6 - Sabbath at Capernaum

In Luke 4:31-44 the narrative presents the good news in action as well as words, just as Jesus had indicated he would by the quotation from Isaiah 61.

Ideally set at the seashore, Capernaum was important to the local Galilean economy because of its fishing industry. Like every Jewish town it had its synagogue. Jesus was invited to teach there on a sabbath. Once again, his teaching elicited amazement, but also a measure of opposition. This time from a man with “the spirit of an unclean demon” (4:33).

To us “authority over demons’”reminds us of the horrors of exorcism. Biblical stories of exorcism communicate the effective treatment of severe mental illnesses and/or personality disorders. Healing and the integration the personality is called for kindness and care, not judgmental punishment. This ‘demon’ had been disturbing the synagogue at worship. The healing Jesus offered silenced it, perhaps mostly by paying attention to the person who was ill in a caring way.

But the ‘demon’ also recognized Jesus in a way that the congregation did not. He had seen in Jesus a power than was greater than himself. This was a serious threat to the ‘demon’ who held the sick man in its power. Luke thus affirmed that Jesus was no ordinary exorcist or a great teacher. Instead, for Luke’s audience, Jesus was one in whom the authority and power of God was effectively manifested.

Something miraculous indeed occurred, but the reaction of the people in Capernaum was strikingly in contrast to that of the people in Nazareth. The two episodes revealed the inconsistency of human beings. This reality will continue throughout Jesus’ ministry, but will not defeat the purposes of God.

The next incident in Luke’s narrative dealt with the physical issue of disease and the religious issue of keeping the sabbath. Simon Peter’s mother-in-law was ill with a fever. Jesus healed her and she immediately rose and served him. We don’t even know her name, but as Luke told of it, she was the first person to participate in the ministry of service. Later in Luke 22:26, Jesus would use the idea of service as the way disciples demonstrate that they are followers of Jesus).

Other instances of woman serving Jesus and accompanying him on his journeys will appear later in the Gospel too. One was even said to “preach” (8:47); but Luke generally limited preaching to men while women served and listened (e.g. Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38-42). This became an important feature of the second part of Luke’s narrative in The Acts of The Apostles.

As Sharon Hinge put it, with these anecdotes from Jesus’ early ministry in Nazareth and Galilee, Luke was intent on preparing his audience for, and giving previews of, what he would say in the rest of the Gospel. Not only was Jesus proclaiming the good news drawn from Isaiah’s prophecy, he was instituting God’s reign by his actions though healing and exorcism demonstrating his power.