A Conflict in Capernaum
Luke 4:31-37
31 He went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and was teaching them on the sabbath. 32 They were astounded at his teaching, because he spoke with authority. 33 In the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Let us alone! 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.” 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” When the demon had thrown him down before them, he came out of him without having done him any harm. 36 They were all amazed and kept saying to one another, “What kind of utterance is this? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and out they come!” 37 And a report about him began to reach every place in the region.
This passage makes us uncomfortable because many of us have been impacted by the secularism of North American and European thought and we have trouble imagining a spirit world. This passage is about the conflict between the spiritual forces of good and the spiritual forces of evil – the forces of God and the forces of the devil. A conflict that takes place not just in the physical world but also in the spiritual world.
Notice it is the presence of Jesus teaching with authority, God’s authority, that produces the response from the “unclean demon”. This then is the heart of the matter, who has the ultimate authority, before whom we will be bow the knee and say this is where the authority lies? The “unclean demon” recognizes that a power greater than itself, a power greater than the one the demon serves, is present and that greater power will disrupt the “unclean demon’s” goals and purposes.
The goal of the devil, and the evil spirits that the devil controls, is to do harm. Vs. 35, the demon threw the man to the ground seeking to harm him before leaving the man. But there is a double miracle here – not only does the evil spirit leave the man, the man is not harmed as the evil spirit leaves. The destructive powers of the devil are limited by the presence and authority of Jesus.
Two of the take-aways from this story are:
1. Jesus has authority over all things, even over the forces of darkness and evil. His authority will be challenged but it will never be overthrown. Jesus comes with the authority of God.
2. In the struggle between God and the devil, the devil will create much havoc and destruction, but that havoc and destruction is always limited by the power of God.
PRAYER:
God of authority, we thank you that your Son has authority over all things, and that the day is coming when all the powers of the world will bend the knee before Jesus Christ, the ruler over all things. Come and rule in our hearts we pray. In Jesus’ name. Amen.