Luke

4:31-44

The mission of the Messiah, 1:5-9:50

3. The signs of the Messiah, 4:31-6:11

i] The sign at Capernaum - Lord over darkness

For Luke, Jesus messianic ministry begins with proclamation, and as has often been the case with God's rebellious people, a prophetic word is not always well received. Now Luke records a day in the life of Jesus where the authority of the word is expressed in signs - wondrous miracles. With a word of authority, during the morning synagogue-service in Capernaum, Jesus heals a demon-possessed man. Awe and wonder is the response of the congregation. Then, in the afternoon, Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law of a fever. The Sabbath having ended, a crowd gathers outside the home and healings and exorcisms follow. The next morning, Jesus is at prayer when the disciples seek him out (Mark) / the crowd seeks him out (Luke), presumably so that he can perform more miracles, but Jesus reminds them that his task is proclamation, "to preach the good tidings of the kingdom of God", RV ("that I may preach", Mk.1:38).

The dawning of the new age of the kingdom of God is inaugurated with an authoritative word in signs and wonders. It is for this purpose that Jesus was sent to broken humanity.

i] Context: See 1:5-25. This passage is the first episode in the third section, The signs of the Messiah, 4:31-6:11, a section which deals with the acts of the Messiah, acts which reveal the nature of the messiah's authority. The six episodes are in the form of messianic signs which together reveal the simple truth, "he does what only God can do"; thus "he supersedes all authorities before him, and sets forth to Israel a new and startling meaning of Messiah's person and rule", Ellis. The first three episodes authenticate Jesus' messianic authority in word and sign, such that great crowds gather to hear him and be cured by him, 5:15. The next three episodes present as conflict stories. These stories reveal the first signs of the hardening of Israel to Jesus and his logoV, "word / news." Other than the second episode, The sign of the fish, 5:1-11, all the episodes are paralleled in Mark. Matthew has a similar story to Luke's sign of the fish (usually viewed as taken from Q).

ii] Structure: A Day in the Life of Jesus:

iii] Interpretation:

iv] Synoptics

v] Homiletics: A Day in the Life of Jesus

A Day in the Life of Jesus, v31-44: i] Setting, v31-32. Luke, as with Mark, identifies the town as Capernaum (Luke adds that it is "a city of Galilee"), and that it was a Sabbath day, that Jesus was teaching in the synagogue, and that the people were "amazed" at his "authority", ie., his "first-hand knowledge of God", Danker.

kai "Then" - and. Transitional. Again, Luke uses this coordinating conjunction to transition to a major new section.

eiV + acc. "to [Capernaum]" - [he went down] into [capernaum]. Expressing the direction of the action and arrival at. Going down from Nazareth in the hill country to Capernaum beside Lake Galilee.

thV GalilaiaV (a) "in Galilee" - [a city] of galilee. The genitive is adjectival, attributive, idiomatic / local; "a city located in Galilee." "A city in Galilee" stands in apposition to "Capernaum".

en + dat. "on [the Sabbath]" - [and] on [the sabbaths]. Temporal use of the preposition.

h\n didaskwn (didaskw) pres. part. "he taught" - [and] he was teaching [them]. The imperfect of the verb to-be plus the present participle forms a periphrastic imperfect construction, possibly emphasising aspect; an ongoing process, so Fitzmyer, although Culy suggests "in the process of teaching." Often the imperfect is chosen to provide background information.

epi + dat. "at [his teaching]" = [and they were amazed] upon [the teaching of him]. Probably causal here; "because of his teaching."

oJti "because" - because. Introducing a causal clause explaining why they were amazed.

en + dat. "-" - [the word of him was] in = with [authority]. Adverbial use of the preposition, modal, expressing manner, so Culy, although Marshall suggests that it is associative; Jesus' words come with divine power. Mark's "not as the scribes", RV, probably indicates this associative sense, since the scribes may be excellent teachers, but their words don't drive sickness away and demons into a panic. This divine "authority" in company with Jesus is evident in his teaching as it is in his command over the powers of darkness.

