Day 169 – The Demon-possessed Man in the Synagogue!!!

The Demon-possessed Man in the Synagogue!! 

Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbath. And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority. Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice,  saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”

 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him. Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, “What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.”  And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region……. Luke 4:31-37 
In our previous study we were considering how those who listened to Jesus in the synagogue at Nazareth reacted to his preaching. We noted that while He spoke gracious words, the people admired and commended Him but when He spoke about Truth, they were filled with Wrath and sought to kill Him but no one could touch Him because His time to Die has not yet come. What the Father did for Jesus He do for us if we walk as Jesus walked. So Here, we read of Jesus in the synagogue at Capernaum teaching and casting out a Demon. 
Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbath.  : Jesus Himself had taught His Disciples that, ” When they persecute you in this city, flee to another(Matt 10:23).” So we see Jesus doing what He taught. Since they Persecuted Him in the synagogue at Nazareth, He flee to the one at Capernaum. There is no Wisdom in exposing our lives to danger when God has provided a Way of Escape. There is no need for jumping from the pinnacle of the Temple when the Lord has provided a staircase. If the Lord has provided a Way of Escape from Persecution. Then use it!!! Unless God specifically told you not to Flee. When His time came to Die, Jesus went to Jerusalem despite He knew that He was being Persecuted there. So there is no rulebook concerning what we must do in some particular persecution. This is why there is a need to be sensitive to the Voice of the Holy Spirit to know what God wants you to do at each time. Whether to Flee or to stand. 

It is also interesting to notice that when Jesus came to Capernaum, He continued teaching again. One would have thought  He will be afraid to speak again since He was Persecuted for speaking the Truth at Nazareth. The Persecution Jesus faced never affected His Service to the Father. His Food was to do the work of His Father. We must learn from Jesus never to stop preaching and teaching the Truth. When they reject us in one place for speaking the Truth, we must never be afraid to speak that same truth in another place out of fear of being rejected there also. 
And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.: Jesus had authority in His words because of two reasons. First of all, He had lived in obedience to His Father for 30 years and secondly He was anointed with the Holy Spirit. What the Father did for Jesus, He will go for us, if we Live in obedience to the commandments of God in the New testament and are anointed with the Holy Spirit. Our message also will be with authority. 
Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon.: How is this Possible that a Man who was in the Synagogue attending the regular Sabbath meetings be Demon-possessed. Can a Born again Child of God be possessed by Demons? In the Old Covenant, we read so much about Demon possession and it is very possible that those who still live under the principles of the Old Covenant to be tormented by the Demons. 
And he cried out with a loud voice,  saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”: It is amazing to discover that Devil and His Demons recognized Jesus as the Son of God. They were correct in their Doctrines!!! What Flesh and blood could not reveal to Peter but by Divine Revelation from God the Father, the Devil Knows(Matt 16:15-17). You believe that Jesus is the Son of God? Good, But the Devil also believes it and Tremble(James 2:19).The Devil knows  and Confess that Jesus is the Son of God but Yet He remains as the Devil. What is important is not knowledge and correctness of our Doctrines and Facts about Jesus. The important thing is the Way we Live. What makes the Saints different from the Demons is not their Knowledge But their Lives. Let us therefore not be satisfied with knowledge that Does not change the way we Live each day. Also note, it is possible to Call Jesus the Son of God and Yet Have nothing to do with Him!!! There are many who confessed Jesus as the Son of God but their Behaviours have nothing to do with Christ. Those who Confess Jesus as the Son of God but Lie, Cheat, keep malice, Gossip, Fornicate, masturbate, watch dirty movies and many more are simply saying in their actions that “we have Nothing to do with Christ!!!” And they will be surprised when the Lord says to them in the Last day “Depart from Me!!! For I never Knew You!!! Get away from Me, For you called me Lord, Lord but Your behaviours have nothing to do with Me!!!” Let us therefore fear, lest we become Like the Devil!!!

The Devil knows that there is a time appointed when they will be tormented. They also know that the time has not yet come. The time for their torment will come when Jesus come to

set up His Kingdom on Earth. And as they Look forward to that Day, they are afraid!!! But it is important to know now that every Demon has been defeated on Calvary. For on the Cross, Christ disarmed them of All their powers and He made a public show of them as He triumph over them all ( Colossians 2:14-15). Let All the Demons in Hell gather together, Know this for sure “They have All been disarmed!!, All their weapons against us has been collected” So when You see a Demon-possessed person, ask Yourself “Does this person have a Demon that has not been Defeated at Calvary?” Definitely Not!!! No one Likes to be reminded of their defeat, even the Devil does not Like it. It is a good habit to remind the Devil always of How He was defeated at Calvary. If we live abiding in Christ, Demons will know that we have authority over them in the name of Jesus. “Is this the Picture You have as a spiritual Christian? Not one who is scared of Demons but one whom demon have to plead!!! They knew Jesus had such authority because His

Life was so pure. He lived in such obedience to the Father and the Demons know that. If we walk in the footsteps of Jesus, We will have the same Authority. Shame on us if Demons says to us “Jesus i know, and Paul I know, But who are You?(Acts 19:15)”
But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him. : Jesus will not receive any testimony for a Demon. Generally, Demons are liars so what is the Joy of receiving the testimony of a Liar? On like many of today’s Preachers that we see who ask Demons questions saying, “Am I a real Man of God?” and if the Demon-possessed Persons says, “Yes”. The whole congregation are happy. This is rubbish and child’s play!!! Demons are liars!!! 

There is a very interesting story in Acts 16:16-18 saying, ” Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour.” The girl was speaking the Truth but Paul will not receive a Testimony for a Demon. Let us therefore walk in the footsteps of Jesus and His Apostles. 
Dear Friend, There is no partiality with God. If we walk in obedience and Footsteps of Jesus and His Apostles, the whole world will be amazed with the authority the Father has given unto us and the report about Jesus will spread through our lives. May the Lord give us Grace to walk as Jesus walked. (Amen). God bless you. Have a blessed day. 
#Everyday with Jesus.