CRITICAL NOTES
Luke 4:31. Came down.—Capernaum being situated on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias, Nazareth being higher on the hills. Taught them on the Sabbath days.—Rather, “He was teaching them on the Sabbath day” (R.V.).
Luke 4:32. Doctrine.—Rather, teaching: both the manner and substance of His words (cf. Matthew 7:28-29). With power.—Rather, “with authority” (R.V.).
Luke 4:33-41 contain a narrative of the events of one particular Sabbath day, from morning to night: see also Matthew 8:14-17; Mark 1:21-31.
Luke 4:33. Unclean devil.—The word “unclean” is inserted, either because in Greek “demon” might be good or bad, or because in this special case the effect upon the possessed person made the epithet peculiarly appropriate.
Luke 4:34. Let us alone.—Or, “Ah!” (R.V.), the Greek word ἔα being either the imperative of ἐαῶ to “let alone,” or an interjection.
Luke 4:35. Hold thy peace.—Lit. “be muzzled.”
Luke 4:37. The fame of Him.—Rather, “a rumour concerning Him” (R.V.).
Luke 4:38. A great fever.—This is a technical term used by contemporary Greek physicians. For other examples of minute medical or physiological details given by this Evangelist, see Luke 4:35 (“and hurt him not”), Luke 5:12; Luke 6:6; Luke 22:50-51; Acts 3:7-8; Acts 4:22; Acts 9:33; Acts 28:8.
Luke 4:39. He stood over her.—Notice the graphic description; also in Luke 4:40, “He laid His hands on every one of them.”
Luke 4:40. When the sun was setting.—With sunset the Sabbath ended, and the friends of the sick would feel at liberty to carry them into Christ’s presence.
Luke 4:41.—The best MSS. omit “Christ”: omitted in R.V. It is probably a gloss explanatory of “The Son of God.”
Luke 4:43. Preach the kingdom of God.—Rather, “preach the good tidings [gospel] of the kingdom of God” (R.V.).
Luke 4:44. Galilee.—MS. evidence is very strong in favour of Judæa rather than Galilee in this passage. It may be an error of transcription; but the striking fact remains that there was an early Judæan ministry, which is recorded in St. John’s Gospel, but is not directly referred to by the Synoptists, unless it be here.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Luke 4:31-44
A Sabbath in Capernaum.—We here pass from the synagogue at Nazareth, among its hills, to that at Capernaum, on the lake-side, where Jesus was already known as a worker of miracles. The two Sabbaths are in sharp contrast. The issue of the one is a tumult of fury and hate; that of the other, a crowd of suppliants and an eager desire to keep Him with them. The story is in four paragraphs, each showing a new phase of Christ’s power and pity.
I. Christ as the Lord of that dark world of evil (Luke 4:33-37).—The silence of the synagogue was suddenly broken by shrieks of rage and fear coming from a man who had been sitting quietly among the others. Possibly his condition had not been suspected until Christ’s presence roused his dreadful tyrant. Note the rage and terror of the demon. The presence of purity is a sharp pain to impurity, and an evil spirit is stirred to its depths when in contact with Jesus. Observe, too, the unclean spirit’s knowledge of the character and Divine relationship of Jesus. It gives a glimpse into a dim region, and suggests that the counsels of heaven, as effected on earth, are keenly watched and understood by eyes whose gleam is unsoftened by any touch of pity or submission. Observe Christ’s tone of authority and sternness. He had pity for men who were capable of redemption; but His words and demeanour to the evil spirits are always severe. He accepts the most imperfect recognition from men, and often seems as if labouring to evoke it; but He silences the evil spirits’ clear recognition. The confession which is “unto salvation” comes from a heart that loves, not merely from a head that perceives; and Jesus accepts nothing else. He will not have His name soiled by such lips. Note, still further, Christ’s absolute control of the demon. His bare word is sovereign and secures outward obedience, though from an unsubdued and disobedient will. He cannot make the foul creature love, but can make him act. Surely omnipotence speaks, if demons hear and obey. The existence of such spirits suggests the possibility of undying and responsible beings reaching, by continued alienation of heart and will from God, a stage in which they are beyond the capacity of improvement and outside the sweep of Christ’s pity.
