LUKE 4:31-44
NASB
31And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; 32and they were amazed at His teaching, for His [a]message was with authority.
33In the synagogue there was a man [a]possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34“Let us alone! [a]What business do we have with each other, Jesus [b]of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” 35But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing him any harm. 36And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another saying, “What is [a]this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.” 37And the report about Him was spreading into every locality in the surrounding district.
38Then He got up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon’s home. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him [a]to help her. 39And standing over her, He rebuked the fever, and it left her; and she immediately got up and [a]waited on them.
40While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them. 41Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But rebuking them, He would not allow them to speak, because they knew Him to be [a]the Christ.
42When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them.
43But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.”
44So He kept on preaching in the synagogues of [a]Judea.
4:32 [a]Lit word 4:33 [a]Lit having a spirit 4:34 [a]Lit What to us and to you (a Heb idiom) [b]Lit the Nazarene 4:36 [a]Or this word, that with authority...come out? 4:38 [a]Lit about her 4:39 [a]Or served 4:41 [a]I.e. the Messiah 4:44 [a]I.e. the country of the Jews (including Galilee)
NLT
31Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue every Sabbath day. 32There, too, the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority.
33Once when he was in the synagogue, a man possessed by a demon—an evil[*] spirit
—cried out, shouting, 34“Go away! Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
35But Jesus reprimanded him. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. At that, the demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched; then it came out of him without hurting him further.
36Amazed, the people exclaimed, “What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!” 37The news about Jesus spread through every village in the entire region.
38After leaving the synagogue that day, Jesus went to Simon’s home, where he found Simon’s mother-in-law very sick with a high fever. “Please heal her,” everyone begged.
39Standing at her bedside, he rebuked the fever, and it left her. And she got up at once and prepared a meal for them.
40As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one. 41Many were possessed by demons; and the demons came out at his command, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But because they knew he was the Messiah, he rebuked them and refused to let them speak.
42Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them.
43But he replied, “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.” 44So he continued to travel around, preaching in synagogues throughout Judea.[*]
[4:33] Greek unclean; also in 4:36. [4:44] Some manuscripts read Galilee.
I don’t do my best learning in a classroom. I did well in school. I studied hard, listened well, completed all of my assignments on time and well enough to earn good grades, and I performed admirably on tests. Still, I don’t count my hours in the classroom as my best times of instruction. I
learn best by observing an expert. I appreciate teachers, but I need a mentor who will take time to show me how it’s done. By God’s grace, I had the privilege of learning under some of the very best.
This segment of Luke’s narrative represents the third of a three-part introduction to the public ministry of Christ. The first (4:14-16) briefly summarizes His activity. The second (4:17-30) clarifies the scope of His mission as the Messiah: to save those who want a Savior. The third (4:31- 44) shows specific examples of how Jesus conducted ministry. And what a wonderful model this last segment is for Christians! Jesus demonstrated four activities that, more or less, define Christian ministry. As we examine each activity, watch for the recurring theme of authority.
He taught truth. (4:31-32)
He confronted evil. (4:33-37, 41)
He demonstrated compassion. (4:38-40) He renewed His strength. (4:42-44)
— 4:31-32 —
After departing His hostile hometown of Nazareth, Jesus resumed His successful ministry in Capernaum. The journey took Him, literally, from high to low, from 1150 feet (350 meters) above sea level to 680 feet (200 meters) below it, by the Sea of Galilee. While He went “down” in elevation, His ministry soared.
Jesus’ ministry in Luke focuses on the region of Galilee. Capernaum functioned as a home base for Jesus and his disciples, but they traveled all over the region teaching and healing.
The people were amazed by the manner in which Jesus taught, which was unique for its day. Luke writes that He taught with “authority” (exousia [1849]), using a Greek word that means “of free choice.” It is the term used to describe the sovereign, authoritative decision of a king or a judge (cf.
