Luke 4:33-37 :
In the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Ah! what have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know you who you are: the Holy One of God!”
Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” When the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm.
Amazement came on all, and they spoke together, one with another, saying, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” News about him went out into every place of the surrounding region.
We read today that Jesus had power over evil spirits. Obviously, the Bible tells us that evil spirits are real and are able to go into people. We also read here that these Jews were well aware of evil spirits and were also aware that it was unusual if not impossible for a person to be able to command them to come out. Jesus had the word of authority to be able to command these spirits and they immediately obeyed.
When we speak in Jesus name we also have power but without Jesus, I believe that the evil spirits just toy with humans, acting as if our commands mean something. To really speak in Jesus name, we must be known by Jesus and to be known by Him requires that we believe in Him. We see here that removing demons is not a ritual. All Jesus did was tell the spirit to “Be silent, and come out of him!” That doesn’t sound like a ritual to me, it just sounds like raw power!
It is odd that the evil spirit was so rude to Jesus yet so afraid of Him at the same time. These evil spirits appear to know that Jesus will eventually destroy them. In the Bible we find that they always obeyed the Jesus. When we walk with Jesus we can be sure that though evil may be rude to us, it will have to obey this One who is far more powerful that they are. It is important for us to also keep in mind that they don’t have to obey us when we speak on our own without Christ. Humans are not as powerful as these spirits. It is a very dangerous thing for a person who does not have a good relationship with God to attempt to cast them out.
This incident caused Jesus fame to spread. It’s interesting that Jesus did not allow the spirit to announce that he was the Holy One of God. This was a typical thing for Jesus to do. Speaking anything at all, whether good or bad, must have been wrong for them. Since demons lie like Satan, what good is what they say anyway? It makes a lot of sense that Jesus would not allow them to speak at all.