I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!

 Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.  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

Yesterday we read that after His time of temptation,  Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:  "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."  Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"  He said to 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.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elish the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then 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 Sabbaths.  My study bible cites the commentary of St. Ambrose of Milan here, who writes that Jesus begins preaching and healing on the Sabbaths to show that "the new creation began where the old creation ceased."

And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.  The prophets of the past and also the teachers contemporaneous with Christ spoke and taught in the third person ("The Lord says"), or cited the opinions of famous rabbis in their teaching.  But Christ teaches in the first person, with authority ("I say to you").

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.  Jesus tells the demon to Be quiet!  Traditional commentators see this as evidence of His reluctance to fully disclose His identity as Messiah, which was foreseen by Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1-4).  My study bible cites the reasons for secrecy as including the growing hostility of the Jewish leadership; the people's misunderstanding of the Messiah as an earthly, political leader; and finally our Lord's desire to evoke genuine faith which is not based solely on marvelous signs. 

 Witness statements are something we may wish to reflect a lot about, given today's news headlines.  What is the truth?  How do we know the truth?  This will always be a relevant and important subject for discussion.  In today's reading, the demons give voice to the truth of Jesus' identity.  "I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"   You might think that perhaps Jesus would like others to know His identity, but this is not how things go.  This is not appropriate.  In fact, it is against His purpose and the outpouring of the Spirit that enables this ministry.  Jesus comes into the world to call us to faith through the truth of His work, teaching, and actions, through the relatedness we can find in our hearts to the truth of who He is.  What is the point of the demonic intervention or interaction in today's reading?  These voices come from a mysterious counterpart to our waking world, our consciousness of what life is all about.  Their origins are hidden from us.  And yet, something has happened to show us that Jesus comes from this realm and commands in this realm.  They know and fear His power over them.  It is a revelation that gives us a taste of something more beyond what we know.  But it is not through the medium of spirits and demons that Christ wishes to be revealed.  There is a truth more powerful at work here, and it is the truth of God the Father at work in this ministry, the truth of the Holy Spirit who made the Incarnation possible.  It is the truth of the Son who is sent to us out of love for us.  This is not about psychic revelation, but about the love of God in the heart that reveals something to us.  It is about a depth of response of which we as human beings are capable.  It is about a kind of response to truth that does not come with any form of conventional observation or proof.  It is, rather, a truth that is behind the surface of all things -- and is often hidden and shadowed by what people consider to be obvious.  Jesus does not want our awe at spectacle, nor our fear at the demons.  He calls us to faith, which is something quite different altogether.  Think about what faith challenges in us, what it asks us to confront and to go through in our lives.  Faith asks us to make choices, to be not simply alert and aware but discerning, not to take things at face value but to test everything.  Faith asks us for a kind of awareness that is about our very consciousness and sensitivity to the things that count, the character forged through walking this difficult and not easy path, and a confidence and dependence upon God's love as the bedrock of all.  Don't let the voices of the mob rule your mind; seek the place of private time with God, as Christ teaches (Matthew 6:6).  Call upon the saints for help with prayer, and find the peace you need for faith, in the heart.