ii] The exorcism of the demon-possessed man, v33-37. In the context of teaching, and following the account of Jesus' testing in the wilderness, it is appropriate that the first recorded miracle Jesus performs is an exorcism - Satan faces defeat at the hand of the one who possesses divine authority and power. In the inter-testamentary period, Judaism personified the evils of the age as the direct interference of Satan, Beelzebul, and his cohort of evil spirits. "The evil one" / "the enemy", and his minions, not only inflict humanity with sickness, both mental and physical, but even possession. So, in this pericope, Luke presents us with the most serious of satanic problems, a man possessed by "the spirit of an unclear devil", RV. Mark simply has "unclean spirit", but Luke leaves us in no doubt as the origins of this man's condition.

ecwn (ecw) pres. part. "-" - [and in the synagogue there was a man] having. The participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting "man", "a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon", ESV.

daimoniou (on) gen. "demon" - [spirit] of an [unclean] demon. It is best we go with Nolland and treat this genitive as adjectival, epexegetic, specifying the "spirit" in mind. A person could be infused with the Holy Spirit, but this man is infused with "a spirit" which is demonic. In Greek culture a daimonion, "demon", may be benevolent, so Luke uses the attributive adjective akaqartou, "unclean, evil", to limit the "demon" in mind. "There was a man in the synagogue under the influence of some evil spirit", Phillips.

qwnh/ (h) dat. "voice" - [and he cried out] in a [loud] voice. The dative is instrumental / adverbial, here expressing the manner of his "crying out", ie., it was "loud"; "he yelled out", CEV.

The demon reacts at the presence of Jesus with an exclamation of surprise - in modern communication, a package of expletives would make the point well. In defiance, it tells Jesus not to meddle with it, adding something like "think you've come to destroy us have you?" Then, most likely in an attempt to take control over Jesus, it states its knowledge of Jesus - it knows that he is the messiah (It was believed that knowledge about a person gives control over them).

e[a (ejaw) pres. imp. "Go away" - leave us alone / ha. It is unclear whether Luke intends a demand on the part of the evil spirit or the interjection / exclamation "alas"; "Ha!", ESV.

hJmin kai soi dat. pro. "[what] do you want with us" - [what] to us and to you. The datives may be classified as possessive, so Culy. An idiomatic phrase which highlights the gulf between two parties, "What have you to do with us?"; "What have we in common?", Marshall, although he notes that in the LXX the sense is "Why are you interfering with me?" "Don't meddle with me", Marshall.

apolesai (apollumi) aor. inf. "to destroy" - [did you come] to destroy [us]? The infinitive is adverbial, expressing purpose, "in order to destroy us." The plural could mean the demon and the man together. If this is the case, the demon is taunting Jesus; to destroy the demon Jesus will have to destroy an innocent human being. Yet, it is more likely that the plural applies to the subjects of the demonic underworld.

qeou (oV) gen. "of God" - [i know who you are, the holy one] of god. The genitive is adjectival, relational. The phrase "the Holy One of God" stands in apposition to tivV, "who". The demons know that Jesus is the Christ, the Lord, the Son of Man, Son of God, ie., that he is the messiah, God's anointed one, cf., v41.

At the command of Jesus, the demon is cast out of the man without hurting him - a complete cure. Mark tells us that on exiting, the man is convulsed, whereas Luke tells us that he is thrown into the middle of the congregation.

autw/ dat. pro. "-" - [and jesus rebuked] him. Dative of direct object after the epi prefix verb "to rebuke."

legwn (legw) pres. part. "said" - saying. This participle, as with legonteV, is usually classified as attendant circumstance expressing action accompanying the main verb. In the translation of the sentence it is treated as redundant, or at least semi-redundant, serving as a Semitic construction introducing direct speech, similar to the statement "having answered he said." Culy and company tend to reject an attendant circumstance classification, arguing that an attendant circumstance participle should express a separate but related action to the main verb, not the same action. So, Culy classifies such a participle as adverbial, serving to modify the main verb, usually expressing manner, sometimes expressing means, as here, "Jesus rebuked him by saying."

ap (apo) + gen. "of him" - [be silent and come out] from [him]. Expressing separation, "away from", reinforcing the ek prefix of the verb "to come out" / stylistic. Both verbs are imperatives indicating a command.

rJiyan (rJiptw) aor. part. "threw [the man] down" - [the demon] having thrown [him, came out from him into the middle]. The participle is adverbial, best treated as temporal; "After throwing him down before them, the demon did come out of him", Moffatt.

mhden acc. adj. "without" - not = without. The accusative is adverbial, expressing manner, "in no way", BDAG 647b; "left him without harming him", CEV.

blayan (blaptw) aor. part. "injuring" - having harmed [him]. The participle is adverbial, modal, expressing the manner of its coming out of him.