Luke 12:5; Acts 1:7; Rom. 9:21; Jude 1:25). Mark’s parallel account states,
“He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes”
(Mark 1:22, emphasis mine). According to Walter Liefeld, “The majority of the rabbis would base their teaching on the chain of tradition, citing the opinions of their predecessors.”[48] Sabbath after Sabbath, people heard the scribes drone on: “According to Rabbi so-and-so . . . But Rabbi what’s-his- name disagrees, saying . . .” But Jesus didn’t appeal to the traditions of men; He taught directly from the Scripture, speaking as the author of the texts in question, without any appeal to human authorities. Luke stresses this with the phrase “His message” (Luke 4:32).
Barry Beitzel
The Jewish synagogue fulfilled many of the same functions in the local community as the modern- day Christian church: worship, instruction, and fellowship. Jesus, as an exceptionally popular rabbi,
taught at the synagogue in Capernaum. Today, this white limestone synagogue from the fourth
century rests on the foundation of the black basalt synagogue Jesus knew in His day.
It is true that Jesus enjoyed the unique advantage of being God—no one can exposit a book quite like the author himself. However, I don’t think that was Luke’s point. What gave Jesus’ teaching such authority? He appealed directly to the text, not to particular schools of thought or the opinions of other respected teachers. In our day, we may apply this to Bible helps, such as commentaries, lexicons, and dictionaries. These tools can be very useful, but they were never intended to replace the Bible itself. Furthermore, Jesus not only taught the Scriptures as one who understood their meaning, but He also lived out the timeless principles of the Old Testament. He explained God’s Word from His own human experience. In this way, He is our model teacher.
— 4:33-35 —
Luke carries the theme of authority forward in his description of the Lord’s encounter with a demon-possessed man. This also happens to be the first of Jesus’ miracles recorded in Luke’s Gospel.
On this occasion, “a man having a spirit of an unclean demon” (lit.) was in the synagogue at the same time as Jesus. Luke doesn’t explain how they happened to meet, but his depiction indicates the demon-possessed man was surprised to see Jesus. The phrase “Let us alone!” in the NASB translates a single Greek interjection, ea, the meaning of which is disputed. It could be the imperative form of a verb meaning “to leave” or “to permit” (eaō
[1439]), or a common emotional interjection—similar to “Ah!”—
expressing anger or dismay. Because the latter is common in classical poetry, and Luke appears to have been classically trained, I favor understanding this word as the interjection.
Whereas people struggled to understand or accept Jesus’ identity, the demon did not. Note the specific identifiers in his rant: Jesus of Nazareth, the Holy One of God. The title “Holy One of God” is not an official title, but a notable contrast to the demon’s own identity. Whereas “holy” things are consecrated—that is, set apart for special use in God’s service—the
demon was unclean and unacceptable, having dedicated himself to the opposition of God’s purposes. Luke’s language highlights the meeting of opposites. The literal embodiment of God confronted the literal
embodiment of evil. And, ironically, they clashed in the synagogue. The question “What business do we have with each other?” comes from the Greek rendering of a Hebrew idiom, which conveys the idea “What have we in common?” (Josh. 22:24; Judg. 11:12; 2 Sam. 16:10; 19:22; 1 Kgs.
17:18; 2 Kgs. 3:13; cf. Matt. 27:19; Luke 8:28; Mark 5:7; John 2:4). This was the demon’s way of telling Jesus to “get lost” or “mind Your own business.” Furthermore, the question “Have You come to destroy us?” is rhetorical, expressing both sarcasm and contempt.
For all his blustering, the demon proved impotent before the authority of Christ. The Lord commanded and the demon obeyed.
As with His teaching (Luke 4:32), the people responded with
“amazement” at the Lord’s “authority” (exousia). His message and His power extended beyond mere teaching in the synagogue to overpower the forces of hell. While any mortal man could conceivably teach with
authority, this man’s authority overcame evil. Other teachers decried the rise of evil; this man put evil in its place.
— 4:38-41 —
Jesus again exercised His authority—this time over the illness of Simon’s mother-in-law. Luke’s narrative makes it clear that this incident occurred immediately after Jesus had cast out the demon in the synagogue. Jesus went to Simon’s home, and at the request of friends, he proceeded to help the woman’s fever. Today, a fever is usually little more than a nuisance, easily treated with over-the-counter medicine. In those days, however, a person suffering a fever could either recover suddenly or die quickly. A fever represented the same kind of uncertainty as a coma might today.