Original Meaning
THIS UNIT SUMMARIZES several distinct events that take place in Capernaum, the ancient city where Jesus sets up his base for operation. This city was located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, some 680 feet below sea level. It was a major Jewish center in the region, with trade centering in fishing and agriculture (Josephus, Life 72 § 403; Jewish War 3.10.8 § 519).1
The unit in Luke divides clearly: an introduction (4:31–32), an exorcism (4:33–37), the healing of Simon’s mother-in-law (4:38–39), another encounter with a demon (4:40–41), and a closing mission statement (4:42–44). Three miracle accounts dominate this description of Jesus’ activity. His ministry reflects the compassion he came to reveal.
Luke introduces here two of his five examples of Jesus’ performing miracles on the Sabbath (see 4:31–37, 38–39; 6:6–11; 13:10–17; 14:1–6). He has declared the fulfillment of God’s promise at a synagogue in Nazareth on the Sabbath. Now he shows the presence of such fulfillment. Like Mark 1:21–39, Luke is working with a series of events that serve as a snapshot of the activities that accompany Jesus’ ministry. Mark tends to focus on the miracles themselves, while Luke balances his portrait between teaching, exorcism, and healing. For Luke words and deeds belong together.
There is variety in Jesus’ ministry. He deals with individuals and crowds; he heals men and women; he teaches and exercises authority. His miracles may not surprise us since we are so familiar with these accounts of Jesus’ work. Yet one should not lose sight that in the ancient world such action, though perhaps more accepted in that culture, was still rare and produced marvel and surprise.
As important as miracles are as events in the life of Jesus, they also serve as visual indications of deeper realities. Perhaps the clearest example of this is 5:1–11, where a catch of fish becomes the basis for Jesus’ call to “catch men.” All Jesus’ miracles in some way reflect a visual representation of some significant spiritual reality—often the depth of the cosmic struggle associated with his ministry. Since his work represents the powerful arrival of the force of righteousness into God’s world, is it any wonder that Jesus must go in hand-to-hand combat with the forces of evil? In a real sense, the miracles pull back a veil on the cosmic forces at work within creation.
The major feature of the initial summary of Jesus’ ministry in verses 31–32 is the recognition of the authority inherent in his teaching. If the rabbinic works of a few centuries after Jesus’ time are any indication, most rabbinic arguments took on an anthological approach to teaching, where each rabbi’s opinion on a matter was set out in a kind of listing and where truth was often a matter of establishing a precedent for an idea. Jesus does not teach this way. He declares God’s will directly, even keeping his direct use of Scripture to a few limited situations. The crowds recognize his distinct approach to teaching and are astonished by it.
The first miracle of this Gospel is an exorcism. The major opponent in Jesus’ ministry consists of the spiritual forces of evil. Demons are noted twenty-three times in this Gospel, with fourteen of those references occurring between here and 9:50 in the Galilean ministry section. Judaism believed that in the messianic times demonic power would be crushed.2 Jesus has already met with Satan; now he is facing off against Satan’s cohorts.
In the synagogue, a man is possessed by “an unclean spirit of evil” (lit. trans.), an intentional stacking up of descriptions showing just how serious the situation is. Luke distinguishes demon possession from physical illness, as does the rest of the New Testament (Matt. 4:24; Luke 4:40–41; 7:21; 9:1; 13:32)—though on occasion the concepts overlap (cf. Luke 8:29; 9:39; 11:14–20; 13:11, 16, where the symptoms of the presence of a demon look like illness). A distinguishing feature of demon possession is erratic behavior or severe physical distortion (Mark 5:1–20; Luke 8:29; 9:39, 42; 11:14; 13:10–17).
Jesus’ presence makes the demon nervous, and it cries out through the man, asking him what he is planning to do. Will he destroy it? In Greek the question in verse 34 is an idiomatic way of asking, “Why do you want to bother us?”3 The remark is revealing, since it indicates both the inherent authority Jesus possesses and the demon’s awareness of that power. In addition, the demon makes a confession: Jesus is “the Holy One of God” (cf. 1:31–35). It recognizes him as uniquely set apart for service to God. The title recalls figures like Aaron (Ps. 106:16), Samson (Judg. 13:7), and Elisha (2 Kings 4:9).