II. The gentleness of Christ’s healing power and the immediate service of gratitude to Him (Luke 4:38-39).—Now the Lord’s tenderness shines unmingled with sternness. His pity, that pity which wielded omnipotence, was kindled by the beseeching of sorrowful hearts. And He who moves the forces of Deity still from His throne lets us move His heart by our cry. St. Luke is specially struck with one feature in the case—the immediate return of ordinary strength. The woman is lying, the one minute, pinned down and helpless with “a great fever,” and the next is engaged in her domestic duties. When Christ heals He heals thoroughly, and gives strength as well as healing. What could a woman, who was probably a poor dependant on her son-in-law, do for her Healer? Not much. But she did what she could, and that without delay. The natural impulse of gratitude is to give its best, and the proper use of healing and new strength is to minister to Him. Such a guest made humble household cares worship; and all our poor powers and tasks, consecrated to His praise and become the offerings of grateful hearts, are lifted into greatness and dignity. He did not despise the modest fare hastily dressed for Him; and He still delights in our gifts, though the cattle on a thousand hills are His.
III. The all-sufficiency of Christ’s pity and power (Luke 4:40-41).—As soon as the sinking sun relaxed the sabbatical restrictions, a motley crowd came flocking round the house carrying all the sick that could be lifted, all eager to share in His healing. It did not argue real faith in Him, but it was genuine sense of need, and expectation of blessing from His hand; and the measure of faith was the measure of blessing. They got what they believed He could give. If their faith had been larger, its answers would have been greater. St. Luke makes prominent the inexhaustible fulness of pity and power, which met and satisfied all the petitioners. The misery spoke to Christ’s heart, and He moved among the sad groups, and with gentle touch healed them all. To-day as then, the fountain of His pity and healing power is full, after thousands have drawn from it, and no crowd of suppliants bars our way to His heart or His hands. He has “enough for all, enough for each, enough for evermore.”
IV. Jesus seeking seclusion, but willingly sacrificing it at men’s call (Luke 4:42-44).—He withdraws in early morning, not because His store of power was exhausted, or His pity had tired, but to renew His communion with the Father. He needed solitude and silence, and we need it still more. No work worth doing will ever be done for Him unless we are familiar with some quiet place, where we and God alone together can hold converse, and new strength be poured into our hearts. Our Lord is here our pattern also, of willingly leaving the place of communion when duty calls and men implore. A great solemn “must” ruled His life, as it should do ours, and the fulfilment of that for which He “was sent” ever was His aim, rather than even the blessedness of solitary communion or the repose of the silent hour of prayer.—Maclaren.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Luke 4:31-44
Luke 4:31-44. A Vivid Glimpse of Christ’s Actual and Active Ministry.—We are enabled to follow His footsteps for nearly twenty-four hours.
I. In the earlier part of the day, He goes to the synagogue, teaches with great impression, and deepens this still further by the first instance of His power over “the possessed.”
II. In the after-part of the day, He raises Simon’s mother-in-law from her fevered bed to perfect health.
III. Later on the same evening, the afflicted people of the whole town are gathered round the door, and He heals them all.
IV. The night’s rest which followed must have been of the briefest, for He rose the next morning long before day broke, and retired into a solitary place for prayer.—Laidlaw.
The Record of a Single Sabbath’s Work.
I. A strange scene in a church.
II. A wonderful transformation in a private house.
III. The house turned into a public hospital from which all the diseased people go away cured.—Hastings.
Christ’s Daily Life.
I. His work of preaching.
II. His work of healing.
III. His hours of retirement.—W. Taylor.
Luke 4:31. “Came down to Capernaum.”—Jesus had before this visited Capernaum and wrought miracles of healing the fame of which had reached Nazareth (Luke 4:23); but now He makes it the headquarters of His work in Galilee. Probably the animosity towards Him manifested by His fellow-townsmen in Nazareth had something to do with His making this change. From John 2:12 we should understand that His mother and brethren also removed to Capernaum at the same time. Perhaps the hatred He had incurred was to some extent visited upon them. So intimately was He associated henceforth with Capernaum that it is called “His own city” (Matthew 9:1). It is strange that this city which is so much spoken of in the Gospels has completely disappeared; there are three or four theories as to which particular heap of ruins near the Sea of Galilee is to be identified with it. We can scarcely make any mistake in connecting this utter destruction with Christ’s own prophecy concerning the city (Matthew 11:23).
