GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
LUKE 4:31-32
Jesus Drives Out a Demon
(Mark 1:21-28)
31 He went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee, and taught them on the Sabbath. 32 They were amazed by his teaching, because his message had authority.
There is more than one word for “and” in Greek (καί, δέ, and a few others). Here, the kai (καί) introduces an incident which does not directly connect to the preceding one. In Mark’s Gospel, we see that Jesus performed the miracles we’re about to read about just after he had called his first disciples: Andrew, Peter, John and James (Mark 1:14-21).
Jesus went down to the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, to Capernaum. Luke remembers to tell Theophilus, a foreigner, that this was in Galilee. The synagogue in this city has been excavated by archaeologists (Wilson, 1865-66; Kohl & Watzinger, 1905; and Orfali, 1922). It was a huge building, sixty-five feet long, and two stories high (for members of St. Paul’s here in New Ulm, our sanctuary is seventy-five feet long from the back pew to the foot of the steps below the altar). It was constructed from white limestone, and the sanctuary included an upper gallery for women on three sides supported by limestone columns and reached by a beautiful stairway on the northwest side. At the south end was a stone ark (chest) in which were kept the large scrolls of the Old Testament Scriptures. There were stone benches along the walls, and there was a fountain for ceremonial washings. One of the pillars is inscribed: “Alphaeus, son of Zebedee, son of John, made this column; on him be blessing.” All three of those names are associated with Jesus’ apostles. Although we cannot say that the Zebedee mentioned was the father of Peter and Andrew, we can say for certain that these names were popular in Galilee and in Capernaum in particular.
Jesus’ teaching amazed the people. The scribes (also called “teachers of the law”) were not in the habit of stating things definitely. They would report that this person had said one thing, and that another person had said another thing, and then, for the most part, they would not give any opinion or judgment of their own. Jesus did nothing like that. Jesus quoted Scripture and then applied it right into our lives. Jesus would say: “The Sixth Commandment says, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ You think you’ve done that. But you haven’t. Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (see Matthew 5:26-27). And Jesus would say, “You think that the law only says that for a divorce you need the right document. But if you get a divorce for any reason except unfaithfulness then you end up as an adulterer—and then anyone you marry ends up as an adulterer, too. God hates divorce” (see Matthew 5:31-32 and Malachi 2:16). This kind of preaching was and is incredibly powerful. It moved people. It crushed their opinions about themselves, and it made them realize that they couldn’t live lives good enough to get into heaven. They had to have a Savior. And that was precisely what Jesus wanted to do for them, and for us, too. He wants us to realize that our lives are corrupt; that we’ve fallen short of God’s holy will. When we finally despair of pleasing him, he offers his hand to pull us out of the quagmire of our sins, and to hose us off through baptism and the outpouring of the gospel. He brings us home to heaven through his words of compassion and grace, and he gives us eternal life.
That’s his authority. That’s the role of the Holy One of God.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Archives by Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel: http://www.wlchapel.org/worship/daily-devotion/
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota