Jesus Drives Out an Evil Spirit From a Man in Capernaum

Introduction

About 2 years ago we were on our way to church. And I don’t know how many couples are as conscientious about the other’s speed as Malerie is about mine. It may be one of her spiritual gifts. But going down greenhurst, there’s a section of road that’s supposed to be only 35 mph. I have this natural inner accelerometer that tells me I should be going faster than that on a Sunday morning. My guess, and I’d say this is pretty accurate, But I was probably running late. And Malerie has told me on multiple occasions, Nate, the speed limit is 35. And most of the time, when she reminds me, I slow down. But this day, she hadn’t reminded me, and I was cruising. Until an ISP officer passes by us, and flips around, lights on. I was trying to avoid eye contact with Mal. But it was inevitable. But then it gets worse. I hear a faint voice from the back asking me a question, “why are we stopping dad?” I then had to humbly give my daughter a quick lesson about authority. Even though I didn’t agree with the speed limit, made evident by my 45 mph speed, I still understood the importance of authority.

This miracle was going to display Jesus’ authority in not just a miraculous way, but a way that was going to demonstrate his authority on a spiritual level.

Luke 4:31–37 “And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days. [Jesus’ priority, before doing miracles, was always teaching and preaching] And they were astonished at his doctrine: [Divine truth will always astonish those who have been raised on the teaching of the world and corrupt religion] for his word was with power [power here speaks of certainty and authority.] And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice [Satan habitually causes trouble where the Word of God is taught in truth and power,] Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee , thou Jesus of Nazareth? [this is ussually the attitude of the world. They don’t want anything to do with Jesus] art thou come to destroy us? [isn’t it interesting coming from a demon who in just a couple verses is trying to hurt the man he possessed] I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God. [the Bible says even the devils believe and tremble]. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. [sometimes sin needs to be rebuked when it is defiant, such as this case.] And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not. [here, the devil came out of the man, and even though it tried to hurt the man, it was unable to in the presence of Jesus] 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. And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about.”

What is important to God, should be what is important to us

Notice what Jesus does when he comes to Capernaum, in verse 31? He immediately begins to teach and preach on the sabbath days. Before he demonstrated his power over demons, he demonstrated his power in teaching.

Look at verse 18 of this chapter. Jesus is in Nazareth when he reads this verse. He leaves Nazareth and does exactly what this verse proclaims He is to do. He preaches the gospel to the poor, heals the broken hearted, proclaims liberty to the captives.

Alot of times, we tend to mix up our priorities. We don’t intend to do this, but if we are not actively controlling our priorities, we naturally tend to give God the scraps of our time. He’s an afterthought, rather than a forethought.

Romans 1:18 KJV 1900

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

Notice that ungodly and unrighteousness are distinguished as two different terms. Unrighteousness is different than ungodliness. Unrighteousness is when we live a life void of righteousness. Pretty simple. Ungodliness is when we live a life void of God. It’s when we give no thought toward God in our daily lives.

We live as if He doesn’t own us.

How do we fix this? We seek Him first. Seek means to actively look. It’s an action verb. What actions can I take to make sure God stays at the forefront of my life?

Set boundaries - spend time with God before I eat, or before I get on my phone, or before I start my work day.

Set up routines - have a time and place

Eliminate distractions

Don’t underestimate the importance of doctrine

Luke 4:32 KJV 1900

And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.

The confidence to share Christ comes from a proper doctrine. The word for power is translated in other passages as “authority.” When the Bible says Jesus taught with power, it gives the idea of confidence and certainty.

Do we struggle with confidence when we share Christ with others?

The more we spend time with Christ, learning about Him, understanding His Word, the more our confidence grows.

Who do you think has more confidence plumbing a house, Adam, or Shiloh? Why, because Adam has spent much more time doing that work. He has the tools to do it, he has the knowledge to do it.

In the same way, the more time we spend with Jesus, the more confidence and certainty we will have when it comes to sharing Christ.

Be more concerned with judging ourselves than judging others.

Luke 4:33 KJV 1900

And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice,

Look who attended the synagogue with the people that Sabboth? A demon possessed man.

People tend to judge people by the standards they have, rather than the doctrines they possess. We tend to place pastor’s and other spiritual leaders on pedestals, only to hear about them later on, that they were unfaithful, or embezzling money, or that they left the faith altogether. Just because someone looks good on the outside, doesn’t mean they are an example to follow.

On the flip side, sometimes we are like the pharasee who looks at the “publicans” of this world. We dont audibly say it, but we are glad we aren’t “like them.”

Our perspective is void of love and compassion. We are so focused on their outward appearance, that we fail to remember that even at our best we are unprofitable servants.

We forget that God compares our righteousness to what? Filthy rags. The same rags that were used to scrap the dead skin of those who had leprosy of old. Nasty, rotting, disgusting, filthy rags. That’s is what God compares our good deeds to.

So how do we see people clearly and judge properly? We look to Jesus as our prime example. When we see someone who looks filthy and unjust, remember how Jesus treated the demon possessed man of ganesserat. When we see the obnoxious little child, remember how Jesus treated the little children. When we see the one who has morally failed, remember how Jesus treated the woman caught in adultery. When we see the self-rightious, remember Jesus and the rich young ruler. When we see the unthankful, remember Jesus and the ten lepers. Jesus always judged people with love, compassion, and forgiveness.

On the other hand, Jesus harshest words were for the hypocritical of his day. The ones that failed to judge themselves and see themselves for who they really are. We should be more concerned about judging ourselves than judging others.

Matthew 7:1–5 KJV 1900

Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

God would much rather us look at our own sin, than look at other’s sin.

Try to get the mote out of someone eye while knocking over things with the beam that is in our own eye.

The world can easily see the sin in our own life. So what do you think they see when they see us trying to remove the mote from their eye? They see a fool. What kind of person tries to fix a mote when theres a beam in their eye?