Have you ever read a biblical text and thought, "Wait, what just happened here?" That’s exactly how this rollercoaster chapter feels where Jesus resists the Tempter’s tricks, stirs up both awe and anger in various towns, and casually silences a demon in the middle of worship. Yes, in the synagogue. There’s a lot to unpack here — patterns, responses, and some seriously weird moments. So grab your coffee (or your Hebrew scroll), and let’s dive into this wild ride of a demon yelling at Jesus. Sound interesting yet? Keep reading!
I reflected on Luke 4 this morning. Have you read it lately? It starts by addressing one of the times the Tempter tried to lure Jesus to sin (spoiler alert: it didn't work). Then Jesus began visiting various towns.
It mentions that he went to a synagogue (a Jewish place of worship of the one true God) and the people had some form of response. The towns include multiple places in Galilee, Capernaum, and finally Nazareth.
Study Tip: Look for patterns - Patterns in Scripture are a good way to find important and interesting lessons. Think of it like when your mom or spouse had to tell you the same thing repeatedly. It was important enough to say more than once.
Need a Quiet Time Journal? Here's one for under $8 bucks (paidlink).
Luke doesn't tell us where specifically Jesus went in Galilee (it was a region in Northern Israel, not a singular town). "He taught regularly in their synagogues" (plural), "and was praised by everyone" (v 15). Wow. I've gotten positive feedback for sermons over the years. But "everyone" is a strong word. Still, this is part one of the pattern.
Onto the next location, Jesus hit his old stomping grounds in Nazareth. Remember: he was born in Bethlehem, but he didn't grow up there. The family was only visiting for the legally required tax registration. Then they had a finger-quotes vacation (eh hem) in Egypt for a bit. Then back home to Nazareth. When he taught in their synagogue, it says, at first, that the people were amazed (v 22). But don't think of this as a positive impression. Think of it as: We've known this guy his whole life. How on earth does he believe he can do this whole Rabbi-teaching-in-the-Synagogue thing?! Isn't he Joe's boy? Pretty soon, their confused amazement turned to anger and violence. Verses 28-29 say they were furious and intended to kill him. This is a bit different than the church potluck after worship.
Then Jesus went to Capernaum on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus spent quite a bit of time there over the years. And how did the people respond when he taught in their synagogue? "There, too, the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority" (v 32).
Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom
Fun shirt with 14 color options
Near the end of the chapter (I'm obviously skipping a ton), Jesus gets up early and everybody starts looking for him. Where's the guy who says amazing stuff and performs miracles?! When they found him, he said "I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God in other towns too, because that is why I was sent" (v 43).
Side Note, just for funzies - When I first typed the paragraph above, there was a not-so-inaccurate typoo on the word miracles. I wrote miraclues. Yes. Yes, they were.
Side Note Two Point 0 - I never spell the word typoo right. Because... reasons.
What do you think?
Do you think there's a significance to the location-response pattern? Each instance includes...
- Jesus going
- To a gathering place
- Speaking to people
- About God's Word and Kingdom
- People respond
- He moved on
But the responses weren't all the same...
- In Galilee, Jesus was praised (v 15).
- In Nazareth, where he grew up, they were furious (v 28).
- In Capernaum, they were amazed (v 32).
- As he left to go to other towns, they didn't want him to go (v 42).
These highlighters will have the content jump off the pages of your Bible (paidlink).
One more interesting bit
A demon showed up in Capernaum. This, by itself, might not seem so strange. We bump into them throughout the gospel accounts of Jesus' life and ministry. But here's what seems odd.
Where do you expect to see a demon? A dark, scary corner? Some evil cemetery? In a wicked town or dark arts shop?
But that's not where it showed up. Check out verse 33.
"When he was in the synagogue," that's the Jewish place of worship of the one true God, "a demon," and just in case we're confused, it adds, "an evil spirit" (confusion dispelled) "began yelling at Jesus." So where was it? In the stinking synagogue!!! Weird, right?
It gets even weirder. It was shouting, "Why are you interfering with us?"
Excuse me? Whose place of worship do you think this is? What would give an evil spirit the idea that when God shows up at his own place of worship, then God is the one interfering? This seems a little backwards to me.
This is, by the way, the second time in this chapter that the Evil One makes an entrance.
Study Tip: Look for the weird - I find that the weird stuff is often full of interesting and helpful lessons. It's weird to think not only does a demon show up there, but he acts like he's in charge.
You gotta wonder: does the devil think he is the one in charge of the place where I worship? How active is he among the people there? When God shows up, would we treat him like he's interfering?! This gives me pause. What do you think? Share a comment.
