21Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. 22And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
23Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are--the Holy One of God!"
25But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!" 26And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. 27Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him." 28And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.
It is interesting that even though the people were astonished at His teachings and amazed at his authority, it was an unclean spirit who really recognized who He was, the Holy One of God. Would I be able to recognize the second coming of Jesus if He became a new pastor in my church and gave the best sermons I have ever heard? The ordinariness of this would probably be similar to Jesus teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. Yes, I think word would spread quickly that we have an incredible new pastor. But I worry that I would be too skeptical to recognize who He really was.
It's disappointing that an unclean spirit is the one to proclaim Him for who He really is. This proclamation should be coming from the people of God. I read somewhere that is why Jesus commands the unclean spirit to be quiet.
Why doesn't Jesus destroy the unclean spirits as this one suggested? He would have the power and authority to do it if He wanted to. Why just cast the unclean spirit out? One of the best things and yet the worst thing that God has given us is the freedom of choice. It is through this freedom of choice that we allow or disallow reign of the evil one in our lives. Until we reach the kingdom of God we will continue to have that awful freedom of choice. God does not take away our choices, but helps us with our choices when we ask for help. I wonder if God does not destroy the evil spirits so we still have those choices. The evil spirits will always be there. We just have to choose to not abide by them.
Would I recognize Jesus if I met him? Skepticism in the face of truth is fed by the evil one. I can only hope that Jesus will command the unclean spirit out of my presence so I too can recognize Him.