Luke 4:31-37

Ministry in Capernaum

4:31 So ¹  he went down to Capernaum, ²  a town ³  in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he began to teach the people. ⁴  4:32 They ⁵  were amazed ⁶  at his teaching, because he spoke ⁷  with authority. ⁸ 

4:33 Now ⁹  in the synagogue ¹⁰  there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean ¹¹  demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 4:34 “Ha! Leave us alone, ¹²  Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One ¹³  of God.” 4:35 But ¹⁴  Jesus rebuked him: ¹⁵  “Silence! Come out of him!” ¹⁶  Then, after the demon threw the man ¹⁷  down in their midst, he came out of him without hurting him. ¹⁸  4:36 They ¹⁹  were all amazed and began to say ²⁰  to one another, “What’s happening here? ²¹  For with authority and power ²²  he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 4:37 So ²³  the news ²⁴  about him spread into all areas of the region. ²⁵ 

[4:31]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the continuation of the topic; in light of his rejection at Nazareth, Jesus went on to Capernaum.

[4:31]  ² sn Capernaum was a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region, and it became the hub of operations for Jesus’ Galilean ministry.

[4:31]  ³ tn Or “city.”

[4:31]  ⁴ tn Grk “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:32]  ⁵ tn Grk “And they.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[4:32]  ⁶ sn They were amazed. The astonishment shown here is like that in Luke 2:48.

[4:32]  ⁷ tn Grk “because his word was.”

[4:32]  ⁸ sn Jesus’ teaching impressed the hearers with the directness of its claim (with authority). A study of Jewish rabbinic interpretation shows that it was typical to cite a list of authorities to make one’s point. Apparently Jesus addressed the issues in terms of his own understanding.

[4:33]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a specific example of how Jesus spoke with authority (v. 32).

[4:33]  ¹⁰ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:15.

[4:33]  ¹¹ tn Grk “having an unclean, demonic spirit,” that is, an evil spirit. This is the only place Luke uses this lengthy phrase. Normally he simply says an “unclean spirit.”

[4:34]  ¹² tn Grk “What to us and to you?” This is an idiom meaning, “We have nothing to do with one another,” or “Why bother us!” The phrase τί ἡμῖν καὶ σοί (ti Jhmin kai soi) is Semitic in origin, though it made its way into colloquial Greek (BDAG 275 s.v. ἐγώ). The equivalent Hebrew expression in the Old Testament had two basic meanings: (1) When one person was unjustly bothering another, the injured party could say “What to me and to you?” meaning, “What have I done to you that you should do this to me?” (Judg 11:12; 2 Chr 35:21; 1 Kgs 17:18). (2) When someone was asked to get involved in a matter he felt was no business of his, he could say to the one asking him, “What to me and to you?” meaning, “That is your business, how am I involved?” (2 Kgs 3:13; Hos 14:8). Option (1) implies hostility, while option (2) merely implies disengagement. BDAG suggests the following as glosses for this expression: What have I to do with you? What have we in common? Leave me alone! Never mind! Hostility between Jesus and the demons is certainly to be understood in this context, hence the translation: “Leave me alone….” For a very similar expression, see Luke 8:28 and (in a different context) John 2:4.

[4:34]  ¹³ sn The confession of Jesus as the Holy One here is significant, coming from an unclean spirit. Jesus, as the Holy One of God, who bears God’s Spirit and is the expression of holiness, comes to deal with uncleanness and unholiness.

[4:35]  ¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast involved in Jesus’ reply.

[4:35]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “rebuked him, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[4:35]  ¹⁶ sn The command Come out of him! is an example of Jesus’ authority (see v. 32). Unlike other exorcists, Jesus did not use magical incantations nor did he invoke anyone else’s name.

[4:35]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:35]  ¹⁸ sn The departure of the evil spirit from the man without hurting him shows Jesus’ total deliverance and protection of this individual.

[4:36]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “And they.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[4:36]  ²⁰ tn This imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[4:36]  ²¹ tn Grk “What is this word?” The Greek term λόγος (logos) has a wide range of meaning. Here it seems to mean, “What is this matter?” More idiomatically it would be, “What’s going on here?!”

[4:36]  ²² sn The phrase with authority and power is in an emphatic position in the Greek text. Once again the authority of Jesus is the point, but now it is not just his teaching that is emphasized, but his ministry. Jesus combined word and deed into a powerful testimony in Capernaum.

[4:37]  ²³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate resultative nature of the action.

[4:37]  ²⁴ tn That is, “information concerning a person or an event – ‘report, news, word, information’” (L&N 33.211).

[4:37]  ²⁵ sn Given Luke 4:31, the phrase the region is a reference to Galilee.