Epiphany 4
Series C reflection
03 February,
2019
Jesus’ Ministry at Capernaum Luke 4:31-43
JESUS AT THE SYNAGOGUE ON THE SABBATH
Verses 31 and 32
begin with a summary of Jesus’ teaching ministry in the synagogue on the
Sabbath days. His teaching resulted in amazement on the part of His audience,
not unlike the initial response of the people of Nazareth. Luke sums up the cause
for the amazement of the audience with these words:
His message was with
authority (Luke 4:32).
What is it that
distinguished our Lord’s teaching from that of the scribes and Pharisees, and
made His teaching authoritative, when their teaching was not?
Jesus’ teaching was
simple and straightforward, while that of scribes and Pharisees was academic,
scholarly, and obscure.
Jesus taught as the
author of Scripture, while the scribes and Pharisees taught as mere students,
and not good students at that!
THE DEMON’S DISRUPTION (33-37)
At Nazareth, Jesus
had been put out of the synagogue. Now, at Capernaum, a demonized man had come
into the synagogue, and the demon must be put out of the man.
Every time Jesus
dealt with a demonized person the people already knew the problem was demonic.
The New Testament never describes any occasion when a person was brought to
Jesus and He diagnosed the problem as demonic, to their surprise. Demon
possession was evident to everyone.
The demon was
unclean, in contrast to the Lord, who was recognized by the demon as “the Holy One of God” (4:34). The demon
was loud and disruptive. He cried out with a loud voice (4:33). His intent
seems to have been to interrupt and disrupt the teaching of Jesus. Jesus would
not carry on a conversation with this demon. Jesus rebuked the demon. And
commanded it to be silent and to come out of the man
The Healing of Peter’s Mother-in-law
and Many Others (4:38-41)
Luke emphasizes the
word of rebuke spoken to the fever. Once again, it is the word of the Lord
which is powerful. Not only does this high fever leave the woman instantly, but
the residual consequences of the fever were remedied.
The rebuke of our
Lord showed His disapproval of its unclean nature and of its diabolical
associations, and of its work. Jesus also “rebuked” the winds (Matt. 8:26; Luke
8:24) and the fever of Peter’s mother-in-law (Luke 4:39). Both the winds and
the fever were destructive and detrimental to man. Sickness (fever) and storms
are not in accord with the original creation of the earth, but are the
unpleasant result of the fall, thus the rebuke from the Creator.
As sunset
approached, the Sabbath ended, which immediately brought many to the door of
the house, hoping for healing. These were not people with minor ailments,
various aches and pains, but people with serious maladies of various types,
people who had to be brought by others. Every type of illness was healed,
instantly and completely. Demons, too.
The Priority of Jesus’ Ministry (4:42-44)
Jesus would often
slip away to the wilderness and pray. (See Luke 5:16) Jesus responded to their
appeals to stay by referring to His calling, to His priorities:
But He said to them,
“I must preach the kingdom of God to the
other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose” (v.43)
Jesus;’ priorities
were prayer and the preaching of the Word. Miracles played a minor role in His
ministry, but prayer and preaching were His priority. Thus, He knew He must
leave Capernaum and preach elsewhere, even though the people begged Him to
stay. Prayer and proclamation were also the priority of the apostles (cf. Acts
6:1-7). [1]
[1]
For further study go to the following link https://bible.org/seriespage/14-deity-confronts-demons-luke-431-44
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