Jesus Heals an Evil Spirit in the Church
“In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit.” Luke 4:31-37
Intro: The city of Capernaum was on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was a fishing village and along the major route about 200 miles from the city of Jordan. It is of great significance to us because of two things. One it was the hometown of several of the early Disciples like Andrew and James and John, and Matthew, and also the home of the Apostle Peter who really became the lead church Patriarch after the resurrection and ascension of Christ. As recent as 1982 a major hoard of ancient gold was discovered near what was an early Roman bath house.
Second it is of great significance because at the synagogue of Capernaum the custom was to allow traveling Rabbis to speak to those who gathered for church on the Sabbath. So Jesus took advantage of this tradition. And also later the Apostle Paul is mentioned in Acts 13 of taking advantage of this opportunity to speak on the Sabbath at these gatherings.
Jesus had already displayed His power to perform miracles. He turned water into wine. He healed the Roman official’s son. In the bible there are many examples of Jesus’ power to heal not only physical disease but also to forgive sin, and cure different spiritual afflictions that possessed the human soul. This is the first such time when a person with an evil spirit is mentioned. Jesus heals and delivers the demon processed in the church at Capernaum.
When we go back a few verses in Luke 4:31-32. “Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”The Greek words used here (ekplesso) literally means “to strike with panic or shock.” The teaching of Jesus commanded authority. His preaching packed a punch. The unprepared listeners were so amazed by his teaching that they were unable argue against Him.
The Old Testament prophets spoke for God. There are many places in the Old Testament where the prophet would use the phrase, “Thus says the Lord.” Hosea, Joel, Amos, Isaiah, Ezekiel and Elijah and we could go on to several others.
Those who read the Word of God and then spoke about its meaning were all messengers. Even the Scribes who merely read the word were considered preachers of the law. They stood on the authority of what previous great men had spoken about the meaning of scripture, it was not their denomination, it was not their doctrine, it was not their creedal theology, but they were people who spoke as messengers of God.
Jesus spoke with such authority that the people were amazed. Jesus’ preaching was clear. He understood that people needed real answers for real problems. While Jesus was preaching to the people a man came walking down the aisle. The man does not say, “I have an unclean spirit in me and I am trying to deal with it.” But Jesus knew what an evil spirit was like. Evil can be in different shapes and forms of self destructive habits, addictions, dysfunctional conflicts, patterns of negative thoughts and behaviors, temptations, divisive and destructive actions.
Mark Twain said, “It’s not the parts of the Bible I don’t understand that cause me problems, it’s the parts of the bible I do understand and don’t want to do that cause me problems.”
The Word of God and the Holy Spirit of God points out and reveals the sin and evil in whatever silhouette or shape or shadow it appears in.
The great preacher Charles Spurgeon tells the story about a butcher who ran a little shop on the edge of London. He decided one Sunday that he would go into town and hear the great preacher, Charles Spurgeon. The butcher’s wife chose not to go with him. So the butcher went to town, went to church, and came home. That afternoon his wife began to question him about the service. "What songs did they sing?" He said, "I don’t remember." "What scripture did the preacher read?” He said, “I don’t remember.” “What good did it do for you to go to church this morning?" The butcher was quiet for a moment. And then after the long pause he said, "I will tell you what good it did. You know those scales at my butcher shop that really weigh just 14 ounces to the pound? Well, before we open for business in the morning, I am going to correct those scales to where they weight a full 16 ounces to the pound.” Evil is conquered by the preaching of Jesus.
In the book “Leading Beyond the Walls” by Adam Hamilton he reminds us that it is not the Pastor’s job to try and figure out what the church wants to do and then do it. Nor is it determined by what the denominational leaders want done. Neither is it simply pursuing your own visions for ministry. Instead we are called to seek Christ’s will for his church. When we do that we get the purpose and mission of the church. Are we passionately trying to do what Christ wants us to do?
If every person here gave a tithe of their “free time.” I’m talking about the time when you are not at work.
The time where you get to choose between entertainment, I will let you fill in the blank. If you would just give a tenth of your free time to witnessing and seeking to save the lost and transforming the world into better place.
There would not be an empty seat in this church in three months. Jesus said in Luke 19:10 “I come to seek and to save that which is lost.” When people believe that above all things else then the church is ready for growth.
