Ron Ritchie, of Penisula Bible Church, in a message, “HOW SHOULD WE RESPOND TO A SICK SOCIETY?”-
Luke 4:36 And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!”
Not only are we to know our relationship to God and with each other, but we need to know of our relationship to the evil one. We must learn who he is and his intentions towards us. Since he seeks to destroy us by his deceptions, we need to be armed with God’s truth in order to counteract his lies.
For example, whenever the word of God is taught, there is more then one spirit present. In [Luke 4] verse 33, we see a man in the synagogue “having a spirit of an unclean demon.” This was an immoral man whom Satan was ruling through one of his demons. A demon is an invisible evil spirit, an intelligent created being. It had taken residence in this man’s body and had full control over his mind and actions. Like his master Satan, his mission was to enslave this man and use him to deceive those around him.
Apparently, this synagogue was no threat to Satan because it was imprisoned by the law, and thus remained powerless to set others free. However, Jesus’ teaching on freedom from the law through relationship with the Messiah endangered Satan’s kingdom. So the demon started screaming: “Ha! What do we have to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are-the Holy One of Israel!” The demon recognized and acknowledged our Lord’s power, position, and person. The Jews, who heard the announcement, would be confused by our Lord’s source of power. How best for Satan to strike back but in a religious setting where he hoped to get the Jews to think that Jesus and Satan were working together?
Why did Jesus respond, “Be muzzled!”? It was inappropriate that Jesus the Messiah should be proclaimed by representatives of the evil one. This would have given the Pharisees grounds for a charge brought against him later, that of being Satan’s ally (Matt. 12:24; John 8:44f).
Jesus healed the man spiritually: “Come out of Him! And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he went out of him without doing him any harm.” The Jews’ reacted in amazement at the Lord’s refreshing message and the power and authority displayed by him in casting out the demon. The report of his activities on that Sabbath morning traveled quickly like a voice over the waters of the lake outside the synagogue to all the surrounding districts.
Knowing God through His Word ... Day by Day 