What a word is this! For 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 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 is this!  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 forty-day temptation by the devil in the wilderness, 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 our hearing."  So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is not this 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 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 Elisha 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. And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.   My study Bible quotes St. Ambrose of Milan, who comments that Christ here begins preaching and healing on the Sabbaths in order to show that "the new creation began where the old creation ceased."  Jesus teaches with authority, and the people were astonished, because unlike the prophets of old and the teachers of His day who taught in the third person ("The Lord says"), Christ taught in the first person ("I say to you").  See also Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount.

 

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 is this!  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.   My study Bible comments that Christ's refusal to fully disclose His identity as Messiah is foreseen by Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1-4).  There are various reasons for secrecy given here.  First, there is the growing hostility of the Jewish leaders (if He's preaching in the synagogues the rulers are bound to take notice, especially after this event).  Second, the people's misunderstanding of the Messiah has led to expectations of an earthly, political leader, which Christ is not.  Finally, Jesus' desire is to evoke genuine faith, not based solely on marvelous signs.

Let us note Jesus' authority and power.  My study Bible comments on the authority with which Jesus speaks, teaching in the first person ("I say to you"), and how this is distinctive for the people.  In today's reading, Jesus not only teaches, He commands the unclean spirits, thus expressing authority in an even more astonishing way.  This is a kind of sign, in which not only does Jesus command the unclean demon to "come out of him!" but the demon also speaks, identifying Jesus as "the Holy One of God."  Of course, the healing of the man by the exorcism of the demon is another sign of Christ's authority, as the people exclaim, "What a word is this!  For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."  So in these first episodes we're given of Christ's public ministry, we see a common theme of declaration of authority, and acting with authority.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus announced to His neighbors in His hometown of Nazareth that Isaiah's prophecy (Isaiah 61:1-2), which He read in the synagogue, was fulfilled in their hearing on that day -- a decisively authoritative thing to declare!  Moreover, when they responded by rejecting Him, He declared that "no prophet is accepted in His own country," and furthermore proceeded with the examples of Elijah and Elisha, who were sent by God to foreigners. This further enraged the people in His hometown who then proceeded to attempt to throw Him from a cliff!  But Jesus speaks with authority, and is not afraid to do so, and this is His public ministry.  He does not openly declare that He is the Christ for the various reasons given, but the "signs" -- His speaking and teaching with authority, and His casting out of the demon (also the demon's exclamation that Jesus is the Holy One of God) -- are all things that point to the presence of deity, the root of His authority and power.  In this context, let us think about how Jesus in some sense declares His identity without openly stating it.  He teaches with authority, speaks with power, casts out demons and gives them commands which they must obey.  Let us consider, then, how we may show the world our identity as followers of Christ simply by living the Christian life and following His commands.  In what ways do we tell the world who we are without actually literally telling anybody a name or title?  For this is the unafraid example He sets for us, unabashed to act, but prudent enough to know when it is "time" to go further.