(Joel Osteen tells this story) There was this lady I heard about. Practically every night for years she thought she heard a burglar downstairs. She would make her husband get up at least once a week, year after year, go down stairs check it out, make sure everything was alright. Sure enough one day she thought she heard something. She told her husband get up get up somebody is downstairs. He got up. Went down so routinely like he had done a thousand times before. This time his eyes got so big, he was staring down the barrel of a gun. The burglar said, don’t make a sound, just give me your valuables. He went and got the valuables gave them to the burglar. The burglar turned around about to run off. He said, hey, wait a minute. You can’t leave yet. You gotta come upstairs and meet my wife. He said, she has been expecting you for 30 years. Too many people go around expecting the worst. We have to change what we are expecting. Quit expecting the worst and start expecting God’s blessings and favor. I know people who have been talked into having a bad week. Did you know that fear is contagious, worry is contagious, negativity is contagious? But also faith is contagious, victory is contagious, joy is contagious. That is why church is a great place to be. You get to come around other people who know the glory of the Lord. People who have conquered troubles, won against temptations, they have resisted the devil and drawn closer to Jesus. These are the people who talk about Good News. These are the positive people you need to be around. When that is the main topic of conversation. When that is your passion. When that is the driving force. Then the broken will be healed. The wounded will be comforted. The trespasses will be forgiven.
And so while Jesus is teaching the people these things…, A man comes walking down the aisle screaming at the top of his lungs…, Go away! Jesus of Nazareth! Why are you bothering us? Have you come here to destroy us? And then the evil spirit is convicted…, I know who you are—You are the Holy One sent from God!
It is naïve to think that an evil spirit can’t come into a church. Or to think that it can’t invade your home. Or to think that you are immune to the devils attacks. We might not realize sometimes that we are under the devils attacks. The Bible calls him "the wicked one," "the devil," "a liar, and the father of lies," "an adversary" who seeks to devour, "that old serpent and "accuser of our brethren". The moment you made your decision for Christ, Satan suffered a tremendous defeat. From then on he is going to tempt you and try his best to lead you to temptation and sin. No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way of escape so that you may be able to endure it" [1 Corinthians 10:13 Temptations happen to everyone. Others have resisted and overcame them so can you. Any temptation can be resisted. And when you resist a temptation the Word of God promises to show you a way out. God will not only help you resist He will shut your mouth! Jesus cut him short. And said, “Be silent!” he told the demon. Come out of the man! And the demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched: Then it left him without hurting him further.
1. You have to recognize the situation that give you the trouble
2. Then you turn to Jesus and walk toward Jesus
3. You choose to do the right thing.
4. You make a decision to pray about it.
5. You seek the love of God
And you will find victory in your life. You can run from a temptation. But it is a lot closer to step toward Jesus. When there is something that has been bothering you. Or tempting you. Or hurting you and you. And it seems like you are tired from running. You are exhausted. You feel weak. You feel like giving up. It may be because you have been running. When all you need to do is take a few steps down the aisle toward Jesus and kneel at the old rugged cross. Christ will meet you here. He intercedes for you. Do you know what intercedes means? Jesus did not speak to the man. Jesus spoke to the demon. That is real interceding. Jesus did not speak to the man. Jesus spoke to the demon. That is what Amazed the people. There had been a lot of traveling preachers speak at the synagogue in Capernaum. They would let anyone who was a Rabbi and was passing through have the pulpit to preach. All the other preachers had shared their thoughts on the law. They had interpreted the scripture. They had lectured on the torah. But this was the first time a preacher had the authority and power to lecture the demon. This was the first time a preacher had taught the devil. This was the first time a preacher was not afraid to speak the Word of God to Satan. Even the evil spirits have to flee at his command! And the story about what happened spread like wildfire throughout the whole region.
Let me tell you friends. Evil permeates the world we live in. 1 John 4:4 King James Version (KJV) “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” It is easy to be frightened by wickedness. It is easy to be afraid of the problems that we sometimes must face. Evil is obviously much stronger than we are. But evil is not stronger than God is. Hear the Good News: We belong to God. Those who know God listens to God’s voice. If they don’t belong to God they don’t listen to us. That is how someone knows the spirit of truth over the spirit of deception. Speak the Word of God.
Tomorrow morning the butcher will open up his butcher shop. And the butcher will adjust the scales to full measure from 14 oz to 16 oz. Because today he has heard the Word of God. In fact he might even have a sale on fresh cut meat. To heal some of the damage he has caused. Oh what healing and oh what change Jesus makes. (Preachers pledge: May this sermon give honor to a host of those who have preached before me for the glory of God.)
