'And in the synagogue there was a man which had a
spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud
voice, 34. Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do
with Thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art Thou come to
destroy us? I know Thee who Thou art; the Holy One of
God. 35. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy
peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had
thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt
him not. 36. And they were all amazed, and spake among
themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with
authority and power He commandeth the unclean spirits,
and they come out. 37. And the fame of Him went out
into every place of the country round about. 38. And
He arose out of the synagogue, and entered into
Simon's house: and Simon's wife's mother was taken
with a great fever; and they besought Him for her.
39. And He stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and
it left her: and immediately she arose and ministered
unto them. 40. Now, when the sun was setting, all they
that had any sick with divers diseases brought them
unto Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them,
and healed them. 41. And devils also came out of many,
crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ, the Son of
God. And He, rebuking them, suffered them not to speak:
for they knew that He was Christ. 42. And when it was
day, He departed, and went into a desert place; and the
people sought Him, and came unto Him, and stayed Him,
that He should not depart from them. 43. And He said
unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other
cities also: for therefore am I sent. 44. And He
preached in the synagogues of Galilee.'--LUKE iv.33-44.
There are seven references to Christ's preaching in the synagogues
in this chapter, and only two in the rest of this Gospel. Probably
our Lord somewhat changed His method, and Luke, as the Evangelist of
the gospel for Gentile as well as Jew, emphasises the change, as
foreshadowing and warranting the similar procedure in Paul's
preaching. This lesson takes us down from the synagogue at Nazareth,
among its hills, to that at Capernaum, on the lakeside, where Jesus
was already known as a worker of miracles. The two Sabbaths are in
sharp contrast. The issue of the one is a tumult of fury and hate;
that of the other, a crowd of suppliants and an eager desire to keep
Him with them. The story is in four paragraphs, each showing a new
phase of Christ's power and pity.
I. Verses 33-37 present Christ as the Lord of that dark world of
evil. 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 recognises who speaks through the wretched victim. We take for
granted the reality of demoniacal possession, as certified for all
who believe Jesus, by His words and acts in reference to it, as well
as forced on us, by the phenomena themselves, which are clearly
distinguishable from disease, madness, or sin. The modern aversion
to the supernatural is quite as much an unreasonable prejudice as
any old woman's belief in witchcraft and Professor Huxley, making
clumsy fun of the 'pigs at Gadara,' is holding opinions in the same
sublime indifference to evidence of facts as the most superstitious
object of his narrow-visioned scorn.
Napoleon called 'impossible' a 'beast of a word.' So it is in
practical life,--and no less so when glibly used to discredit
well-attested facts. We neither aspire to the omniscience which
pronounces that there can be no possession by evil spirits, nor
venture to brush aside the testimony of the Gospels and the words of
Christ, in order to make out such a contention.
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 its 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
distinguish it from disease or 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 demeanour to
the spirits are always severe. He accepts the most imperfect
recognition from men, and often seems as if labouring 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 had 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 worshippers 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
reaching, by continued alienation of heart and will from God, a
stage in which they are beyond the capacity of improvement, and
outside the sweep of Christ's pity.
II. Verses 38 and 39 show us Christ in the gentleness of His healing
power, and the immediate service of gratitude to Him. The scene in
the synagogue manifested 'authority and power,' and was prompted by
abhorrence of the demon even more than by pity for his victim; but
now the Lord's tenderness shines unmingled with sternness. Mark
gives details of this cure, which, no doubt, came from Peter--such
as his joint ownership of the house with his brother, the names of
the companions of Jesus, and the infinitely tender action of taking
the sick woman by the hand and helping her to rise. But Luke, the
physician, is more precise in his description of the case: 'holden
by a great fever.' He traces the cure to the word of rebuke, which,
no doubt, accompanied the clasp of the hand.
Here again Christ puts forth divine power in producing effects in
the material sphere by His naked word. 'He spake and it was done.'
That truly divine prerogative was put forth at the bidding of His
own pity, and that pity which wielded Omnipotence was kindled by the
beseechings of sorrowing hearts. Is not this miracle, which shines
so lustrously by the side of that terrible scene with the demon, a
picture in one case, and that the sickness of one poor and probably
aged woman, of the great truth that heartens all our appeals to Him?
He who moves the forces of Deity still from His throne lets us move
His heart by our cry.
Luke is especially struck with one feature in the case--the
immediate return of usual strength. The woman is lying, the one
minute, pinned down and helpless with 'great fever,' and the next is
bustling about her domestic duties. No wonder that a physician
should think so abnormal a case worthy of note. When Christ heals,
He heals thoroughly, and gives strength as well as healing. What
could a woman, with no house of her own, and probably a poor
dependant on her son-in-law, do for her healer? Not much. But she
did what she could, and that without delay. The natural impulse of
gratitude is to give its best, and the proper use of healing and new
strength is to minister to Him. Such a guest made humble household
cares worship; and all our poor powers or tasks, consecrated to His
praise and become the offerings of grateful hearts, are lifted into
greatness and dignity. He did not despise the modest fare hastily
dressed for Him; and He still delights in our gifts, though the
cattle on a thousand hills are His. 'I will sup with him,' says He,
and therein promises to become, as it were, a guest at our humble
tables.
III. Verses 40 and 41 show us the all-sufficiency of Christ's pity
and power. The synagogue worship would be in the early morning, and
the healing of the woman immediately after, and the meal she
prepared the midday repast. The news had time to spread; and as soon
as the sinking sun relaxed the Sabbatical restrictions, a motley
crowd came flocking round the house, carrying all the sick that
could be lifted, all eager to share in His healing. The same kind of
thing may be seen yet round many a traveller's tent. It did not
argue real faith in Him, but it was genuine sense of need, and
expectation of blessing from His hand; and the measure of faith was
the measure of blessing. They got what they believed He could give.
If their faith had been larger, the answers would have been greater.
But men are quite sure that they want to be well when they are ill,
and bodily healing will be sought with far more earnestness and
trouble than soul-healing. Crowds came to Jesus as Physician who
never cared to come to Him as Redeemer. Offer men the smaller gifts,
and they will run over one another in their scramble for them; but
offer them the highest, and they will scarcely hold out a languid
hand to take them.
But the point made prominent by Luke is the inexhaustible fullness
of pity and power, which met and satisfied all the petitioners. The
misery spoke to Christ's heart; and so as the level rays of the
setting sun cast a lengthening shadow among the sad groups, He moved
amidst them, and with gentle touch healed them all. To-day, as then,
the fountain of His pity and healing power is full, after thousands
have drawn from it, and no crowd of suppliants bars our way to His
heart or His hands. He has 'enough for all, enough for each, enough
for ever more.'
The reference to demoniacs adds nothing to the particulars in the
earlier verses except the evidence it gives of the frequency of
possession then.
IV. Verses 42-44 show us Jesus seeking seclusion, but willingly
sacrificing it at men's call. He withdraws in early morning, not
because His store of power was exhausted, or His pity had tired, but
to renew His communion with the Father. He needed solitude and
silence, and we need it still more. No work worth doing will ever be
done for Him unless we are familiar with some quiet place, where we
and God alone together can hold converse, and new strength be poured
into our hearts. Our Lord is here our pattern, also, of willingly
leaving the place of communion when duty calls and men implore. We
must not stay on the Mount of Transfiguration when demoniac boys are
writhing on the plain below, and heart-broken fathers wearying for
our coming. A great, solemn 'must' ruled His life, as it should do
ours, and the fulfilment of that for which He 'was sent' ever was
His aim, rather than even the blessedness of solitary communion or
repose of the silent hour of prayer.