Luke 4:31-37 31And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbaths; 32and they were astonished at his teaching, because his word was with authority. 33And a man was in the synagogue who had an unclean demonic spirit, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34“Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” 35And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And after the demon threw him down in the middle, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36And amazement came upon everyone and they talked to one another saying, “What is this word that with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37And report about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.
The next story contrasts with the previous one. Whereas the people of Nazareth rejected Jesus and experienced no miracles, the people of Capernaum were amazed and experience miracles. Capernaum was a small city on the northern shores of the lake called the Sea of Galilee. Jesus spent a significant amount of time in that area. The twelve disciples are not mentioned yet by Luke and do not appear until chapter 5. Luke records twenty-one miracles, with this being the first. Each miracle will give further insight into Jesus’ identity and mission mentioned in the stories of chapters 1 and 2. Two themes are introduced in this story: Jesus’ authority and power. Jesus literally went down hill on this journey because Nazareth is 1,300 feet above sea level and Capernaum is 695 feet below sea level. His habit was to go to the synagogues on the Sabbath and preach, like he did in Nazareth. But in Capernaum, the situation turned out differently.
In both places, people were astonished and amazed at what Jesus said. Luke uses a different word for astonished (exeplēssonto) in verse 32. The word here is a strong form of amazement to the point of being overwhelmed. The words Jesus spoke had spiritual authority that moved people’s hearts with conviction so that they wanted to respond in some way. People can fashion word so they are catchy, interesting, or humoring, but words that have power to transform come from the truth.
Verse 33 shows the power of Jesus’ words. A man was in the synagogue listening to Jesus’ teaching when conviction fell and his dark spiritual condition was revealed. There are two curious facts about this man. First is that he was even in the synagogue. He may have been fooling people about his deep hidden secrets and lived a hypocritical life. There are people like this even in churches. The second curiosity is the description of his spiritual condition as unclean (akathartou) and demonic (daimoniou). These conditions do not happen accidentally or overnight but suggest a hidden lifestyle that only came out in Jesus’ presence. The plural in the man’s response to Jesus’ teaching shows the spiritual hold the demon had over him. Like the man of Gerasene in 8:30-31, this man was possessed by a group of demons, though the number is not stated. Their response is common in the presence of Jesus. First, they recognized his power to judge them and destroy them. Second, they knew his identity as the Messiah and Holy One of God.
Jesus’ response confirmed his power over the demons. He only had to say a simple command, and the demon had to obey. The command to be quiet could have been meant to keep Jesus’ identity secret until the proper time. If people saw him as the Messiah, they might misunderstand the meaning of this and seek political power from him instead of spiritual change. After throwing the man down, the demon came out, almost like a child throwing a tantrum. But with Jesus in charge, the demon could do no harm to the man. This all took place right in the middle of the synagogue so everyone could see. This was no ordinary Sabbath meeting but a total shock. Luke uses a fourth word for amazement (thambos) with the meaning of awe and astonishment at what Jesus said and did. The people were awed by Jesus’ authority and power because no one could ever do what he did. Unclean spirits do not simply leave people in a dramatic way like this. Such an extraordinary event could not be kept quiet. Jesus was becoming famous. In the following passages, people will have to make a decision about what to do with Jesus.
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