With the spiritual power of the Spirits anointing and divine authority from on high, Jesus defeats the powers of darkness. The congregation is amazed; "What in the name of all that's good and holy is going on here" - as we might say today.

legonteV (legw) pres. part. "said" - [and fear, amazement, wonder came upon all and they were speaking with, discussing toward one another] saying. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to speak with", redundant, introducing direct speech, or adverbial, expressing the manner of their speaking, see legwn above

oJti "-" - [what is this word] that. The NIV takes the conjunction here as epexegetic of oJ logoV ou|toV, "this word"; "What is this word? Namely that, he commands the unclean spirits with authority and power." It is also possibly causal, although more reason than cause, "What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits", ESV, so Goodspeed. As Thompson notes, logoV, "word", may mean "matter, thing", possibly used for an idiomatic statement like "What is going on here?"

en + dat. "with [authority]" - with [authority and power he commands, gives order to]. Here adverbial, expressing manner or means.

toiV ... pneumasin (a atoV) "[impure] spirits" - the [unclean] spirits. Dative of direct object after the verb "to give orders to."

kai "and" - and [they come out]? Here possibly consecutive, expressing result; "so that they come out", Knox.

Jesus' fame spreads in the district surrounding Capernaum.

exeporeueto (ekporeuomai) imperf. "-" - [and a report, news] was going out. The imperfect may be used here to express durative action, but then it may also just be used to indicate background information.

peri + gen. "about" - about [him into every place]. Here expressing reference / respect; "concerning him."

thV pericwrou adj. "the surrounding [area]" - of the surrounding. The adjective serves as a substantive, "the surrounding region, district", the genitive being adjectival, partitive / wholative.

iii] The healing of Simon's mother-in-law, v38-39. Fever is one of the curses that befell Israel for breaking the covenant (Deut.28:22), and so now, in the presence of the disciples' and Peter's family, the messiah lifts the curse. Unlike Mark, who has Jesus heal with a grasp of the hand, Luke describes the healing in line with the casting out of the demon; Jesus epetimhsen, "rebukes", it, and like the demon, it leaves her at once. The healing is so complete that she gets up and serves those present with a meal. Unlike Luke, Mark names the disciples present; "they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John", RV. This is the type of information Peter may add to Mark's account of the tradition, but which is an unnecessary element in its overall preservation. So, rather than Luke leaving the names out, they may not have been present in his received tradition.

de "-" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a step in the narrative.

anastaV (anisthmi) aor. part. "left" - [and] having arisen [from the synagogue, he entered into the house of simon]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "he entered"; "he arose = left ...... and entered ....." Possibly adverbial, temporal, "on leaving", "after going out ....."

de "now" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a change in subject from Jesus to Simon's mother-in-law. This pattern is repeated in the following verses.

h|n sunecomenh (sunecw) pres. part. "was suffering from" - [mother-in-law of simon] was constrained with, suffering with. The imperfect verb to-be with the present participle forms a periphrastic imperfect construction, probably emphasising aspect; "Simon's mother-in-law was in the grip of a major fever", Barclay.

puretw/ (ou etoV) dat. "a [high] fever" - a [great] fever [and they asked him about her]. Dative of direct object after the sun prefix verb "to constrain with."

epistaV (efisthmi) aor. part. "so he bent over" - [but/and] having set over, attended [over her he rebuked the fever and it left her]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to rebuke"; "he stood over her and rebuked the fever", ESV. Possibly adverbial, consecutive, expressing result, as NIV.

epitimhsen adv. "at once" - [but/and] immediately. The temporal adverb stresses the complete and immediate nature of the healing. Mark uses the adverb euquV for "immediately", a minor indicator that Luke may be working off an oral, rather than a written account.

anastasa (anisthmi) aor. part. "she got up" - having arisen [she was serving]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to serve", as NIV, or adverbial, temporal, "Then she immediately got up and ministered to them", Moffatt,

autoiV dat. pro. "them" - them. Dative of direct object after the verb "to serve, wait on."