Jesus rebukes the evil spirit, and immediately the man is restored. He also silences it. Apparently Jesus wants nothing to do with demonic confession of him in public. It is not clear why, except that perhaps Judaism expected the Messiah to be proclaimed in limited ways and the title itself may produce expectations that Jesus will have to correct.4 Even the demon’s attempt to harm the man by throwing him to the ground fails to have results. The destructive tendencies of evil are overcome by the authority that Jesus possesses to deliver humanity from the clutches of the demons.
The amazing event and its lesson are not lost on the crowd, who immediately begin asking the basic question: “What is this teaching?” The people recognize that demonic forces have been subdued by his word. Jesus has both authority and power. Luke’s reader is left pondering the question the crowd has raised. News of the event spreads throughout the region.
The next healing is less dramatic but just as significant. Jesus encounters Peter’s mother-in-law at Peter’s home, sick with a high fever. If this house were typical of ancient Palestinian homes, she would be in a single-room house. Jesus acts against another distinct threat to life. As he has just done with the demon, so now with disease. He rebukes the illness, and the woman is restored to life and begins serving them. This remark not only testifies to her recovery; it also reflects her gratitude.
Word spreads quickly, and Jesus finds himself dealing with people who come to him with all kinds of maladies. Healings continue without interruption. There is no unevenness in his ministry. His authority flows constantly. In addition, demons are exorcized regularly. They confess Jesus to be the Son of God, meaning that they recognize him as the Christ. The Anointed One is showing the evidence of his unique calling. As he has done earlier, he silences any attempts at demonic confession.
Jesus on occasion withdraws for a private time of prayer, but the people look for him. Those in Capernaum want him to stay, but Jesus’ mission is not provincially limited. Jesus has been called to preach the kingdom of God elsewhere, so he must go where he is sent. This means that Jesus must preach in other synagogues throughout the land. His message of “the kingdom of God” is like the message he preached at Nazareth (4:16–21)—a word of release and fulfillment. Luke does not specify or define what the kingdom is here. The message of release in Luke 4 suggest its nature as a place of deliverance, where the forces of evil can be overcome. Other texts will develop the idea more clearly.
Bridging Contexts
A DOMINANT ISSUE in the bridging of contexts is the presence in Jesus’ ministry of miracles. This introduces a particularly controversial discussion, for two approaches to the existence of miracles exist today within the church, not to mention the skepticism that exists about miracles outside the church.
We begin with the view of miracles outside the church. Ever since the Enlightenment, many have rejected the reality of miracles. Such rejection assumes either an absence of deity or a noninvolvement by him in creation. The basic issue, therefore, centers on whether God exists and, if he does, whether he acts in the world.5 At the center of this dispute is the resurrection of Jesus. Christianity declares a living Savior who had been crucified. For that to be true, resurrection must be a reality—a view that argues miracles do occur, at least to the extent of bringing a dead person back to life. Those who deny miracles must explain how the early church came into existence and defended the teaching of a risen Lord fifty-two days after his death, even with the sacrifice of their own lives. Something must have turned their thinking around. Arguing that they fabricated the doctrine fails, because it cannot explain why the disciples were willing to die for something they knew to be a lie. One can attempt to argue for delusion, but that also must argue for multiple delusion, since many disciples risked their lives on their belief.
Behind the discussion on miracles stands a worldview question about God’s existence and activity. If God exists, should we expect him to be entirely disengaged from his creation? Is he really to be seen as a spectator, watching the creation and eating his popcorn as he enjoys the show? It is hardly a given that the presence of God in the creation means the absence of evidence of his powerful work. Experience often testifies otherwise, for most communities can speak of events where someone has been spared in what can only be explained as divine intervention.
Turning to views within the church, some argue that while God still occasionally performs miracles today, there is no gift of miracles in the church—that is, no one performs miracles as Jesus or his apostles did. This position is known as cessationism. Others argue that the gift of miracles still functions today, so that one can have a ministry like that of Jesus.6 The debate is complex and has often been raised to heavily polemical levels.
