'Jesus then went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee. He taught them on the sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching because he spoke with authority. In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out in a loud voice, “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!” Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet! Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down in front of them and came out of him without doing him any harm. They were all amazed and said to one another, “What is there about his word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” And news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region (Lk. 4:31-37).'
On the Sabbath, Jesus was teaching in the Synagogue in the power of the Holy Spirit. There was a man with an unclean demon which asked, “Have you come to destroy us?” And declared Jesus to be the ‘Holy One of God.’ This implied that the demon believed, as did the Jews at that time, that the demons would be destroyed before the second coming of Christ, the Holy One of God. In the Synagogue, in front of everyone, on the Sabbath, the ‘Holy One of God’ commanded the demon to come out of the man and ‘be quiet.’ Nothing that is impure can withstand the purity of the holiness of Jesus who has an intimate relationship with God. The word of Jesus makes whole those who are broken by evil if only they appeal to him. His words were backed up by his works which demonstrated his divine authority. The demons recognized Jesus to be the Holy One of God, but his disciples and the Jewish leaders did not.
Almighty God, we live in the hope that your Word given to us by your Son will protect us from being broken and battered by the evil in this world. We humbly beg you to help us recognize half-truths and errors that lead to confusion about your healing word so that we may not be deceived and led astray. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
References:
Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, & Roland E. Murphy, (Eds.). (1990, 1968). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentis Hall, Inc.
Jose M. Casciaro, Santiago Ausin, Gonzalo Aranda, Claudio Basevi, Vincente Balaguer, Francisco Varo, James Gavigan, Brian McCarthy & Thomas McGovern (Eds.). (2017). The Navarre Bible - New Testament. Dublin 8, Ireland: Four Courts Press.
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