“Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, “Go away! 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!” “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him. All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭4‬:‭31‬, ‭33‬-‭37‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Amazing how a demon-possessed man could be comfortable in a synagogue…until Jesus showed up! Does this mean that there was no one in that particular company, not even among religious people, who made the demon in that man uncomfortable enough to reveal its presence by resisting the company?

The moment Jesus arrived, the demon protested. Its comfortable environment had been invaded by holiness that made it cry out in agony. What did it say? 

“Go away! 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!” 

Only something from the spiritual dimension could blurt out the truth. The demon knew the identity of the one who confronted it. It not only knew Him, it also feared Him because it knew its destiny. Here was one from hell face to face with the most powerful representative from heaven. This was about authority…which one would give way?

Satan masquerades as the one who has authority on earth. He deceived Adam and continues to deceive all in the human race who believe his lies. He claims the authority of lordship he does not have and creates all kinds of delusions to cover up his deception. 

This confrontation was also an exposure. Jesus refused to acknowledge the demon’s confession. Instead, He confirmed it by evicting the demon without an argument. 

How did He overcome the opposition of this agent of Satan? Exactly as He did in the wilderness in His confrontation with the devil in person. He spoke the word. 

“Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!”

In a final act of defiance, the demon threw the man on the ground and left without another murmur!

How did the congregation in the synagogue react?

They recognised and acknowledged an authority they had never witnessed before. 

“All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!”

To the people of that day, authority was everything. Their spiritual leaders claimed to have the authority to teach them God’s word and enforced their rule by hypocritical acts of “righteousness”, parading their “obedience” as publicly as possible as proof of their authority…. but Jesus…He did stuff that outshone all the others. 

So, Jesus’ opposition was lining up against Him, truth versus deception. His own townspeople, demons and, by and by, the religious leaders of His nation who were supposed to be the custodians of truth, all revealed their hatred of the one who embodied truth and had the authority to act on it. 

One group claimed to represent the truth but had no evidence to confirm their claim…Jesus proved by His actions, that the words He spoke were the truth. He came from heaven to represent the truth that His people had long since perverted to suite their own ends and that their leaders upheld and perverted even more for their own purposes, money! In the end as Jesus accurately diagnosed, Israel’s shepherds were nothing more than hirelings, mercenaries who were in it for the money. 

“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. ..All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them…The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full…The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.”

‭‭John‬ ‭10‬:‭1‬, ‭8‬, ‭10‬, ‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Is it any wonder, then, that Jesus gathered a huge following to begin with, first, because He had so much to give them and, second, because they still had to learn about the all-or-nothing cost of following Him. 

Jesus’ ministry was not about curing all the ills of His people. It was about showing them the nature of the kingdom of God He had come to usher in…a place of holiness and perfection where God rules in righteousness, justice, and peace, and where all evil will be banished forever. Those who participate in this kingdom have to be in keeping with its nature. 

The day would come when these same people would hang this same Jesus on a cross because the standard this kingdom demands was just too high for them. By their action, they were unwittingly opening the door to this kingdom for all who would accept the sacrifice made on their behalf. 

To be continued…