31 And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days.
32 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.
33 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.
Introduction
Open your Bible to Luke 4:31. We are going to go through the remainder of the chapter and think together about some experiences in the life of Jesus.
Fast Lane Magazine once conducted a poll among 400 men between the ages of 18 and 34. Their question was, “Other than yourself, what person would you like most to be like?”
In response to the question, number one on the list of those polled was Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North. Number two was President Ronald Regan. Number three was Clint Eastwood, and tied for fourth were Lee Iacocca and Jesus Christ. Jesus never wore a U.S. Marine uniform, and Jesus never sat in an oval office. Jesus never shot a Magnum .44 or whatever Dirty Harry uses, and Jesus never sold a Chrysler automobile. But I want you to know that those men are in no way in the same league with Jesus Christ.
I don’t know who you would most like to be like. Colonel North, Ronald Regan, Clint Eastwood, or Lee Iacocca. I know this—there is no way you could ever be like one of those. We could put a marine uniform on you and it wouldn’t make you Colonel North. We could sit you in the Oval Office and it wouldn’t make you the president. We could put a pistol in your hand and it wouldn’t make you Dirty Harry. We could put you on television and it wouldn’t make you Lee Iacocca. But I want to tell you that you can be like Jesus Christ.
Let me share with you in 1 John 3:1-2: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” Other than yourself, what person would you most like to be like? When he shall appear, we shall be like him.
To get insight as to who Jesus is, why he came, and what he did, in the passage of scripture that is before us is an extended passage that talks about four experiences from the life of Jesus.
Jesus had begun his earthly ministry and his preaching and teaching as the Son of God. He had come to his hometown of Nazareth and had been rejected by his people. He ran out of town to save his own life. He went back to the little fishing village of Capernaum, and these experiences from Luke 4:31 through the remainder of the chapter, all occur in and around the little fishing village of Capernaum.
The Sabbath day rolled around and he began to teach. The scriptures tell us that the people were astonished. They were amazed by his teaching and by the power that came through what he had to say. While he was at the synagogue he was confronted by a man who was controlled and possessed by a demon—by the devil himself. The demon cried out to Jesus, and listen to what he said in verse 34: “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.” And Jesus cast the demon out of man. He was healed—he was made whole again.
In verse 38 it tells us that Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon Peter, one of his apostles. Peter’s mother-in-law was seriously ill with a fever. And Jesus, who had healed in public, now healed in private. He spoke to her, the fever left, and she was healed.
Verse 40 tells us that it was evening time. By that time the word had spread all throughout that area and people had heard about the things Jesus was doing. They heard about his authority in preaching, and his power in healing. They began to bring the sick, the infirmed, and the afflicted from everywhere to him, and in the later part of verse 40 there is a significant statement. It says, “He laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.”
Once again he was confronted by a demon from hell that had taken possession of a man’s life and was in control of that man’s life. The demon spoke to him and Jesus performed another one of his many, many miracles by speaking back and driving the demon out.
Verse 42 tells us that the next day, early in the morning Jesus departed from Capernaum. Instead of staying there in the midst of all the activity and the crowds that were gathering around, Jesus sought seclusion. He chose to be alone with God. He never sought the crowds, and he never sought publicity or notoriety. In fact, when attention came to him, he often would try to withdraw because he never wanted to be involved with the spectacular. Rather, in a quiet and simple way, he wanted to proclaim to the word of God.
So the people came to him and they said, “Don’t depart from us. Don’t leave us.” This was the very opposite reaction from the people of Nazareth who wanted to drive him out of town and take his life. Here in Capernaum, they were saying, “Don’t leave us. Stay with us.” And Jesus responded in verse 43 by saying, “I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.” He underscores with that statement his great mission, his great purpose.
I believe that these are actually experiences that occurred in history. I believe that Jesus encountered a man who was controlled by a demon, and Jesus cast the demon out and the man was made whole again. I believe that Jesus went into the house, the literal house of a man named Simon Peter, and found Simon’s mother-in-law gravely ill with a fever, and Jesus dispelled that disease just like he dispelled the demon. I believe that Jesus is the Lord of life and of death and that demons and disease and death and every other dark thing is subject unto him. He made the blind to see, the deaf to hear, and the lame to walk. He healed the lepers, he enabled the dumb to speak, and he even raised the dead. But beyond the demonstration of the power of Jesus Christ in these miracles—his power over demons, his power over disease, his power over death itself—through these experiences we gain some insights into Jesus Christ—insights about who he was, why he came, and what he did.
They teach us three things that I want us to remember about Jesus. First of all, they tell us something about the person of Jesus. Second, they tell us something about the passion of Jesus. Third, they teach us something about the purpose of Jesus. That’s who he was, why he came, and why he did what he did—his person, his passion, his purpose.
