"Then He went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath He began to
teach the people. They were astonished at His teaching, because His message had authority.
There was a man in the synagogue who was possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon;
and he cried out with a loud and terrible voice, "Let us alone! What business do we have
in common 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 silent and come out of him!"
And when the demon had thrown the man down among them, he came out of him
without injuring him in any way. They were all astonished and in awe, and began
saying to one another, "What is this message? For with authority and power
He commands the unclean spirits and they come out!"
And the news about Him spread into every place in the surrounding district (Galilee)."
(Luke 4:31-37)
Image courtesy/Biblword.net
The hushed silence of the synagogue, listening to His gentle voice, was suddenly broken by
shrieks of rage and fear, coming from a man who had been sitting quietly among the others.
Possibly his condition had not been suspected until Christ's presence roused his dreadful tyrant.
The man's voice is at the demon's service, and only Jesus recognizes who speaks through
the wretched victim. Note the rage and terror of the demon. The presence of purity is a
sharp pain to impurity, and an evil spirit is stirred to its depths when in contact with Jesus.
Monstrous growths that love the dark shrivel and die in sunshine. The same presence which
is joy to some may be a very hell to others. We may approach even here that state of
feeling which broke out in these shrieks of malignity, hatred, and dread. It is an awful thing
when the only relief is to get away from Jesus, and when the clearest recognition of His
holiness only makes us the more eager to disclaim any connection with Him.
That is the hell of hells. In its completeness, it makes the anguish of the demon; in
rudiments, it is the misery of some men. Observe too, the unclean spirit's knowledge,
not only of the birthplace and name, but of the character and divine relationship of Jesus.
That is one of the features of demoniacal possession which distinguishes it from disease
and insanity, and is quite incapable of explanation on any other ground.
It gives a glimpse into a dim region, and suggests that the counsels of Heaven, as
effected on earth, are keenly watched and understood by eyes whose gleam is unsoftened
by any touch of pity or submission. It is most natural, if there are such spirits that they
should know Jesus while men knew Him not, and that their hatred should keep pace
with their knowledge, even while by the knowledge the hatred was seen to be vain.
Observe Christ's tone of authority and sternness. He had pity for men, who were
capable of redemption, but His words and demeanor to the spirits are always severe.
He accepts the most imperfect recognition from men, and often seems as if laboring
to evoke it, but He silences the spirits' clear recognition. The confession which is
'unto salvation' comes from a heart that loves, not merely from a head that perceives,
and Jesus accepts nothing else. He will not have His name soiled by such lips.
Note, still further, Christ's absolute control of the demon. His bare word is sovereign,
and secures outward obedience, though from an unsubdued and disobedient will.
He cannot make the foul creature love, but He can make him act.
Surely, Omnipotence speaks, if demons hear and obey. Their king has been conquered,
and they knew their Master. The strong man had been bound, and this is the spoiling
of his house. The question of the wondering worshipers in the synagogue goes to
the root of the matter, when they ask what they must think of the whole message of
One whose word gives law to the unclean spirits; for the command to them is a
revelation to us, and we learn His Godhead by the power of His simple word,
which is but the forth-putting of His will.
We cannot but notice the lurid light thrown by the existence of such spirits on the
possibility of undying and responsible beings, by continued alienation of the heart
and will from God, a stage in which they are beyond the capacity of improvement,
and outside the sweep of Christ's pity.
-MacLaren's Expositions of the Holy Scriptures