iv] Community healings, v40-41. The Sabbath having ended at sunset, the townsfolk bring out "those afflicted by diseases of one kind or another", Cassirer. As for those possessed of demons, Jesus casts them out. Mark tells us that Jesus did not let them speak "because they knew him." Luke adds that they tried to declare "You are the Son of God", "because they knew that he was the Christ". Luke wants to keep Jesus' messianic credentials at the forefront of his readers' attention. As for silencing the demons, Jesus may be maintaining the messianic secret, ie., to limit overt messianic declarations that can lead to apocalyptic speculation and/or political ramifications. Yet, it seems more likely that by declaring a knowledge of Jesus, the demons seek to control him, but even this weapon is without power in the presence of God's messiah.

dunantoV (dunw) gen. pres. part. "At sunset" - [but/and the sun] setting. The genitive participle with its genitive subject forms a genitive absolute construction, temporal, as NIV; "Now when the sun was setting", ESV.

asqenountaV (asqenew) pres. part. "-" - [all = everyone led as many as having] ones being weak, sick, ill. The participle serves as a substantive, accusative direct object of the imperfect verb "to have." The verb hgagon, "led, brought", is assumed, its subject being "everyone".

nosoiV (oV) dat. "sickness" - in = with [various kinds of] diseases [brought them toward him]. The dative is adverbial, reference / respect, or means; "All those who had friends who were suffering from this or that disease", Rieu.

epitiqeiV (epitiqhmi) pres. part. "laying" - [but/and he] placing [the = his hands]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to heal, cure"; "he laid his hands on each one of them and cured them", Barclay.

autwn gen. pro. "-" - [upon each one] of them [healing them]. The genitive is adjectival, partitive / wholative.

kai "Moreover" - [but/and demons] also [came out from many]. Adjunctive. Marshall says the verb "to come out" is a quasi-passive, so "to be driven out."

kraugazonta (kraugazw) pres. part. "shouting" - calling out [and saying]. The relationship between this participle and the participle legonta, "saying", is unclear. Most translations take them to refer to the same act, ie., "saying" is attendant on "shouting" and is redundant; "Demons also come out of many, shouting, 'You are the Son of God'", NRSV, so Barclay, Rieu. The presence of a coordinating kai and a recitative oJti seems to indicate that Luke doesn't regard legonta as a redundant indicator of direct speech. Culy suggests that kraugazonta is adjectival, attributive, limiting "demons"; "Demons, who were shouting out loudly, came out of many and proclaimed ....."

oJti "-" - that [you are]. Here introducing a dependent statement of direct speech.

tou qeou (oV) "of God" - [the son] of god. The genitive is adjectival, relational. The terms "Son of God" is a messianic title, as is "Christ" below, ie., both titles are synonymous, so Bock. The title identifies Jesus as the anointed one of Jewish messianic expectation. The phrase does not go so far as to imply a filial relationship with God the Father, but it may imply an association with divinity, or at least godlikeness.

epitimwn (epitimaw) aor. part. "he rebuked" - [and] rebuking [them]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to allow, permit." Even today, people talk over others to gain control of them, but Jesus silences their feeble effort.

lalein (lalew) pres. inf. "to speak" - [he was not allowing them] to speak. The infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of the verb "to allow."

oJti "because" - because. Introducing a causal clause explaining why Jesus did not allow the demons to speak.

einai (eimi) pres. inf. "-" - [they had known him] to be [the christ]. Introducing an object clause / dependent statement of perception expressing what the demons knew.

v] Ministry priorities, v42-44. Management by objectives is an excellent business model and in these verses Luke summarises Jesus' business model outlined in 4:18 - appointed and sent to proclaim. Given the miracles the night before, the townsfolk would have Jesus stay as their resident healer / miracle worker. Healings and exorcisms are not just medical interventions, they are signs of the new age of the kingdom, and the residents of Capernaum are privileged to witness God's new age bursting in upon them, but the news is not just for them, the dawning of the kingdom of God is news for everyone; it was for this purpose that Jesus was appointed and sent.

genomenhV (gimomai) aor. part. "at daybreak" - [but/and day] having become. The genitive participle with its genitive subject "day" forms a genitive absolute construction, temporal, as NIV; "And when it was day ....", ESV.

