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About-Him Devotional 04-12-03
The life of Christ, from His baptism to His ascension, following the Harmony of the Gospels.
65: The Demoniac Healed
Mk. 1:23-28, Lu. 4:31-37
Luke 4:31 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.
Mark tells us that after the great catch of fish that resulted from the disciples obeying the Lord's command to "Launch out into the deep," the disciples forsook their nets and followed Jesus into the city of Capernaum. Luke places this event immediately after the Lord's rejection at Nazareth.
I t is important to realize that the gospel writer's with the possible exception of Luke (Luke 1:3 ) did not feel compelled to write everything in chronological order. This may seem odd to our western mindset but it was perfectly acceptable to the people of that time and region. They simply took events that fit the particular theme that they were developing. Matthew wrote of Jesus as the King of Israel, Mark wrote through the eyes of Peter with the theme of Jesus the Son of God, Luke stressed the humanity of Jesus and John stressed His Deity. A Harmony of the Gospel attempts to reconcile all the various accounts and place them in order. Naturally the Harmonies will vary. We are following the Harmony of the Gospel that is found in the back of the Thompson Chain Bible, which chooses to follow the Mark account.
Jesus taught in the synagogue on the next Sabbath and the people were astonished at His doctrine. He didn't teach with the dry humdrum of the scribes, but with the power and authority of the Spirit.
Their was a man in the synagogue with an unclean spirit. he may have been a regular member who attended every Sabbath, paid his tithes and sang in the choir, etc. However, when Jesus spoke in the power of the Spirit, as no man had ever spoken (John 7:46), the devils was forced to cry out, "What have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth, have you come to destroy us? .
The devils who believe and tremble (James 2:19), recognised Jesus as the Holy One of God. Jesus commanded them to be quiet and to come out of the man. The people were amazed at the authority and power that he used to command the unclean spirit to depart. The fame of Jesus spread throughout the whole region.
Conclusion and Application:
We give too much credit to the devil. Jesus triumphed over him by the power of His cross
(Colossians 2:15 ; Hebrews 2:14) and rendered him as a defeated foe. This is not to say that he and his cohorts are not still an active force (Ephesians 6:12), his time is coming and he knows it. However, we are not ignorant of his devices (2 Corinthians 2:11), and have been empowered by the Holy Ghost to take authority and deal with him when he presents himself ( Mark 16:17), just as Jesus did when He delivered the man in the synagogue.
Next Week: Peter's Mother-in-law Healed
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Don & Marie Spooner
About Him! Ministries
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