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In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, \u201cGo away! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are\u2014the Holy One of God!\u201d \u201cBe quiet!\u201d Jesus said sternly. \u201cCome out of him!\u201d Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him. All the people were amazed and said to each other, \u201cWhat words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!\u201d And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area. (Luke 4:33-37)

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In the days of Jesus, to speak someone\u2019s name (outside the context of a good relationship), was a way of claiming power over them\u2014showing yourself in some way to be superior enough to set yourself over them.\xa0 So the demon cries out Jesus\u2019 name, and then turns up the heat, reciting Jesus\u2019 real name and identity: the Holy One of God!\xa0 The demon shouts and grabs at some way of gaining power over Jesus, revealing intimate details of who Jesus is to everyone in earshot.

Obviously, it doesn\u2019t work.\xa0 Jesus does not so much as dignify the demon with a name in return.\xa0 Jesus does not stoop to name-calling power-games as if he and this demon were remotely on the same plane.\xa0 He gives a short, terse, but effective response.\xa0 \u201cBe quiet!\xa0 Come out of him!\u201d That\u2019s all Jesus says, but it works.\xa0

Jesus did not need to prove anything to a demon or anyone else in the room, nor does he try.

But the people take note none-the-less.\xa0 They had already noted how he spoke with authority, but now they caught a glimpse of just how far that power and authority spread. \xa0

Authority was a technical term in the rabbinic Judaism of Jesus\u2019 day.\xa0 It referred to the formal conferral of status to become a Rabbi in one\u2019s own right and teach the Word of God.\xa0 You can think of it like the seminary degree that one might expect a pastor to have today\u2014a degree which means that some set of teachers have signed off on this person\u2019s ability to minister the Word of God effectively: conferring authority by virtue of their authority.\xa0 This is why the question of where Jesus\u2019 authority comes from is such a big question in the Gospels.\xa0 Everyone wants to know what Rabbis signed off on this guy.\xa0 Show us your papers, Jesus!

Here though, is one of the answers.\xa0 None other than divine authorization could cause a demon to flee without a fight.\xa0 Jesus is not claiming that God has authorized him to proclaim the word.\xa0 He doesn\u2019t need to.\xa0 His actions speak for him.\xa0

And that reality is not lost on the people.\xa0 They recognize immediately Jesus\u2019 authority and power by this action.\xa0 What\u2019s more, they see it as an authorization, not of Jesus\u2019 ministry of exorcism, but of Jesus\u2019 ministry of the Word of God.\xa0 \u201cWhat words these are!\u201d they exclaim.\xa0

Jesus, the Son of God, still speaks his healing, redeeming word into our lives today.\xa0 And it still comes with just as much authority and power as it ever did.\xa0 Words like \u201cI forgive you,\u201d \u201cI love you,\u201d and \u201ccome to me and rest.\u201d\xa0 Will you let Jesus speak these words into your life today?

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