The gospel of Luke carefully records truth from eyewitness accounts of numerous historical citizens of the first century.

The following is a fictional representation continued from our previous episode of such eyewitness of one of Jesus’ first disciples.

As I said before, we followed Jesus when the angry crowd drove him from our hometown Nazareth. Some of my friends accompanied us hoping to hear more of Jesus preaching like in our synagogue. I brought my wife along and our young daughter. Others brought their families as well.

It was evening of the Sabbath (you will recall). A group of us with Jesus settled in for the night in nearby hills, safe from robbers and the like.

Early Sunday morning Jesus prayed with us, talked with a few of the men and then we set off to the east. He led us down a familiar road through the hills descending toward the Sea of Galilee, then north along its western coastline. Most of the men among us had traveled this road to Capernaum before, about a nine or ten hour journey without women and children.

Jesus in Capernaum

Luke 4:

31 And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee.

A week later on the next Sabbath some of our friends came to Capernaum. Of course some of us had returned to Nazareth to work during the week, but once again made a return trip hoping to hear Jesus in their synagogue. Of course our tradition is to welcome rabbis from other towns and tribes to speak in our local synagogues. Everyone especially wanted to hear this great new teacher of Israel – in Capernaum, in Chorazin, in Nain. Word about the Messiah spread quickly.

And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, 32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority.

Jesus taught these Capernaum Jews from a different scripture, also from the Prophet Isaiah, given to him by the head rabbi. Jesus’ teaching had the same authority with which He had taught in Nazareth. But this time something happened that interrupted Jesus’ teaching.

33 And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?

Now we had all seen crazy people before, but no man dared to speak out in such a manner in a place of worship. It was what came out of this man’s mouth that amazed all:

“I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”

Confirmation. Even a crazed man with a demon witnessing that this is the awaited Messiah!

35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!”

And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm.

+

The mad man was no longer the same. Now he had peace – a smile on his face, thanksgiving in his eyes and muscles still as a windless sea. The man now sat still on the floor of their synagogue as we looked at him and then to Jesus with unfathomable awe.

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!”

+

We all witnessed it: the Messiah ordered unclean spirits to silence. Jesus ordered the demons to come out of the man… and out of the man they went, as he now sat before us in great peace.

37 And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

To be continued…