After inaugurating his ministry in Nazareth, Jesus begins to travel from town to town announcing his Kingdom and demonstrating its power: healing the sick, restoring the demon possessed, and offering the unattractive and outcasts new life in his upside-down, counterintuitive kingdom.
Luke 4:31 He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. He was teaching them on the Sabbath day, 32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word was with authority. 33 In the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 saying, “Ah! what have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God!”
35 Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” When the demon had thrown him down in the middle of them, he came out of him, having done him no harm.
36 Amazement came on all, and they spoke together, one with another, saying, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!”
37 News about him went out into every place of the surrounding region.
Next, in stark contrast to Nazareth where the residents attempted to kill him, when Jesus went down to Capernaum the people were astonished at his teaching, for his word was with authority.
What was it that astonished the people?
In the synagogue, a demon, possessing a man, recognized Jesus and confronted him “Ah! what have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God!” Jesus responded by directly rebuking the demon “Be silent, and come out of him!” By the power and authority of Christ’s word, the man, captive to Satan, was set free.
In another context Christ would explain, “How can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house.” Matthew 12:29
An abundance of spoils will be divided,
Even the lame will carry off plunder. Isaiah 33:23
Christ has come to bind Satan and his demons so that those captive to his lies and destructive way of life could be set free. With Christ’s defeat of Satan even the lame will arise and walk, Luke 5:23 becoming ambassadors in Christ’s kingdom, plundering Satan’s kingdom.
Why, do you think, was there a demon in the synagogue? Don’t you think that a synagogue, where God’s Word is read and God is worshipped, would be the last place a messenger of Satan would want to be?
Remember, long ago, Satan went to the Garden of Eden, the Garden of God, to spread disinformation and to recruit God’s children to join in his rebellion. We should expect and prepare for demons to attack the Kingdom at its point of strength, the Church. As the Apostle Paul would warn:
Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Ephesians 6:11-12
After leaving the synagogue Jesus went to Simon’s house where he healed Simon’s mother-in-law of a great fever.
Luke 4:38 He rose up from the synagogue, and entered into Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a great fever, and they begged him for her. 39 He stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her. Immediately she rose up and served them. 40 When the sun was setting, all those who had any sick with various diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them. 41 Demons also came out of many, crying out, and saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of God!” Rebuking them, he didn’t allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
42 When it was day, he departed and went into an uninhabited place, and the multitudes looked for him, and came to him, and held on to him, so that he wouldn’t go away from them. 43 But he said to them, “I must preach the good news of God’s Kingdom to the other cities also. For this reason I have been sent.” 44 He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.
After the incident in the synagogue and the healing in Simon’s house, news of Jesus’ power spread through the town like wild fire. All those who had any sick with various diseases brought them to him and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. No disease was too great, no malady too complicated for the Creator, who had engineered life, to heal.
And notice that Jesus not only had complete power over the demons but he again forbade them from revealing that he was the Christ, the Messiah. Satan’s temptation in the desert had not worked so now he had switched to Plan B: Getting the rulers of the land to realize that, more than just a miracle-working itinerant preacher, Jesus, as Messiah, was a threat to their power and position. Satan knew that if the rulers realized who Jesus actually was, they would do everything possible to shut his ministry down, preventing him from proclaiming the coming of his Kingdom throughout the land.
Because the rulers did not realize who Jesus was, he had three years to travel through the land announcing his Kingdom. However, at his trial, once they understood the truth, had him crucified.
The council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. 67 “If you are the Messiah,” they said, “tell us”… Are You then the Son of God?” And he said to them, “You rightly say that I am.” Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth.” Luke 22:66-67, 70-71 Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.” Luke 23: 1-2
To thwart Satan’s plan, to prevent the demons from alerting the authorities of the threat that Jesus posed, Jesus silenced the demons. Even today Satan never stops trying to alert the authorities of the threat that Christians pose to their power and position. Christians are often attacked and silenced because our allegiance is pledged to another Kingdom. Caesar does not like competition. Caesar wants to be known for his beneficence. Caesar needs to be obeyed and worshipped as a god by his grateful, dependent subjects. Caesar has no intention of sharing the spotlight with Christ. That is why communist and totalitarian rulers always attempt to suppress and silence Christians. The Savior has not only revealed the truth to his children and given them his Law as to how to order society, but he has formed them into a Kingdom without regard to race, sex, or any of the other artificial categories that the father of lies uses to divide and alienate people from one another, keeping them dependent on the government’s largess.