“Taught them.”—The substance of His teaching is given in Mark 1:15: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
Luke 4:32. “His word was with authority” (R.V.).—The teaching of Jesus was different from that to which the people were accustomed:
(1) He spoke as one sent and commissioned by God;
(2) He laid stress upon His own person and claims as “the Word of God made flesh”; and
(3) love for the souls of men shone out in all He said. The general characteristics of Rabbinical teaching have been described as follows: “The scribes varied greatly, like other men, in ability, character, and qualifications; but it would appear that in the time of our Lord the great bulk of them were pedantic in things that were obvious enough, and frivolous and jejune in all things that lay beyond. They were admirable guessers, and mighty in platitudes. They were ingenious in raising microscopic doubts, and perfect adepts in conjuring up conceit to do battle with conceit. They were skilful in splitting hairs to infinity, and proud of their ability to lead their hearers through the endless mazes of the imaginations of preceding rabbis—imaginations that ended in nothing, or in something that was actually worse than nothing. But they had no power, or almost none, to move the conscience toward true goodness, or to stir the heart toward God and toward man. They might speak, indeed, with positiveness enough; but it would not be with moral power. They might assert with dictatorial self-sufficiency; but it would not be with ‘demonstration of the Spirit’—demonstration flashing in conviction even upon reluctant souls” (Morison).
Luke 4:33-36. The Demoniac in the Synagogue.
I. The unhappy worshipper.—We can only conjecture the special meaning of the phrase here employed, “a spirit of an unclean devil.” He had not as yet been excluded from the synagogue worship. Or perhaps he rushed, spirit-driven, into the midst of the worshippers.
II. The sacred Presence provokes a crisis.—There is an unbelief which can never be silent. The demons could never confront Jesus calmly. They resent His interference. They are indignant at His saving work. They make weird, unearthly complaint.
III. Jesus is stern and cold.—He is gentle with sinful men. Not so here. As to a wild beast, He says, “Be muzzled. Come out of him.” Whereupon the evil spirit exhibits at once his ferocity and his defeat.
IV. The spectators draw the proper inference.—A new power implied a new revelation. Something far-reaching and profound might be expected from Him who commanded the unclean spirits with authority and was obeyed. Yet no one was converted by this miracle. All were amazed; but wonder is not self-surrender.—Chadwick.
Luke 4:33. “In the synagogue.”—It is strange to find a man possessed by an unclean spirit among the worshippers in the synagogue, but perhaps he had not before this given any open indication of the spiritual malady from which he was suffering. The excitement connected with the teaching of Christ, and the holiness of His person, may have disturbed the man’s mind and stirred up the rage of the evil spirit.
Luke 4:34. “What have we to do with Thee?”—The unclean spirit is the real speaker; but the utterance is that of the man, who, being in, i.e. possessed by, the evil spirit, becomes its mere instrument. In this respect a specific distinction may be observed in the mode of spiritual action in the case of true prophets: in them inspiration does not supersede personal consciousness; they either speak their own words, or they deliver a message in the name and in the words of the Lord.—Speaker’s Commentary.
“Art Thou come to destroy us?”—The Saviour had not, so far as appears, been formally interfering by a specific action. But His very presence on the scene was felt to be interference. There emanated from Him, round about, an influence that went in upon men blissfully, counteracting all evil influences. The unclean spirit felt the power, and resented it as an interference—an interference not with itself in particular, but with the entire circle of kindred spirits. “Art Thou come to destroy us?”—Morison.
“I know Thee … the Holy One of God.”—Earth has not recognised her King, disguised as He is like one of her own children; but heaven has borne witness to Him (Luke 2:11; Luke 3:22), and now hell must bear its witness too—“the devils believe and tremble.”—Trench.
The Outcry of the Evil Spirit.—Jerome speaks of the outcry of the evil spirit as being like the exclamations of a fugitive slave when he comes face to face with his master and seeks to deprecate his wrath. But it is more probable that on the part of the evil spirit there was a malignant intention to compromise Jesus by bearing testimony in favour of His high claims. The acknowledgment of the supreme power of the Saviour together with a refusal to submit to His rule is an illogical course of procedure we are only too familiar with in our own experience. To many of His professed disciples Jesus may say, “Why call ye Me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”
Luke 4:35. “Thrown him in the midst.”—The final deliverance of the sufferer from the evil spirit was accompanied by such a sharp paroxysm that evidently those in the synagogue thought that the man was dead. This is vividly indicated by the phrase “came out of him and hurt him not.” “Something similar to this violence of the evil spirit in the hour of its ejectment is evermore finding place; and Satan vexes with temptations and with buffetings none so much as those who are in the act of being delivered from his dominion for ever.” In the man possessed by the evil spirit we have a living picture of our own souls under the dominion of sin; just as in the power of Christ to heal the sufferer we have a proof of His ability to control the powers of darkness and to deliver us from subjection to them.