It might be helpful to note first what both sides agree on. Both affirm the possibility of God’s miraculous intervention when he sovereignly chooses to act. In other words, the discussion is not between God’s performing miracles or not. Rather, the disagreement is whether God gives specific people the consistent ability to heal and desires ministries to focus on healing. Those who argue God does not work though the gift of miracles today believe that gifts of healing were given for a limited period to introduce the arrival of the new era (e.g., see Heb. 2:3–4, which treats the attestation work of the Spirit as something in the past). They also note how Jesus deemphasized his own miraculous work, for fear that people would focus on the signs rather than on him (Matt. 12:38–42; Luke 11:29). Those who do see the gifts functioning today argue for a ministry in a manner analogous to that of Jesus.
My own cautious approach is that the gift of miracles does not function today. We do not see either the variety or rates of healing evidenced in Jesus’ ministry to treat contemporary examples as analogous. One proponent, for example, has acknowledged that the rate of success in contemporary requests for healing is about two percent. This is a significantly different ratio from what Jesus or the disciples appeared to yield. Such a percentage looks more like an example of God’s sovereign activity than a residing gift, where successful response would come more frequently. In other words, though God does still heal, I do not expect the consistency of the healing aspect of Jesus’ ministry to be replicated today. I would treat the issue of exorcism in a similar way. Such limitations on healing do not evidence a lack of trust on how God works, since his sovereign right to heal is still affirmed. What it questions is whether God continues to give gifts of healing to individuals through whom people are healed.
A main bridge into the present is the character and goal of ministry. Jesus’ actions show a commitment to service and compassion, even in the midst of confrontation. The miracles reveal where the real battle for humanity lies and how Jesus has authority to overcome such obstacles. When Jesus acts to exorcize demons and to cure disease, both cosmic forces and diseases become subject to his will. That Jesus possesses such total authority should grip us and cause us to reflect that he is capable of delivering on his promises to save. It also implies his ability to guide us in such a way that such forces can never totally overtake us. Hostile forces may try to destroy us, but he has the capability of helping us resist. The obstacles of life that threaten us as human beings are not so great or powerful that Jesus cannot overcome them. In fact, it is the exact reverse.
Contemporary Significance
IT IS IMPORTANT first of all to note that Jesus receives authentication through the work he performs as the unique, set-apart One from God. The best commentary on these events is Acts 10:38–42.
Another key application emerges as an implication of Jesus’ type of ministry. Many missionary organizations and churches in recent history have organized benevolent ministries and hospitals as expressions of the type of compassionate service Jesus performs here. Such a connection is justified. What the healings and exorcisms show is God’s power and concern for humanity. The church should show no less compassion today. When we deal with the ravages of disease or show concern to those who are hurting, we are reflecting the kind of love God has for people who live in a fallen world.
Another application emerges in the area of counseling. We can minister to people’s souls by helping them wrestle with the presence of sin and the Fall in their lives through a biblically-centered counseling approach that seeks to understand who people are and why they are hurting. This is not to argue that mental health and exorcism are the same, for they are not. But it is to suggest that the type of compassion that engaged in exorcism is similar to the type of compassion needed for one to minister to a hurting soul afflicted by a mental disturbance.
What is needed is good counseling—counseling that integrates the truth of Scripture about the character of sin and fallenness in our world and environment with the study and analysis of the symptoms and causes of our struggles. To ignore either aspect, so that personal responsibility for our condition is avoided or a person is always made to feel the blame, is a mistake. Our school has begun an effort to bring together theologians and counselors to address this combination in a healthy effort to integrate and talk about both sides of this equation. Too often counselors are left on their own, and theologians are unaware of the various factors that reflect sinful roots and play into a person who is emotionally at risk.
In Jesus’ ministry we see the exercise of whatever resources he had to aid those who were afflicted by the forces that attack humanity and debilitate it. Though the form of such ministry today might differ, the compassion that motivates such service does not.