31 Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. 32 They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority.
33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34 “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!”
35 “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.
36 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!” 37 And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.
38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. 39 So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.
40 At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. 41 Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.
Read Luke 4:31-41 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
One of the interesting events that stand out in my mind happens in the passage we are going to focus on in this journal entry. While there are many places where Jesus casts out impure spirits (or “demons” depending on the translation), there are two interesting distinctions that separate these healings from other similar ones included in the gospels.
On one Sabbath, as Jesus was teaching in the synagogue, a man with an impure spirit interrupts Jesus by shouting, “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!” (v. 34)
Probably not even looking the slightest bit phased, we read Jesus’ response in the next verse: “‘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.” (v. 35)
That evening, after word had spread about what happened, more people bring their sick and demon-possessed family members to have Jesus heal them. Luke tells us, “At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.” (v. 40-41)
In both of these cases, the demons were declaring the truth about who Jesus was, and Jesus silenced them from speaking.
Why would Jesus want to silence these impure spirits? After all, wouldn’t Jesus benefit from being known for who He was?
While there are a number of reasons for not allowing the demons to speak, probably the most notable one is that anything that comes from a liar’s mouth cannot be trusted. If the evil spirits could lie about other things, how would anyone know if what they say here is a lie or the truth? Even though a declaration about who you are carries some weight when it comes from your enemy, if your enemy is a known liar, then there is no way for others to know if he is lying or telling the truth.
Also worth noting is that the popular belief about who the Messiah would be was different than the Messiah Jesus came to be. The people expected a military-minded messiah, not a meek and selfless Messiah. Jesus knew that if too many people knew He was God’s promised Messiah, they might rally around who they think He should be rather than being open to who He really came to be. If too many people knew the truth too soon, they could derail the focus of His mission.
So Jesus keep the demons quiet, in order for Him to build His ministry on His own terms – and not in a way that might jeopardize His ultimate mission of dying for our sins on the cross.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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