“Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. They were amazed at his teachings, because his message had authority. In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, ‘Ha! 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!’’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. All the people were amazed and said to each other, ‘What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!’ And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.” Luke 4:31ff
These are the things that stand out to me about this passage:
Jesus is still going to synagogues to teach. As we look forward, we will see that he will continue this pattern for some time. It is clear that he was a welcome teacher. Later he was welcomed as a celebrity. At the height of his popularity he had the draw of a rock star.
The people were amazed that he taught with authority and power. They were unaccustomed to Rabbis who took personal authority for their teaching. Jesus did not shrink from saying, ‘You have heard it said (e.g. Do not murder)…but I say to you (and then his word on the matter). The clearest example of this type of authoritative teaching in the New Testament is in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. When Jesus taught he didn’t just rehash old material. He brought his subject to life and into the lives of the people he taught. And Power? Jesus had a remarkable pattern of teaching about something and then illustrating it with action. An example is the feeding of the 5,000 which was followed by his teaching that he was the bread of life. You can bet they listened. Here, however, in this synagogue, the power of his teaching was illustrated by his act of casting out the demon.
And then there’s the presence and speech of the demon. I’ve never figured out the whole demon thing, but to Jesus and his world, they were very real, just as they are in most of the world today. I’ve heard it taught that evil-spirits are just an old world way of talking about mental illness. I don’t buy it. In the New Testament evil spirits are treated separately from physical disease…there is a clear distinction. For me, their very existence is troubling. Our faith tells us:
God is all-powerful.
God is all-good.
Terrible things happen.
Well, you can reconcile any two of these propositions with each other, but you can’t reconcile all three. The problem of evil is perhaps the greatest single problem for our faith.
I’m going to stop there, having determined not to go much beyond a page for each of these entries. But I’m going to pick this right up tomorrow and continue thinking through the problem of evil.
Prayer: “Father of Light and Life, there is so much I do not understand about this multi-dimensional reality I live in…there is so much about YOU I don’t understand! But you have called me to faith and trust. I simply ask that as I live the life of faith you will teach me all that I need to know in order to follow the right path. Keep my mind clear and sharp. As I age, preserve my clarity so that my understanding will grow. I do trust you, and I’m glad for a faith of truth that does not shrink from difficult questions. May you be honored in the questioning and in the anwers. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”