exelqwn (exercomai) aor. part. "went out" - having come out [he went into a wilderness, desert place]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to go"; "He left the house and went out to a lonely place", Barclay. Note the passive verb "to go" is mediopassive.

eJwV + gen. "to where [he] was" - [and the crowds were seeking him and they came] up to [him]. Here spatial, expressing extension up to.

tou mh poreuesqai (poreuomai) pres. inf. "leaving [them]" - [and they were hindering him] the not allow him to go [away from them]. A genitive articular infinitive is adverbial 50% of the time, usually consecutive, expressing result, although in Luke / Acts it is often final, expressing purpose / intended result, as here; "they restrained him so that he could not leave them."

Right at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, Mark explicitly gave his summary of God's important news, Mk.1:15 (note Matthew who indicates that it was the Baptist's message as well). Luke waits till now to tell us the content of Jesus' important news from God. "It is necessary (a divine necessity) that I should proclaim God's kingdom to the other cities as well, for this is the very purpose for which I have been sent forth", Cassirer.

oJti "-" - [but/and he said toward them] that. Introducing a dependent statement direct speech.

euaggelisasqai (euaggelizw) aor. inf. "proclaim the good news"- [me] to communicate important news. The infinitive serves as the subject of the impersonal verb "it is necessary"; the accusative subject of the infinitive being me, "me." As far back as the creation story, the word of God achieves its purposed end. Divine proclamation is not just communication, it completes that which it communicates. The classic example of the divine logoV, "word", in action is evident in Jesus' pronouncement "your sins are forgiven." These are not just words.

tou qeou "of God" - [the kingdom] of god. The genitive is adjectival, either possessive, "God's kingdom", or if taken as "the righteous reign of God", then it would be verbal, subjective. Possibly ablative, source / origin, "from God." The "kingdom" is best defined as the righteous reign / rule / kingship of God, now open to all people, in and through the ministry of the messiah. The gathering of this people, and the exercise of this reign, is inaugurated, and comes to fruition, in the person and work of Jesus. Its reality is imaged in the Old Testament, particularly in the historic kingdom of Israel, before finding its fulfilment in Jesus. For the people of Israel, the term "the kingdom of God" was highly charged, in that it encapsulated the messiah's establishment of the eschatological reign of God over Israel, in defiance of all secular powers, which powers will bow in adoration before God's mighty intervention in human affairs. There is, of course, debate over whether the kingdom is a time / space reality, or just a descriptor of divine rule. The kingdom as "the righteous reign of God" has more going for it, but as Wanamaker points out, the kingdom is both "domain and dominion." So, the kingdom of God is the dynamic now / not yet reign of God through Christ, the realisation of which brings eternal peace.

taiV .... polesin (iV ewV) "to the [other] towns" - to the [other] cities [and = also]. The dative is local, expressing space / place.

oJti "because" - because. Introducing a causal clause expressing why Jesus must move on to other towns to preach the gospel, namely "because" it is the purpose for which he was sent.

epi + acc. "[that is] why" - upon [this i was sent]. Here expressing purpose / goal; "with a view to this I was sent."

A Day in the Life of Jesus concludes with a general observation about Jesus' ongoing preaching ministry. Mark has Jesus "preaching and casting out demons", but Luke maintains the focus on Jesus' preaching ministry. Mark has Jesus preaching throughout "Galilee", but for some reason, Luke has "Judea". Probably Luke uses "Judea" for Palestine as a whole, including Galilee, ie., the Roman province of Judea. As a rule of thumb, Jesus' public ministry lasted for around three years, the first year in Judea, the second in Galilee, and the third around Palestine, keeping a low profile while teaching his disciples. John indicates that Jesus came to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover each year, so Jesus may have roamed far and wide.

h\n khrusswn (khrussw) pres. part. "he kept on preaching" - he was preaching [into the synagogues]. The imperfect verb to-be + the present participle forms an imperfect periphrastic construction, probably serving to emphasise aspect, as NIV, CEV; "So he continued to proclaim his message in the synagogues of Judea", Barclay.

thV IoudaiaV (a) gen. "of Judea" - of judea. The genitive is adjectival, attributive, idiomatic / local, "the synagogues located in Judea."

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