A Parasite from hell. (Luke 4:31-37)

The Spirit of the Lord was on Jesus to set captives free. In his first recorded miracle he begins by casting out a demon, demonstrating the extent of his power even over the devil and his demons. 

Chapters

• 1:03 Mission of Freedom
• 3:50 "Come out!"
• 9:40 The Confession
• 13:54 The rise of demon possession.
• 15:56 Why demon possession?

Transcript

The Parasite from Hell. Luke 4:31-37
Rick Walker, M.Div.

It may surprise you to learn that the very first exorcism found in the Bible doesn’t take place until Jesus begins his ministry. You can begin reading in Genesis and you will not find a single example of demon possession or exorcism until Jesus preaches at the synagogue in Capernaum. Today we are in Luke 4:31. The first case of demon possession and the first exorcism in the Bible.
 
 Mission of Freedom [1:03]
 
On the previous Sabbath Jesus was rejected at the synagogue in Nazareth (Luke 4:1-30). Jesus preached that the Spirit of the Lord was on him. He had been anointed to set the captives free.

This will be his ministry: setting captives free. They took Jesus away from the synagogue to kill him. But before they could throw him off the hill, he passed through their midst of the people. He delivered himself from the captivity of this violent mob. Now Jesus sets others free.
 
He will fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 61 (vv. 1, 2) Through his teaching and through his miracle working power the captives and the oppressed will be set free. By teaching he will set men free from the oppressive rules of the rabbis. They will be released from their captivity. Freed from the traditions of men. Through his teaching he will open the eyes of the spiritually blind. The light will shine on those living in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” (Luke 1:79)
 
And through his miracle working power he will give sight to men who cannot see. Do not make the mistake of thinking that the Nazareth sermon is only about the miracles. It is also about the spiritually blind. It is also about the captivity and oppression of false teachings and the fear of death and judgment. His ministry of freedom is freedom for the whole man: the physical and the spiritual. His teachings will set captives free. His miracles will set captives free.
 
“Come out!” [3:50]
 
So, we have moved to the next Sabbath, from the synagogue in Nazareth to the synagogue in Capernaum. The people will see Jesus set a captive free: a man possessed by an impure spirit. A demon. A parasite from hell. The first recorded case of demon possession and the first exorcism.
 
The story begins with Jesus doing what he always does in the synagogues: “On the Sabbath he taught the people.” (Luke 4:15, 6:6) And the people were amazed. “His words have authority!” (32).
 
Authority? You want to talk about authority? How much authority? So much authority, so much, that a demon screamed, “Go away!” (v. 33) A demon possessed man in the synagogue. A religious man with a demon.

The Jews had spent a lot of years thinking about demons before Jesus was even born. Demons had names and they lived in different places. They lived in the wilderness (cp. Luke 11:24), the roofs of houses and under gutters, near water. They thought that demons lived in almost every kind of place you can imagine. And, of course, in the ruins of buildings and among the tombs.
 
Later, Jesus will find a possessed man, this wild-eyed crazy man living among the tombs. Crazy. Wild-eyed. Screaming. Gashing his body with sharp rocks. That terrified the people who lived nearby. (Luke 8:26ff.) But it is not surprising that he lived with the dead among the tombs. Kind of expect that.
 
But this demon on this day was not in the wilderness. Not with the dead among the tombs. He is in the man, who is in the synagogue. Listening to Jesus preach.
 
The demon screams out, “Go away! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” (v. 33)
 
Jesus is not afraid. He commands with authority: “Be quiet! Come out of him!” Then the demon came out and threw the man down before Jesus. And remember—Jesus has been preaching, so he is still seated. 
 
The way I read this is that the demon surrenders this man to Jesus. The demon is so terrified that he throws the man down at Jesus feet. As if to say: Alright. Alright. Have him. You can have him. Take him. He is yours! He is yours!
 
At first the people were amazed at his teaching—because his words had authority. Now they say, “What words these are! With authority and power, he gives orders to impure spirits—and they come out!” (36)

I suppose this poor man had listened to a lot of Sabbath sermons. All kinds of sermons by all kinds of rabbis. But no rabbi spoke like Jesus. No rabbi had authority like Jesus had authority. No rabbi had the power. Maybe some of their sermons shook the people. But Jesus has power. His preaching shakes this demon to the core until he couldn’t take it any longer and cried out, “Go away!”

