The Life of the Messiah (Continued)

Messiah's Early Ministry

Synagogue in Israel

Power over Demons—A Messianic Sign

Having been rejected by those in the synagogue in Nazareth, the Messiah travelled to Capernaum. There He entered the synagogue. A man with the spirit of an unclean devil was troubled at the presence of the One who is stronger than Satan. Jesus commanded the demon, “be quiet and come out of him”. With a last defiant flourish, it “cast down” the poor, possessed individual and then left him. This demonstration of Messianic control over Satan amazed everyone who talked of His authority and power. The phrasing of Scripture at this place is quite significant. The man had “a spirit of an unclean devil”. The Jews made a difference between an unclean spirit and an evil spirit; ‘evil spirit’ being the general term for the demon while ‘unclean spirit’ was the description of a demon that found its element among the tombs and other places that were most unclean (that is, ritually unclean). The Talmud speaks of the necromancer who visits burial places to be better inspired of an unclean spirit. Similarly, they under-stood those with the spirit of python, or the prophesying spirit, to be of the same kind. Here then is the significance of the Messiah’s first recorded exorcism, that it demonstrated the power of the Messiah over Satan, especially Satan seen as the Serpent (the spirit of python) (cf. Acts 16:16), and Satan as an unclean Spirit, who had the power of death and produced in humans the fear of death (cf. Heb. 2:14,15).

 It is clear that the grip of Satan on the population would have to be broken before Israel could be free to accept (or reject) Jesus as their Messiah. The ministry of exorcism, conducted by the Messiah and His disciples, was essential to accomplish this. By the end of this particular day many of those possessed by demons had been healed, their devilish tormentors confessing as they were dismissed: “You are the Messiah, the Son of God” (Luke 4:41). Here is an indicator that demons were compelled to acknowledge the deity of Jesus as well as His Messianic office. These victories over demons were consequent upon the successful stand taken by Jesus in the wilderness, from which He had returned in the power of the Holy Spirit.

 The gospels also mention other individual exorcisms, such as the Gadarene demoniac (one who, like the ‘unclean demon’ of Luke 4 inhabited ritually unclean locations like cemeteries) and Mary, who had been possessed by seven devils. There will be the very important case in Matthew 12 when the Sanhedrists charge Jesus of being a servant to Beelzebub (which we will examine in due course). Jesus delegated this power over Satan’s domain to His disciples when He sent them out to the towns and villages of Israel: “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:19) They exercised this power in the name of the Messiah. Matthew described the power delegated to the twelve apostles: “And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matt.10:7) The early Church continued this ministry (Acts 8:7; 16:18; 19:12).

 Next time: John and the Sanhedrists