Luke 4:34

31. And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and there he taught them on the Sabbath-day: 32. And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was accompanied with power. 33. And there was in the synagogue a man having a spirit of an unclean devil: and he cried out with a loud voice, 34. Saying, Ah! what have we to do with thee, Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. 35. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Holy thy peace, and go out of him. And when the devil had thrown him down in the midst, he went out of him, and hurt him nothing. 36. And trembling came upon all, and they talked among themselves, saying, What speech is this? for with authority and power he commandeth the uclean spirits, and they go out. This demoniac was probably one of that multitude, which was mentioned, a little before, by Matthew 4:24. Yet the narrative of Mark and Luke is not superfluous: for they relate some circumstances, which not only present the miracle in a more striking light, but also contain useful instruction. The devil dexterously acknowledges, that Christ is the Holy One of God, in order to insinuate into the minds of men a suspicion, that there was some secret understanding between him and Christ. By such a trick he has since endeavored to make the Gospel suspected, and, in the present day, he is continually making similar attempts. That is the reason why Christ rebukes him.

4:31-44 Christ's preaching much affected the people; and a working power went with it to the consciences of men. These miracles showed Christ to be a controller and conqueror of Satan, a healer of diseases. Where Christ gives a new life, in recovery from sickness, it should be a new life, spent more than ever in his service, to his glory. Our business should be to spread abroad Christ's fame in every place, to beseech him in behalf of those diseased in body or mind, and to use our influence in bringing sinners to him, that his hands may be laid upon them for their healing. He cast the devils out of many who were possessed. We were not sent into this world to live to ourselves only, but to glorify God, and to do good in our generation. The people sought him, and came unto him. A desert is no desert, if we are with Christ there. He will continue with us, by his word and Spirit, and extend the same blessings to other nations, till, throughout the earth, the servants and worshippers of Satan are brought to acknowledge him as the Christ, the Son of God, and to find redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.

Luke 4:34 . ἔα : here only (not genuine in Mk., T.R.) in N. T. = ha! Vulg[46], sine as if from ἐᾷν ; a cry of horror.— Ναζαρηνέ : Lk. usually writes Ναζωραῖε . The use of this form here suggests that he has Mk.’s account lying before him. [46] Vulgate (Jerome’s revision of old Latin version).

Verse 34. - Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? This man, with his evil spirit, would have been looked on as unclean, and would not have been admitted within the synagogue walls; he had probably crept in unseen. Something in the nearness to the holy Teacher we know compelled the demon to cry aloud. It is strange, this presence of God causing pain. It is the impossibility of the wounded eye bearing light. The cry rendered, "Let us alone," is scarcely the imperative of ἐάω , but an interjection, possibly the Greek reproduction of the Hebrew אֲהָהּ , ah! woe! There was evidently some deeper degree of misery possible for the unhappy spirit; hence its "Art thou come to destroy us?" The same dread appears in the case of the Gadarene demoniac ( Mark 5:7 ; Matthew 8:29 ), where the spirits dreaded being driven into the deep, where such spirits await the judgment, that abyss, literally, "the bottomless place;" any doom seemed to these lost ones preferable to that. I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God. Luke 4:34

34 . Saying, Let us alone ] Omit saying , with א , B, L. The word Ea ! may be not the imperative of eaô (‘desist!’) but a wild cry of horror ‘Ha!’ what have we to do with thee ] The demon speaks in the plural, merging his individuality in that of all evil powers. ( Matthew 8:29 ; Mark 5:9 .) For the phrase see Luke 8:28 ; 2 Samuel 16:10 ; 2 Samuel 19:22 ; 1 Kings 17:18 ; John 2:4 . to destroy us ] “The devils also believe and tremble,” James 2:19 . the Holy One ] Luke 1:35 ; Psalm 16:10 , “thine Holy One.” Daniel 9:24 .