14: Doctrine, Demons, & Diseases (Luke 4:31-44)

Dale Wells Gideon’s International

God’s Word is SO GOOD! Do you realize how blessed we are to have THIS? Don’t you want OTHERS to have a chance to read God’s Word! Today at the end of this Worship Gathering you will have a chance to give money to produce & send more Bibles!

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You’ll remember we finished last week with Jesus teaching in His home synagogue. His hometown folks were captivated by His message UNTIL…instead of scratching their backs, He pulled off a scab - illustrating how their national & racial pride caused them to stand against the purposes of God. Instead of being a LIGHT to the nations, they had become a ‘holy huddle’. Rather than communicating the message that You haven’t gone too far for God’s grace, these people were convinced that God’s grace was for them ALONE. They were so angry with the judgment of Jesus that they drove Him outside to throw Him off a cliff. Jesus walked through the crowd and left Nazareth. That’s where we pick up today’s teaching.

Luke 4:31–32 (NIV)

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.

Jesus had been to Capernaum before & even done some miracles that the people in Nazareth had heard about (Luke 4:23). As you can see on this map, Capernaum was a town that sat on the Sea of Galilee. Once again, Luke’s precision on topography is right on. He writes that Jesus went DOWN to Capernaum. So He leaves Nazareth - 1,300 feet ABOVE sea level and journeys to Capernaum which is 695 feet BELOW sea level.

Capernaum became the base of operations for Jesus (Matt. 4:13–16) although He would spend most of His time on the move. This is also the home of 5 of His disciples: Peter, Andrew, James, and John who had a small fishing business. Matthew, the tax collector, had his toll booth there too (Mark 1:16, 29).

[back to text in slide] And as was His custom, Jesus entered the synagogue where He amazed His audience with his teaching. They had never heard anyone with this kind of authority. And while we remember that Jesus did many amazing miracles, it was His teaching & His words that caused people to sit in awe. Since good doctrine - believing the RIGHT THINGS, was so important - Jesus spent many, many hours teaching others to…

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Teaching good doctrine was a HUGE part of the Messiah’s ministry. What He taught countered & confronted the bad doctrine of His day. 2000 years later, the need for teaching Good Doctrine is vital as false teaching runs rampant through our culture. Teaching the WRONG THINGS leads people to believe the wrong things. Like Jesus, we want YOU to

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This is why we invest so much time in challenging you to read the Scripture in context. It’s why we spend so much time preparing & providing audio/video teachings each week ONLINE. It’s why we have just kicked off a CD ministry to bless you & others with teaching from God’s Word. Take the CD’s you want on donation basis - FREE if you can’t afford it - The BOOK series & most of the Luke Series is out there right now and I hope you clean them out this week! We’ll make more…because We want you to

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But what happens next is a sign that Jesus was more than a great teacher.

Luke 4:33 (NIV)

33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit...

This is the first of several times that Dr. Luke mentions Jesus confronting demons. The Bible teaches that demons are fallen angels who have rebelled against God and now stand in opposition to His plan & His people.

In his wonderful book ‘The Screwtape Letters’ - C.S. Lewis writes:

“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight” (The Screwtape Letters [New York: MacMillian, 1977]

This is very true. When people hear of demons, many move to 1 of 2 extremes;

either dismiss the devil altogether, or

they see a demon behind every bush.

Those who dismiss the idea of real demons - often claim that ignorant people have misdiagnosed psychological & physiological disorders and instead blamed them on ‘the devil.’ In our culture of materialism, many people refuse to acknowledge the existence of something that they cannot see - like God, angels, or demons. But I remind you that one of the greatest tactics in warfare is the art of camouflage - the ability to blend into surroundings and hide while in plain sight.

I once again watched a gut-wrenching movie called ‘We Were Soldiers’ - where a few men from Mel Gibson’s forces where cut off behind enemy lines in Vietnam, laying flat and trying to stay alive until the next morning. The audience can see nothing but the whites of the eyes of 2 young Americans as they lay motionless in the darkness. Then one solider whispers to another claiming he smells the enemy in their presence. Using the radio they call for a illumination round to be fired. The night sky suddenly lights up and the Americans see they are OVERUN with enemy - as silhouettes of Vietcong soldiers almost step on them. The enemy was so well hidden and moving so quietly in the darkness, that the Americans never even saw them coming.

This is where many people are today, unaware of a well hidden enemy moving quietly in the darkness is at work. Might I remind you that dismissing a camouflaged enemy doesn’t mean they don’t exist.

Those who refuse to acknowledge the spiritual enemy most assume that the NT writers and Jesus were mistaken. Not only do the Gospels speak of people who were possessed by demons, they also claim that the possessed persons were transformed when confronted by Jesus. And that’s exactly what we see next.

Luke 4:33-34 (NIV)

33…He [demon possessed man] cried out at the top of his voice, 34 “Go away! What do you want with us [probably referring to demon and man’s body it possessed], Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

This demon asked a question and made a statement.

