The Miracles of Jesus Part 3: Driving out an Evil Spirit
The Miracles of Jesus Part 3: Driving out an Evil Spirit
Mark 1:21-27, Luke 4:31-36 Jesus is the ultimate Authority and His Words of Truth drive out evil
“They *went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and began to teach. They were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him. They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee.”
Mark 1:21-28 NASB1995
“And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority. In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have 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 down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing him any harm. And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another saying, “What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.” And the report about Him was spreading into every locality in the surrounding district.”
Luke 4:31-37 NASB1995
The first miracle that is documented outside the first two in the Gospel of John (water to wine, healing of an official’s son) and in more than one other Gospel is the casting out of a demon in a man located inside a synagogue in Capernaum on the Sabbath. The Gospels of Mark and Luke both document this event, with very similar wording, as noted in the excerpts above (NASB1995 translation).
According to the preceding verses in Luke 4, Jesus has come to Capernaum after being rejected by the people in Nazareth after declaring Himself the Messiah in their synagogue after reading Isaiah 61. They attempt to drive Him off a cliff, but He turns and walks unharmed through the crowd. The Gospel of Mark skips this part and goes straight from the gathering of the first disciples to the preaching at Capernaum. In fact, the writer of Mark is famous for his economy of words and jumping from one event to the next and using the word “immediately” 41 times (most common Greek word: Eutheos). Many Biblical scholars believe that the narrative in Mark, considered the earliest Gospel, likely came from Peter.
Both Gospels note that Jesus taught with authority (or as one having authority), amazing the gathering on that Sabbath that included the usual scribes who normally taught. In the Greek, authority is exousia, with the following applicable definitions to the context of these passages:
physical and mental power
the ability or strength with which one is endued, which he either possesses or exercises
the power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege)
the power of rule or government (the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed)
universally
authority over mankind
David Guzik from his Enduring Word Commentary on Mark 1 has this to say about the authority of Jesus:
Jesus taught with authority because He had authority. He brought a divine message and was confident that it was from God. He wasn’t quoting from man, but from God.
Jesus taught with authority because He knew what He was talking about. You can’t teach with authority if you aren’t familiar with your material.
Jesus taught with authority because He believed what He taught. When you believe what you teach, it comes through to your audience with authority.
We first saw the submitted Jesus – submitted to His Father in baptism, submitted to the Holy Spirit in going out to the wilderness. Now we see the authority of Jesus. Authority flows from submission. We aren’t safe with real authority from God unless we are also submitted to God.
Jesus showed authority when He was with the wild beasts.
Jesus showed authority when the angels served Him.
Jesus showed authority announcing the presence of the kingdom of God and commanding men to repent and believe.
Jesus showed authority calling disciples after Himself.
Jesus will show many more striking displays of authority [as the Gospels progress]
A key takeaway from this commentary is that authority flows from submission to God. Jesus is the ultimate authority, being the Son of God and the Word that was made flesh. Because of this authority, a man possessed with an unclean spirit or spirits who was in the synagogue shouts at Jesus. An interesting question could be asked: did this man conceal the fact that he was possessed or was he tolerated for being “strange”, otherwise why would he be allowed into the synagogue? In Luke, the man screams “Let us alone”, while the remaining tirade is virtually identical in the two Gospels. It is telling that the demon recognizes Jesus as the Holy One from God, whereas the people of Nazareth (and soon many of the Scribes and Pharisees) refused to recognize Him as the Messiah.
Jesus rebukes the unclean spirit/demon and tells it to be quiet and come out of the man. It flees the man, causing convulsions in its rage but it must obey God (Luke the physician takes a moment and tells us in his version that the man was unharmed). The crowd is amazed, not really realizing yet that He performed this miracle on the Sabbath (later, they get a chance to rebuke Him for healing on that day). Here is a great commentary in a Sermon by Steven Cole on Bible.org about how Jesus treated this possession:
Jesus silenced the demon and without any hocus pocus or incantations, He simply commanded it to come out of the man and it obeyed. The reason Jesus silenced this demon and the others who were proclaiming Him to be the Son of God (4:41) is that He did not need or desire the testimony of these evil witnesses, even though what they said was true. The demons believe in God, but they shudder (James 2:19) because they are under His judgment.
Demonic forces are very much at work in our world today, although sometimes they are given more credit than they deserve. The world and the flesh are usually quite capable of dragging us into sin without demonic influence. Believers are indwelled by the Holy Spirit and thus cannot be possessed by demons, but believers can come under demonic attack (Eph. 6:10-20) and opposition (2 Cor. 2:11; 1 Thess. 2:18). Evil spirits are sometimes behind false doctrine, and thus we must be discerning (1 Tim. 4:1; 1 John 4:1).
There are evil forces at work in the world and they are not to be taken lightly. These forces often tell us that the Word of God is wrong or misunderstood, especially in light of our “modern” and allegedly rational society that embraces all sorts of wickedness. Evil insinuates itself into so many distractions that seek our time and energy and this evil seeks to comfort those who hear and believe false doctrines. Recently, the world saw two events that clearly delineate the battle that has been going on for all of human existence:
A singer (not necessary to name him) on the recent Grammy awards paid homage to evil and to Satan and received thunderous applause. He is not the only entertainer to be beguiled by the darkness of the fallen one.
A group of believers at Asbury College in Kentucky started a 24/7 prayer, worship, and repentance cycle that attracted thousands from around the world and lasted over two weeks and is likely to start again in a new, larger location. Called by some a revival, this has now been emulated in quite a few other places (including our church this past week).
Keep your eyes on Jesus and His ultimate authority, as He rebukes evil and tells it to be quiet; it will not have the final say. He has already won the battle! He has conquered time, conquered space and He conquers evil with His power.
My next devotional examines another miracle that takes place that same day in Capernaum. Jesus heals the mother-in-law of the disciple Peter and this miracle is documented in three Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke).
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - I am in awe of your authority and power over evil. Please help me to fully submit to your authority and be protected from those who would destroy believers through lies and deception. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Commentaries in Enduring Word by David Guzik are used with written permission.
Sermons by Steven Cole at Bible.org (found through Precept Austin) are copyright 1998.