With authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out

Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbath.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.  Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon.  And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth! Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.  Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is!  For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."  And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

- Luke 4:31-37

 In yesterday's reading, we learned that Jesus' ministry had grown quite successfully in Galilee; He was "glorified by all."  Then He went to His hometown of Nazareth.  As was His custom, He opened the scroll given to Him, which was the Book of Isaiah.  Jesus read:  "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."  Jesus began to tell them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  All marveled at His gracious words and said, "Isn't this Joseph's son?"  He told them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in your country."  Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country."  He began to teach how in the Old Testament Scriptures, in the events of Israel's history, many times it was Gentiles chosen for God's showing of grace.  By this He indicated that relationship alone isn't enough to guarantee the working of Spirit among them.  They were enraged at this, throwing Him out of the city, and trying to toss Him off the cliff upon which the city was built.  But passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbath.  Capernaum, my study bible notes, "was a major city on the northern shore of the Lake of Galilee."  It will become Jesus' "headquarters" in His Galilean ministry.

And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.   In a sense, this is a repetition of events at the synagogue in Nazareth, with the difference being the response of those in attendance.  Jesus has an authority that isn't derived from "the glory" or praise of men, but from God, as Messiah or Anointed One.  He doesn't have worldly credentials for this authority, not having studied, for example, with a famous rabbi.   This is something new, and it is astonishing to the people.

Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon.  And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth! Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"   Here is something indeed showing another kind of authority, not of this world.  It's a kind of unmasking or revelation, a hint of what is going on behind the veil of what we know and see and hear with our five senses.  A demon speaks out in a person, who knows who Christ is.  It's a recognition that comes from somewhere else, where a spiritual battle has been going on.  My study bible notes that the plural we is from both the demon and the possessed man.

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.   It seems to me this is something to marvel at, for more reasons than we might usually understand.  Not only does Jesus command this unclean spirit to leave the man alone, rebuking the spirit for speaking out, but we have to note the difference between the treatment of this demon and the people in Nazareth.  Jesus is here to protect and save human beings from the oppressive rule of such demonic power; He commands the spirit and it has no choice but to obey.  But with human beings, God does not compel:  we are free to choose, as did the people of Nazareth in rejecting Jesus' teaching.  He is here to claim our world for the kingdom and for this work.  He invites us in to participate in His work claiming this world for the kingdom; but His authority is already clear over the demon.

Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is!  For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."  And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.  The people note also this authority.  Who is He that He can do this?  How does His word have such power?

It's said that with every new understanding come more questions.  This is especially so when we speak of the mysteries of God and God's kingdom.  Here, we can ask another question from this scene.  Why does Jesus use His authority over the demons, and yet with human beings He "Lord's it over" no one?  It's a question that begs to be asked, one that has many indications and also opens up yet more questions.  One thing we can certainly see is a revelation of Jesus' authority:  that whether or not He is here in the world as a man without an army, or worldly authority or command, He's clearly in authority in this place of a spiritual kingdom.  And furthermore, yet another question opens itself up to us:  Why does the demon know who He is?  How does this unclean spirit know Jesus of Nazareth, and His identity as the "Holy One of God" and yet people don't know and understand that from their worldly point of view?  So, we have to seek those answers, and we come to know our faith more through the questions we must ask in response to God's revelation and manifestations of grace to us than anything else.  Everything Christ does invites us into a mystery, into His kingdom, as participants who can learn and grow, deriving from grace more questions, and more answers, and more ways of looking at God who is the absolute mystery.  But grace invites us in, and invites our questions.  Why does He compel no one to love Him, and yet rules over the demons?  Clearly our world is a place where there is a battle going on, one in which a lot of people fail to engage or take note; and yet, it is a battle for hearts and minds, a battle for our souls, something within us that we don't quite know or see all the time.  When we engage with our Creator in love, we seek to bridge that space of separation from one kingdom to another.  We pray, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  For God so loved the world, His Son comes into our lives, sharing every bit of it with us, going first to show us His Way.  Let us step into His Way, into the mystery to which He invites us on a lifelong journey, with our questions, and our hearts and minds open to His love.