1. The person of Jesus.
They begin by teaching us something about the person of Jesus Christ. One time Jesus met with his disciples at Caesarea Philippi and he asked them one of life’s most important questions. He asked, “Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man am?” They responded by saying, “Some say that you are Elijah; some say that you are John the Baptist, some say that you are Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Then Jesus asked his disciples the most important question of time and eternity. He asked, “But whom say ye that I am?” It is important for us to know what other people think about Jesus. But it is most important—it is eternally important—to ask ourselves who we think Jesus Christ is. So he said to them, “Whom do ye say that I am?” And Simon Peter under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
I want you to understand that that great affirmation about the person of Jesus Christ, who he was, was not first made by men. Before it was ever made by man, it was made by God and God attested as to who Jesus was. The devil affirmed who Jesus was before man ever even asked the question. Early in the book of Luke, chapter three, verse 22, when Jesus was baptized, the heavens opened up and God spoke from heaven and said, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” God told us who Jesus was.
Following that experience, we have a demon from hell, one who is controlled and dominated by Satan saying in verse 34, “Thou art the Holy One of God.” And I think it is significant that long before earth ever acclaimed Jesus as the Son of God, heaven acclaimed him as the Son of God and hell acclaimed him as the Son of God. Man trailed the whole bunch in recognizing who Jesus was and declaring him as the Son of the living God.
There comes a time in the life of every one of us when we need, on our own, to recognize who Jesus Christ is. And we need to acclaim as heaven has and as hell has, that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God. More than that, we need to recognize his person and acclaim him for ourselves as our personal Lord and Savior.
The scriptures tell us that time will come for everyone. In fact in Philippians 2:9-11, Paul writes, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Whatever else these experiences teach us, they do teach us about the person of Jesus Christ. Even the demon says, “Thou art the Holy One of God.” Unless we accept that truth, we miss the central truth of scripture.
2. The passion of Jesus.
These experiences not only teach us about the person of Jesus, they teach us about the passion of Jesus. They teach us that Jesus was always ready to serve. He had been in that synagogue service and there were many people around. It must have been quite a spectacular moment when Jesus was confronted by the man possessed by a demon, and Jesus drove that demon out of the man and set the man free. But Jesus left that public worship service and went immediately to a private home. He went to the home of Simon Peter, one of his apostles, and there he encountered a lady sick with a fever. When Jesus found that lady sick, he was ready to help her.
Jesus didn’t need a crowd to do his miracles. You know there are some people who put forth a great effort when they are in a crowd and when they have an audience. But in their more private moments they do none of that. Jesus was just as concerned about people in private as he was in public. Whether it was in the synagogue where people were watching and listening, or in a private home where no one would ever know about it, his heart still went out to people. You cannot read this experience or study the life of Jesus without knowing that there was deep inside of him a love and a compassion for people that caused him to reach out to them, regardless of who they were or where they were. This compassion was followed by many people hearing of his miracles, and the sick and the afflicted being brought to him. The Bible tells us that Jesus laid his hands on every one of them and healed them.
I want you to underscore in your mind those words, “every one of them” for they help us understand something about the heart of our Savior. There is no one beyond his love and care, and there is no one beyond his compassion and concern.
Jesus loved little children, but he also loved big sinners. Jesus loved loose women, but he also loved rigid Pharisees. Jesus loved the rich young ruler, but he also loved the poor blind beggar. Regardless of a person’s upbringing or their downfalling, Jesus Christ loved them and he reached out to them, and he is still reaching out to us today regardless of who we are. Class, color, background, and experience have no effect on him. He is still ready and willing to lay his hand on every one of us if we come to him and give him that opportunity.
The scriptures repeatedly tell us about that all-encompassing love of God. “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” And if you are in the world you are the object of his affection and his concern.
He said, “Whosoever will, let him come and drink of the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17) Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest; take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly at heart; you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). The invitation is to all. John tells us that Jesus came unto his own and his own received him not, but as many as received him, unto them gave he the power to become the sons of God (John 1:11-12). The one that heaven and hell have recognized as the Savior loves you and wants to lay his hand of salvation and mercy upon you if you will come to him.
3. The purpose of Jesus.
They teach us not only about the person of Jesus, they teach us about the purpose of Jesus. With all of the spectacular activities surrounding his healings and miracles, Jesus packed up and walked away. Never one to seek notoriety, never one to publicize his miracle-working powers, Jesus just wanted to quietly slip away to be alone with God. And the crowds stopped him and said, don’t leave us. He said, “I must. I must go to the other villages and preach there also. I must declare to them the kingdom of God, for that’s why I came into the world.” And with that statement Jesus helps us to understand that his purpose and his great mission was not to be a healer, though he did heal when he encountered the sick. He could not help but heal, because his heart went out to them. But that is not why he came. And that’s not what he wanted to be known for. He shunned all of that to get on with the basic mission and purpose of life, and that was to proclaim that the kingdom of God had come.
I often watch the faith healers on television and think about how different they are from our Savior. Just today in passing as I walked through the room, I saw one’s advertisement of his healings and his miracles saying, “Come to me, watch me, and see all that we do.” And then I remembered that Jesus—in the midst of all his healing just quietly slipped away. That is not what he wanted to be known for and that is not what he sought. Why did he come? To proclaim the good news that the kingdom of God is come for the King has come. If you will put your faith and trust in him, you can be saved and you can know his life-changing power.
He said on another occasion, “It is a sinful generation that seeks a sign.” The only sign he gave to us was the sign of Jonah. As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so the Son of Man was three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. When he came out of the grave as the triumphant risen Lord, the world would never again need another sign. We can live without them because we know who he is and we know why he came.