News about Him spread, and questions about Him would be raised. At the end of the day, this is the focal point of all creation, the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. He is the perfect One, He is God.
