The spiritual world recognized Jesus and his power as God in the flesh. Jesus is both fully divine and fully human, a concept known as the incarnation.
“In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, ‘Ha! 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!’” Luke 4:33–34
This passage shows Jesus's authority over evil spirits, the demons' fearful recognition of his divine power, and the contrast between the spiritual world's insight and the people's lack of understanding. The incident demonstrates that spiritual evil is no match for Jesus and that his ministry is about liberating people from spiritual bondage.
22 And all spoke well of Him and marveled at the words of grace that came forth from His mouth; and they said, Is not this Joseph’s Son?
23 So He said to them, You will doubtless quote to Me this proverb: Physician, heal Yourself! What we have learned by hearsay that You did in Capernaum, do here also in Your [own] town.
24 Then He said, Solemnly I say to you, no prophet is acceptable and welcome in his [own] town (country).
25 But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were closed up for three years and six months, so that there came a great famine over all the land;
26 And yet Elijah was not sent to a single one of them, but only to Zarephath in the country of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. [I Kings 17:1, 8-16; 18:1.]
27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and yet not one of them was cleansed [by being healed]—but only Naaman the Syrian. [II Kings 5:1-14.]
28 When they heard these things, all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage.
29 And rising up, they pushed and drove Him out of the town, and [laying hold of Him] they led Him to the [projecting] upper part of the hill on which their town was built, that they might hurl Him headlong down [over the cliff].
30 But passing through their midst, He went on His way.
31 And He descended to Capernaum, a town of Galilee, and there He continued to teach the people on the Sabbath days.
32 And they were amazed at His teaching, for His word was with authority and ability and weight and power.
33 Now in the synagogue there was a man who was possessed by the foul spirit of a demon; and he cried out with a loud (deep, terrible) cry,
34 Ah, let us alone! What have You to do with us [What have we in common], 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 (muzzled, gagged), and come out of him! And when the demon had thrown the man down in their midst, he came out of him without injuring him in any possible way.
36 And they were all amazed and said to one another, What is this teaching? For with authority and power He commands the foul spirits and they come out!
37 And a rumor about Him spread into every place in the surrounding country.
38 Then He arose and left the synagogue and went into Simon’s (Peter’s) house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering in the grip of a burning fever, and they pleaded with Him for her.
Luke 4:22–38.
All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!” (Luke 4:36)
Since we know Christ’s heart was perfect and patient, something more was going on in that encounter than meets the eye. Murky waters like these force us to dive in and see what’s stirring on the bottom.
Two considerations may help us to understand Christ’s prophetic confrontation.
First, consider the original wording. Verse 22 tells us that “all spoke well of him.”
The translation “spoke well of” comes from the Greek word martureo, meaning “to be a witness, bear witness . . . to be able or ready to testify.” “Amazed” is the Greek word thaumazo, meaning “struck with admiration.” Either of these words could be used by spectators after attending any rock concert and being impressed by a talent. The wording suggests that they were impressed by Christ’s delivery—not so much what He said, but how He said it.
Let me draw on my experience and offer a possible explanation. After delivering a message, nothing hits me like cold water more than someone saying, “You are a great speaker.” First of all, I know better than that. I have a thick accent and use tons of country colloquialisms. Far more important, though, if someone makes a statement like that, I know either I failed miserably or the person didn’t get it. In the case of Jesus’ teaching, we know He can’t fail, so obviously, they didn’t get it. In Jesus’ seemingly harsh words, He may have been responding to their grading His speech rather than receiving His message.
Notice a second consideration: the velocity of the crowd’s change of mood. The crowd’s mood went from admiration to a murderous rage in the moments of Christ’s confrontation. Luke describes them as furious. The word in the text for “furious” comes from the word thuo, meaning “to move impetuously, particularly as the air or wind, a violent motion or passion of the mind.” The north wind of their admiration suddenly reversed into a south wind of tornadic proportions. When a mood can change in a matter of moments from admiration to murderous fury, something is amiss.
Beth Moore, Jesus, the One and Only
