4:33,34
Demons are real, and sometimes they will have dramatic effects. We should of course be wary of seeing demons everywhere, but we would be equally stupid to neglect the reality of demons. There was a man in the synagogue who was possessed by a demon. Luke also calls it an “impure spirit”, some versions call it an unclean spirit. The uncleanness refers to the evilness of the spirit. It cannot be in the presence of God. Hence the reaction to the presence of Jesus. The demon had a much better idea of who Jesus was than almost anyone else!
4:35-37
Despite the demon’s “bravado”, Jesus had authority over the demon. He told it to be quiet and to come out of the man, and the demon did as it was told. Jesus had authority over demons, and later on Luke will tell us that we too have authority.
The people were amazed at all this. They knew the reality of demons, and they saw that Jesus had power over demons. So news about Jesus spread throughout the region.
There is a pointless debate in the wider church between those who focus on the “show” (mostly charismatic types) and those who focus on sound teaching (eg reformed types). As always we would do well to follow the example of the Bible itself, where there is an emphasis on both “show” (ie real demonstrations of the power of the Holy Spirit) and teaching, and this, of course, goes along with a godly lifestyle.
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