AUTHORITY AND POWER Luke 4:31-44 Twenty miles from Nazareth was the busy lakeside city of Capernaum, where there were Roman soldiers stationed, and also a lot of business was done there as it was on the main road going east to west. There was an active fishery which would add to the economy of the community where people came from farther away to buy things not accessible in outlying villages. Often, in busy communities, there is also a decadent social life, and Capernaum was no exception.
The Spirit of God moved Luke to write in a way that would reach Gentile believers with the story of Jesus. He begins telling of His public ministry by contrasting the rejection of Jesus’ authority by the people of Nazareth to the acceptance of His authority and power by the people of Capernaum. The very first authoritative action recorded in Luke was when a number of significant things happened in one day. He commanded an evil unclean spirit to come out of a man who called out in the synagogue where He was teaching. The demon knew the Lord Jesus Christ was “Jesus of Nazareth” and he also knew He was “The Holy One of God.”
Demons believe in God but still, fight against Him. They are in opposition to God and are also against the welfare and well-being of human beings. They afflict people with mental and physical illness when there is an element of consent in a person. It may not be a deliberate choice by responsible persons, but there is a strange attraction to some people, especially when they are young, toward those things that are on the dark side of life. Video games, board games, movies, and television programs are available to those who are attracted to the occult.
There seemed to have been a prominence of demonic activity when the Lord Jesus Christ was here on earth. It was a time of “darkness” which men loved because their deeds were evil. The “shadow of death” was not far away when Jesus, “The Light of the world,” moved among the people. His light was shining in the darkness and the darkness could not overcome His light. The True Light of our Lord Jesus when He came into the world, gave light to every person “so that none need perish.” One wrote a very perceptive poem…
“Never soul in hell shall burn, who has not had a chance to turn. Whether they be a pagan wild or born a Christian’s favored child; God will not suffer them to go, unwarned to everlasting woe; For nothing but rejected light, shall doom a soul to endless night.”
Characteristics of demon-possessed people in the New Testament, paralleled the human experience today. Evil spirits always bring damage to the one who is possessed. They are always injurious in some way to other people and they have a personal power beyond the control of the person possessed or afflicted by the demon. However, there is no power of evil that is greater than the power of God. Our Lord has all power in heaven and on the earth. He has the authority to make clean the morally and spiritually unclean, He is able to restore to normality any person who is willing to face their sin and repent of it. When that person turns to God and accepts the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, His authority and power restore a person to what God intends them to be.
When God works in a life-changing way in a person, those who know that person are affected, whether they like to admit it or not. “What a word!” means the same to a person today who comes “from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God!” It is not long before there is evidence in attitude and actions, as well as words when one has been born again by the Spirit of God through the word of God revealing Christ to them as their Savior and Lord.
In writing his account of Jesus as the Son of Man, Luke gave an account of a typical day in the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. He must have already had a good reputation as a teacher of the scriptures in Capernaum. The contrast between the response of the people in Nazareth and those in Capernaum is noteworthy. The Nazarenes ignored His words and only saw the Person. The people of Capernaum heard His words and saw the evidence of His authority. The Lord would have known Andrew and Peter, and James and John from the time He was baptized. Those men lived in Capernaum and fished from there. Peter had lived in Bethsaida previously and must have moved in the recent past to Capernaum where he had a home. The connection Jesus had with Peter had been made previously so that there was an open door for the Lord Jesus at his house.
The nature of the miracle of healing Peter’s mother-in-law from the fever is in contrast to the open dramatic exorcism of the demon from a man in the synagogue. The Lord wasn’t advertising His ability to heal or cast out demons. His Father’s business had to do with preaching the Gospel to lost souls and saving them from hell. In this incident to which Peter would have been an eyewitness, the instantaneous healing of this woman was so complete, that she was immediately able to get up and go about the work of showing hospitality. Having heard of the events of that one day, Luke wrote of the wide dimensions of our Lord’s work when He showed authority over the powers of darkness, the power of disease, and the consequences of sin. The wide range of differences makes it clear that there is no limitation to the supreme authority of our Lord. He has supernatural dominance over evil of any kind. Demons and people are subject to His divine authority.
Teaching, exorcism, and healing all happened in that one place on the same day. There are no limitations to what God can do when the hearts and minds of people are opened to hear and obey Him. Not everyone who hears biblical teaching will accept it for themselves. When victory over the darkness of the blinded mind of a human being takes place, that does not mean the battle is over forever. The witness of other demons was rebuked by the Lord Jesus because He didn’t want people to believe in Him because of the testimony of demons.
Our Lord Jesus Christ kept His priorities in service in order. The message He had was His number one priority. We need to remember that Satan has no authority over those who belong to our Lord Jesus. His power is far greater than any opposition that may come against us. His authority overcomes any human demands to do that which is wrong or that compromises that which is right. To preach the Gospel is our priority. Jesus is much more than a healer, and He is much more than the One who meets the needs of people with problems. He is the Almighty God who came into the world to save sinners.
The Holy Spirit selected the events of one day in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ to teach us the need for balance in our lives the same as He had in His. In one day, He used His authority over the supernatural by casting out demons, over the physical by healing Peter’s mother-in-law, and over the mental by the clarity of His teaching. The teaching ministry of the Lord Jesus continued in other synagogues in that whole area of Israel.
After the sabbath had passed (six o’clock in the evening) there were people who came to Him for healing who had waited until a new day started. By reading the passage, it seems like there were people coming to Him through the night, and He healed their sicknesses and cast demons out of people. He commanded the demons to be silent under His authority. He wanted people to believe His words, not merely respond to His miracles. When the time came for Him to be identified publicly as the Son of God, He would do that in His time and way, not with demons. That same authority is active today. In spite of all the false teaching going on, when the word of God is preached, faith comes by that word and is placed in the Person of the Lord Jesus. Truth is revealed through the word of God, not dramatic means that people or the powers of darkness use.
There is a time to be out in public and busy doing the work of the Lord, and there is a time to be alone with God privately. Solitude opens the way for intimate prayer and meaningful refreshment from the word of God that every child of God needs. A busy life that leaves no room for fellowship with God, means that one’s life is out of control. There is no way we can use the excuse of being “too busy,” to avoid having some time with God. It is a life principle for a Christian to seek first the kingdom of God. He is the One who promises success when that is true, by saying, “All these things shall be added unto you.”
LUKE 5