Luke 4:36-37. “They were all amazed.”—“We can imagine to ourselves the emotion of those assembled in the synagogue who, while they were listening in silence to the teaching of Jesus, saw in an instant such a storm break forth in their midst—an almost visible contest between the two spiritual powers which were disputing with each other for rule over mankind” (Godet). In their presence the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled: “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children” (Isaiah 49:25). The admiration manifested by those who witnessed this miracle and the fame with which the performance of such a work invested the Saviour no doubt indicate that His claim to have been sent from God was pretty widely accepted in the district. Yet after all it was but the springing up of the seed in the rocky ground where there was not sufficient deepness of earth. The words they heard and the mighty works they saw involved all the heavier punishment for their unbelief (Matthew 11:23).
Luke 4:38-41. Healing of the Body a Pledge of the healing of the Soul.
I. The fever rebuked.—
1. At the request of those around.
2. Accompanied by a specific action.
3. Followed by a complete recovery.
II. The evening’s work.—He began afresh and carried on probably late into the night His toilsome work. “Disease being the cold shadow of sin, its removal was a kind of sacrament, an outward and visible sign that the Healer of souls was nigh.”—Laidlaw.
Luke 4:38. “Simon’s house.”—Perhaps in the statement that Jesus on leaving the synagogue went to the house of a disciple rather than to that in which His mother and brethren were, we have an indication of an estrangement between Jesus and some of His own family who believed not on Him (cf. John 7:5). The fact that Peter was married is, one would think, calculated to disturb those who attach great importance to the doctrine of the celibacy to the clergy. We read of his wife as accompanying him in missionary journeys (1 Corinthians 9:5). Clement of Alexandria, in his Miscellanies, tells of her martyrdom in words that are very beautiful and free from exaggerated sentiment. “They say that the blessed Peter, when he saw his wife led away to death, rejoiced that she was graciously called, and was returning to her home, and that, calling her by name, he addressed her in words of encouragement and consolation, ‘Remember thou the Lord.’ Such was the marriage of the saints, and such their perfect state of mind towards their dearest.”
“A great fever.”—I.e. typhoid fever.
“They besought Him for her.”—I.e. evidently Peter and his wife.
Luke 4:39. “Rebuked the fever.”—It is not necessary to understand the word “rebuke” as implying a personification of the fever: it evidently means speaking in a firm, authoritative manner, and tolerating no resistance to His command.
“Rose up and ministered unto them.”—The instantaneousness and completeness of the cure is indicated in the fact that she immediately, on leaving the bed on which sickness had laid her, ministered to the Saviour and the others, i.e. waited upon them at the table. We may apply this circumstance to our spiritual duties. “The first use she made of her recovered strength was to employ it in her Master’s service. And does she not become a pattern therein to Christians, who on their restoration to spiritual health should employ their powers in ministering to Christ in the person of the poorest members of His mystical body?”—Burgon.
Consecration of Renewed Powers.—There is a whole cluster of suggestions here.
I. Every sick person who is restored should hasten to consecrate to God the life that is given back.—Surely it was spared for a purpose.
II. Opportunities to minister to Christ in the persons of His people are at hand and innumerable.—No need to wait for fine and splendid service. True ministry to Christ is doing first and well one’s daily duties.—Miller.
Luke 4:40. “All they that had any sick.”—Observe His Divine power and goodness shining forth in the miraculous cure of all diseases. And whatsoever be thy spiritual maladies, though never so many and so desperate, yet come. Never any came to Him and went away uncured.—Leighton.
“Laid His hands on every one.”—Jesus could certainly have cured by a word (Luke 7:6-10), or even by a simple exercise of will (John 4:50). But there is first of all something profoundly human in this act of laying His hand on the head of each one whom He wished to benefit. It was an indication of kindly feeling. Then, too, it was morally significant. Each time that Jesus made use of material means for working a cure, whether it were by the sound of His voice or by the use of clay made with His spittle, His purpose was to establish a personal tie between the sufferer and Himself; for He wished not only to cure, but to lead to God, and to do that by presenting Himself as the organ of Divine grace among mankind. It is this moral purpose which explains the diversity in the means which He employed. If they had been in themselves curative—if, for example, they had been of the nature of magnetic passes—they would not have varied so much. But as they were directed to the heart of the sufferer, they were chosen with special reference to his character or condition. In the case of a deaf-mute, Jesus put His fingers in his ears; He anointed the eyes of a blind man with His spittle, etc. The cure, therefore, was presented to the heart of those healed as an emanation from His person, and attached them to Him by an indissoluble tie.—Godet.