It wasn’t the man—it was the demon. Did this man even know he had a demon? Well, he knows now. Now everyone knows.

The Confession. [9:40]

There is something else the people know. They heard the demon’s confession: “I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” Peter and Andrew, James and John were in the synagogue with Jesus. (Mark 1:29) 
 
In the kingdom of Satan (Luke 11:18) the demons know that Jesus is the Holy One of God. That night, after the sun goes down, Jesus will cast a lot of demons out of a lot of people. When they come out, they are shouting: “You are the Son of God!” Many demons shouting, “You are the son of God!” 
 
Later in his ministry Jesus will find this man—this wild-eyed, crazy man with a thousand demons the Gerasene—that man cried out: “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” (Luke 8:28)

Peter and Andrew, James and John heard these demons confess that Jesus is the son of God. The people heard the confessions. The disciples heard the confessions. But it will be a long time before Peter makes the confession. 

Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”
“John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or another one of the prophets.” (Matt. 16:13, 14)
 
If Jesus had asked—he did not ask—but if he had asked, “Who do the demons say that I am?”—Peter would have said, “The Son of the Most High God!” A lot of people have heard a lot of demons confess that Jesus is the Son of God. But the people thought Jesus was John the Baptist or Elijah or Jeremiah.
 
Well, Jesus comes around to this question: “Who do you disciples say that I am?” And Peter said, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
 
This is a good confession by Peter. This is a good day. Where did Peter learn this truth? Did he learn it from the demons? Did the disciples learn this by hearing demons confess over and over that Jesus is the Son of God? No, not from the demons. Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah…for this has been revealed to you by my Father in heaven.” (Matt. 16:13-18).
 
Now, back to Capernaum. Because of this miracle in the synagogue the news about Jesus spread throughout the surrounding area. (4:37)
 
The Rise of Demon Possession [13:54]
 
In the intertestamental period, before the ministry of Jesus, before his birth, after Malachi but before Jesus is born, we begin to see evidence of Jewish exorcists. The rise of demon possession and exorcists trying to drive them out. It is not there in the Old Testament. Not a word. But it comes about after the close of the Old Testament. 
 
The Essenes, for example. The Essenes were very active in the first century. The Pharisees. The Sadducees. The Essenes. The Essenes wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls. And in those scrolls we see that the Essenes were involved in exorcisms.
 
Based on Zechariah 13:2: I will remove both the prophets and “the spirit of impurity” from the land. They will look on me, the one they have pierced. On that day a fountain will be opened…to cleanse them from sin and impurity. I will remove both the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land. (Zech. 12:10; 13:1, 2) This is where the Essenes understood a prophecy about exorcism: remove the spirit of impurity from the land.
 
 Why demon possession? [15:56]

So here is our question: why? Why was the devil given this power of possession that he doesn’t seem to have had before? Why? Theologians believe that it was so Jesus could show his power to the people. 
 
Jesus could show his power over diseases by healing: “Take up your mat and walk." Show his power over nature by calming winds and waves: “Peace, be still.” Show his power over the physical world by multiplying bread and fish and turning water to wine. Show his power over death by raising the dead: “Lazarus, come out.”

But the people really need to see his power over the devil. The real enemy is the devil and his demons. A man can only prove that he is a champion by stepping into the ring to fight. You can only show your power by going up against the powerful. Not against an amateur. 
 
The devil was given the power of possession so Jesus could show his power to defeat the devil and deliver men from his grip. People need to see Jesus bind the devil and plunder his house. (Mark 3:27) 
 
People need to see that Jesus is the champion. If Jesus cannot bind up one demon and cast him out of one man, could we ever believe that he can throw the devil into the lake of burning sulfur? (Rev. 20:10) 
 
One demon out of one man in the synagogue. A thousand demons out of one man at the tombs. The devil himself into the lake of fire at the judgment. Can it be done? Is Jesus the champion? Now we people know.
 
The Spirit of the Lord is on me. 
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners. 
Now we know. 

NOTE: Saul was tormented by an evil spirit. When David played the lyre, the evil spirit would leave. (1 Sam. 16:14-23) That is Saul being tormented by a demon. But it is not demon possession. Demons torment all kinds of people, but that doesn’t mean they are possessed. We have demons in the Old Testament, but not demon possession. This is the first.