Slices
Prepare
Pray: ‘Break open your words, let the light shine out, let ordinary people see the meaning’ (Psalm 119:130, The Message).
Bible passage
Jesus drives out an impure spirit
31 Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. 32 They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority.
33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34 ‘Go away! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God!’
35 ‘Be quiet!’ Jesus said sternly. ‘Come out of him!’ Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.
36 All the people were amazed and said to each other, ‘What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!’ 37 And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.
Jesus heals many
38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. 39 So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.
40 At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of illness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. 41 Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.
42 At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. 43 But he said, ‘I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.’ 44 And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
Explore
Caesar Augustus’ call for a census wasn’t just an announcement; it was a proclamation that took effect and affected lives across the Roman Empire (Luke 2:1–3). Jesus’ proclamation of good news effected the inauguration of God’s kingdom (Luke 4:18,19). In the stories that follow, Luke shows how this proclamation of ‘the year of the Lord’s favour’ is put into effect as Jesus brings healing and freedom from disease, demonic forces, and sin (vs 35,38–41; 5:20). These signs demonstrate that God’s kingdom is breaking through the darkness, bringing light and life to people.
When God said, ‘Let there be light’, there was light (Genesis 1:3). The angel’s declaration, ‘I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people’ (Luke 2:10), affirmed that God was delivering on his promise to bring deliverance. We speak today of ‘happening places’, where interesting or exciting action takes place. Jesus’ words are ‘happening words’ – authority-backed, power-packed words that don’t merely announce but accomplish that which they promise. No wonder the onlookers asked, ‘What’s going on here? Someone whose words make things happen?’ (v 36, The Message).
Respond
God declares, ‘…so is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it’ (Isaiah 55:11). Are you cooperating with God’s purposes by sharing his life-giving Word?
Deeper Bible study
‘First, do no harm.’1 Is this our attitude to others?
After escaping the crowd’s threat, Jesus goes from Nazareth to Capernaum, where he has a dramatic encounter with a man possessed by a demon. Just as in Mark’s account,2 which is almost certainly Luke’s source for these stories, Luke emphasises that Jesus’ spiritual authority is so overwhelming that even unclean spirits recognise and dramatically witness to his divine origins. Luke adds a phrase which Mark does not have: the spirit comes out of the man ‘without injuring him’ (v 35).
This shows Luke’s pastoral concern for the well-being of the man being healed. There is no question that he is set free by Jesus’ supreme power, but Luke wants his readers to know that no harm befalls him in the process. It is hard to imagine a more relevant focus for a church that is committed to safeguarding the vulnerable and the distressed, but which is having to come to terms with the reality that it has often failed in this responsibility. It is all too easy, in prayer and pastoral ministry, to allow coercive, oppressive or damaging patterns to emerge, related to the misuse of power, but this passage reminds us that no collateral damage is allowed.
Towards the end of this section, Luke provides a hint about the source of his ability to heal without injuring. After many power healings, Jesus goes out to a solitary place at daybreak (v 42). His priority is maintaining intimacy with the Father in prayer and, though he must be exhausted, these lonely places of connection with God allow him to refocus on his calling and his true priorities. We have the privilege of ministering in Jesus’ authority, by the power of the Holy Spirit, but this must honour the physical, mental, emotional and psychological well-being of those to whom we minister, or else it can be abusive.
In your place of solitary prayer, allow God to refocus your heart on his priorities for you today.
1 A principle contained in the Hippocratic Oath, taken by graduating medical students throughout the world 2 Mark 1:21–28
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Nehemiah 13; Luke 10
Pray for Scripture Union
The Maze and Spot the Difference holidays are moving to a new venue in Derbyshire this summer. Please pray for the leaders and children as they adapt to being in a different environment, and for excitement at being back together again in person.