The Miracles of Healing Prophetic.—In the healing of all manner of diseases, Jesus not only gave a proof of His power to cope with all the evils bodily and spiritual that afflict mankind, but gave a prophetic representation of the state of blessedness in the new heavens and earth, from which all that mars our happiness will be for ever excluded. In the miracles of healing we have the first-fruits of that Divine beneficence which will overcome and banish all our sorrows (cf. Revelation 21:3-4).
Luke 4:42. Christ in Solitude.—He was continually withdrawing Himself from human sight and contact in those deserts of Palestine and praying. With teaching and healing, prayer divided His life. Have we too no need of like withdrawings after Him and with Him into the wilderness? Are we so intensely spiritual that we need none of that desecularising, decarnalising process of which the desert seclusions of Jesus were the perpetual parable? It is not safe to have the world always with us. The ground “lacks moisture” which has only the glare of day upon it.—Vaughan.
Solitude often Dreaded.—What is it that makes solitude dreadful to some and oppressive to many? Partly
(1) the sense of physical danger, born of helplessness and uncertainty. This Jesus never felt, who knew that He must walk to-day and to-morrow, and on the third day be perfected. And partly
(2) the weight of unwelcome reflection, the rebukes of memory, the fears that come of guilt. Jesus was agitated by no inward discords, upbraided by no remorse. He had probably no reveries; He is never recorded to soliloquise; solitude to Him was but another name for communion with God His Father; He was never alone, for God was with Him.—Chadwick.
Jesus makes Time for Prayer.—Jesus would always find time for prayer, or make time for it. If His days were full of excitement and toil, He would take time out of His nights for communion with God. At least, He never allowed Himself to be robbed of His hours of devotion. Is not His example a solemn rebuke?—Miller.
The Order of these Events.—From St. Mark’s Gospel we get several additional particulars which enable us to understand more clearly the narrative in this place. In the morning, long before the darkness of the night was past, Jesus rose up and left the house of Simon Peter and went into a desert place to pray. When His absence was discovered, Simon Peter and others went in search of Him, and entreated Him not to leave them. The early morning, the silent departure from the house, the purpose for which He sought the solitude of the desert, and the search for Him, form a very striking picture. The active labours of the preceding day caused Jesus to feel the necessity of recruiting His spiritual strength by withdrawing Himself for a time from the turmoil of the world and by holding communion with His heavenly Father. How much more do we need to seek from time to time to collect together our thoughts which are so easily dissipated by our every-day occupations, and to seek from God that spiritual refreshment that will make us strong to serve Him and our fellow-men! For we cannot give out unless we receive from Him.
The Search for Jesus.—Jesus had doubtless enjoyed some uninterrupted hours of such communings with His heavenly Father ere His friends from Capernaum arrived in search of Him. When morning came, Peter, loath to break in upon the repose of his glorious Guest, would await His appearance beyond the usual hour; but at length, wondering at the stillness, and gently coming to see where the Lord lay, he finds it—like the sepulchre afterwards—empty! Speedily a party is made up to go in search of Him, Peter naturally leading the way.—Brown.
Luke 4:43. “I must preach the kingdom of God.”—No doubt those who had witnessed the miracles in Capernaum expected to see a repetition of marvels of the same kind; but in the words in which Jesus replied to their request to remain among them, He lays stress upon preaching “the good tidings of the kingdom of God” as the great work He was sent to do. As the Saviour of Israel, and not merely of Capernaum, a moral obligation lay upon Him to go from city to city. It would no doubt have been pleasanter to remain among those who showed a disposition to pay Him reverence. But “even Christ pleased not Himself.” “The Saviour of the world might, indeed, by abiding in the same place, have drawn all men unto Himself; but He did not do so, because He would give us an example to go about, and seek those who are perishing, as the shepherd his lost sheep.”
“Other cities.”—Jesus went about doing good. He did not confine His blessings to single localities. He sought to reach as many souls as possible. He did not wait for people to come to Him, but carried the good news to their own doors. He thus taught that—
I. His gospel is for all men, and not for any particular place. He taught us also—
II. To make the most of our lives and opportunities, scattering the blessings of grace as widely as possible. He wants His Church to keep on preaching the gospel to “other cities also,” till there is not one left in which it has not been heard.—Miller.
Luke 4:44. “The synagogues of Galilee.”—Our Lord’s procedure in this first missionary journey was therefore to visit various towns, and to preach in synagogues on successive Sabbaths. It has been calculated that the time occupied must have been some four or five months. Galilee at this period was a very populous district. Josephus says that it contained two hundred and four towns, with not less than fifteen thousand inhabitants in each, i.e. more than three million of a population. Even if he has exaggerated the number, it must still have been considerable.