31 Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. 32 They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority. 33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34 “Go away! 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!” 35 “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. 36 All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” 37 And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area. (Luke 4:31-37)
Last time we saw Jesus being rejected in his hometown Nazareth. Here we see Jesus going to Capernaum in Galilee, preaching on the Sabbath, and the crowds were amazed because his words had authority. In the parallel passage in Gospel Mark, it says that he taught with authority, not like the scribes, who were teachers of the law at that time and they taught without authority. In the synagogue, a man was possessed by a demon. Demons are evil spirits. In the spiritual world, there are God and angels, there are also the Devil and the evil spirits. The evil spirit knew that Jesus was the Son of God, but Jesus wouldn’t let him speak; with a single word, he cast the evil spirit out of the man. The crowd was astonished because Jesus had the authority to cast out the demon, and the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.
Jesus not only cast out demons himself, but he also gave authority to his disciples so that they could cast out demons in his name.
Many years ago, a couple from China attended our church. Later, they moved to a place far from the church and stopped attending the church. Afterwards, the wife practiced Qigong, a kind of Chinese meditation, but was possessed by the evil spirit. She asked our preacher to cast out the evil spirit, the evil spirit was cast out, but returned. Later, the preacher advised her to be baptized and committed her life to the Lord. After her baptism, the Holy Spirit lived in her heart, and the evil spirit never came back. Her husband was baptized at the same time. I’ve known her husband for many years.
May God bless you and your family!
