Luke 4: 31-37 Did That Demon Know Jesus Better Than Me?

Jesus Casts Out a Demon

31Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue every Sabbath day. 32There, too, the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority.

33Once when he was in the synagogue, a man possessed by a demon—an evil^g spirit—began shouting at Jesus, 34“Go away! Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

35Jesus cut him short. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. At that, the demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched; then it came out of him without hurting him further.

36Amazed, the people exclaimed, “What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!” 37The news about Jesus spread through every village in the entire region.

The demon says some very interesting things to Jesus.

“Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth?”
- Does the demon have rights here on Earth? Scary thought!
“Have you come to destroy us?”
- The demon seems to have know doubt about what Jesus can do. He doesn’t fight him or attempt to resist him. It’s as if the demon knows that Jesus can do whatever Jesus wants to do. Comforting thought!
“I know who you are–the Holy One of God!” These are the words that struck me.

The demon knew exactly who Jesus was. He has no doubt about it and he willingly says it: “the Holy One of God”. Do I know Jesus so well? Do you? I think I do but I seldom stand in front of a crowd and proclaim it so robustly. The demon is shouting it for all to hear. Do I do that? If I don’t, why not?

There is another side to this. The demon knew who Jesus was, but the demon was not saved. He obviously didn’t love Jesus and didn’t follow Jesus. This makes it painfully clear that knowing Jesus is not enough for us either. Knowing who Jesus is doesn’t mean we love him or hate him…follow him or crucify him…will be saved by him or destroyed by him.

Lastly, if even the demons know Jesus, does anyone really not know him? I realize there may be plenty of people who don’t know his name or think there is no God, or whatever. I’m not talking about that. I mean, in the deep recesses of our souls, in the quiet of night, I believe every human soul knows there is a God who created and loves them. We all know we created by this loving God to fulfill a Godly purpose and we all know we have fallen short and need some sort of miracle to be with that God and gain some sort of “wholeness” in our lives.

Lord, help me to not only know you, but to love and follow you. Help me to stand and shout who you are as loud as the demons of this world, and then to live with your love and grace so the on lookers in life choose to follow you and love you too.

I can barely hear you. 😉