The question: Have you come to destroy us? How could a MAN, a physical being, destroy a demon - a non-physical being? The answer to that question is seen in the demon’s statement.

The statement: I know who you are—the Holy One of God! This is not just a 30-year-old human. This demon sees the S hidden under his tunic. Did you know that demons have a better grasp on who Jesus is than most humans do! They also understand what awaits them as we will see in Luke 8, we will come to demons who begged Jesus not to throw them into the pit that awaited them.

Jesus didn’t want to be publicized by a demon-possessed man.

Luke 4:35-37

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.

This wan’t a 1st century version of ‘The Exorcist’. Jesus didn’t bring ‘holy water’, carry a crucifix, & say some Latin phrases, while this possessed guy vomited green slime. Nope. Jesus said 4 words, COME OUT OF HIM! …And the battle was OVER!

The one who caused so much CHAOS was at PEACE. The man was changed. The demon was GONE! Who WAS this? There was a NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN, and the news about what Jesus had done spread like wildfire from Capernaum and the surrounding area.

Luke 4:38 (NIV)

38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon [after church lunch invite]. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her.

Simon - the guy later renamed ‘Peter’ - lived in Capernaum. He had a mother-in-law - and since you can’t get a mother-in-law without a WIFE, this means Simon was married. Those who would wrongly believe that Peter was the first pope need to see this fact noted by Dr. Luke.

His mother-in-law had a high fever - I bet Dr. Luke - the physician LOVED this story! As Jesus entered the home she was likely laying down while others in the home attended her with wet cloths. At some point someone asked, “Jesus, could YOU help her?” Have you ever been SERIOUS SICK - praying - [sarcastic] “Lord, heal me…or kill me.”

Years ago Tonya & I were bad sick with the flu. She was teaching at a Christian school and called to ask them to get a substitute. I was on the other phone and heard a lady pray: “Father, I pray that Tonya’s body would align with your Word - by your stripes we are HEALED.” She implied that sickness is demonic and that Jesus guarantees physical healing. That’s an example of BAD DOCTRINE - a demon behind every bad circumstance.

We live in a fallen world with sickness & death. And unless Jesus comes first, you and I will face both.

Those who blame demons for all sickness should take notice how Jesus responds to this request to heal Simon’s mother-in-law.

Luke 4:39 (NIV)

39 So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.

Jesus didn’t cast out ‘the fever demon’. Instead, He rebuked the fever. This is phrasing that Luke later uses when Jesus rebukes the wind and waves while on a boat (Luke 8:24). Luke is not emphasizing a demonic force, but highlighting the authority of Jesus’ words. Just as the demon left the man in the synagogue, the fever is forced to leave when Jesus speaks.

Again, where there is once chaos, now there is peace. This healing was immediate as the lady begins serving them with thankfulness for being made well.

What happens next is amazing.

Walter Leifeld writes:

One of the most beautiful scenes in Scripture now follows. The crowds have apparently waited till evening, after the Sabbath was over. In the remaining hours of diminishing light, they perform the labor of love they could not do on the Sabbath, carrying the sick to Jesus.

Can you imagine…precious friends and family members carrying YOU…to see this 30 year old rabbi. “Maybe HE can do something to help you! Let’s go see Him.” So they knock on Peter’s door…’Um….is Jesus home?”

40 At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. [I love that - personal touch] 41 Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.

Again, demons knew exactly who Jesus was. Do YOU? Have you come to the place that YOU recognize that Jesus was more than a man, more than a prophet, more than a miracle worker? Do you recognize that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah - God in Skin who has come to set the captive free!?!?

I wonder what kind of talks went on in homes in Capernaum later THAT night!? Would would TOMORROW bring?

42 At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. 43 But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” 44 And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

The other Gospels clarify that Jesus was doing what He did every morning - finding a quiet place to talk to God the Father. The people were searching for Him but Jesus was about to hit the road.

Jesus came so that the people of Capernaum - those in the synagogue, those in Simon Peter’s home - could…

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But Jesus wouldn’t stay still in Capernaum. He would go other towns and proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God, where He would teach good doctrine, tell demons where to go, & heal untreatable diseases and many more towns, so that others would….

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And 2000 years later, nearly 6000 miles away from the land of Israel, we read this letter from Dr. Luke so that WE too would…

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Video Chinese receiving Bibles (video quality is poor - but POWERFUL)

Here’s your homework for this week.

Read through Luke. Read all of Luke this week (24 chapters - start today - 4 chapters a day). Read this to Know WHO God is & Trust WHAT God says.

Give someone a Bible.

Give to the Gideon ministry (memo checks to Gideon’s and drop in box or place gifts in this basket).

OR Buy a Bible with a clear translation to modern English for your friend or family member who doesn’t know Jesus.

Point them to YouVersion Bible.