Lukas 4:34-41

4:34 “Ha! Leave us alone, ¹  Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One ²  of God.” 4:35 But ³  Jesus rebuked him: ⁴  “Silence! Come out of him!” ⁵  Then, after the demon threw the man ⁶  down in their midst, he came out of him without hurting him. ⁷  4:36 They ⁸  were all amazed and began to say ⁹  to one another, “What’s happening here? ¹⁰  For with authority and power ¹¹  he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 4:37 So ¹²  the news ¹³  about him spread into all areas of the region. ¹⁴ 

4:38 After Jesus left ¹⁵  the synagogue, he entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus ¹⁶  to help her. ¹⁷  4:39 So ¹⁸  he stood over her, commanded ¹⁹  the fever, and it left her. Immediately ²⁰  she got up and began to serve ²¹  them.

4:40 As the sun was setting, all those who had any relatives ²²  sick with various diseases brought them to Jesus. ²³  He placed ²⁴  his hands on every one of them and healed them. 4:41 Demons also came out ²⁵  of many, crying out, ²⁶  “You are the Son of God!” ²⁷  But he rebuked ²⁸  them, and would not allow them to speak, ²⁹  because they knew that he was the Christ. ³⁰ 

[4:34]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast involved in Jesus’ reply.

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

[4:35]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:35]  ⁷ sn The departure of the evil spirit from the man without hurting him shows Jesus’ total deliverance and protection of this individual.

[4:36]  ⁸ tn Grk “And they.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[4:36]  ⁹ tn This imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[4:36]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate resultative nature of the action.

[4:37]  ¹³ tn That is, “information concerning a person or an event – ‘report, news, word, information’” (L&N 33.211).

[4:37]  ¹⁴ sn Given Luke 4:31, the phrase the region is a reference to Galilee.

[4:38]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “Arising from the synagogue, he entered.” The participle ἀναστάς (anastas) has been taken temporally here, and the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:38]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:38]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “they asked him about her.” It is clear from the context that they were concerned about her physical condition. The verb “to help” in the translation makes this explicit.

[4:39]  ¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the resultative nature of Jesus’ actions.

[4:39]  ¹⁹ tn Or “rebuked,” but “rebuke” implies strong disapproval, while the usage here involves more of a command with perhaps the implication of a threat (L&N 33.331).

[4:39]  sn The language here (commanded) almost treats the illness as a personal force (see vv. 35, 41), but this is not the case. This healing shows Jesus’ power over sickness and should not be construed as an exorcism.

[4:39]  ²⁰ tn Grk “and immediately.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, δέ (de) has not been translated here. Instead a new sentence is started in the translation.

[4:39]  sn The note that this happened immediately shows the speed and totality of the recovery.

[4:39]  ²¹ tn The imperfect verb has been translated ingressively.

[4:40]  ²² tn Grk “everyone, as many as had those being sick.” The use of εἶχον (eicon, “had”) suggests that the subject of the accusative participle ἀσθενοῦντας (asqenountas, “those being sick”) is not simply acquaintances, but rather relatives, perhaps immediate family, and certainly close friends.

[4:40]  ²³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:40]  ²⁴ tn Or “laid.” The participle ἐπιτεθείς (epiteqei") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[4:41]  ²⁵ sn Demons also came out. Note how Luke distinguishes healing from exorcism here, implying that the two are not identical.

[4:41]  ²⁶ tn Grk “crying out and saying.” The participle λέγοντα (legonta) is redundant in English and has not been translated here.

[4:41]  ²⁷ tc Most mss (A Q Θ Ψ 0102 Ë^1,13 Ï) read “the Christ, the Son of God.” But the earliest and best mss, along with several other witnesses (א B C D L W Ξ 33 579 700 1241 2542 lat sa), lack “the Christ” here. It is likely that later scribes wished to bring the demons’ confession in line with what Luke says they knew later in the verse.

[4:41]  ²⁸ tn Or “commanded,” but “rebuke” implies strong disapproval, which seems to be more in keeping with the context here (L&N 33.419).

[4:41]  ²⁹ sn Jesus would not allow the demons to speak because the time for such disclosure was not yet at hand, and such a revelation would have certainly been misunderstood by the people. In all likelihood, if the people had understood him early on to be the Son of God, or Messiah, they would have reduced his mission to one of political deliverance from Roman oppression (cf. John 6:15). Jesus wanted to avoid, as much as possible, any premature misunderstanding about who he was and what he was doing. However, at the end of his ministry, he did not deny such a title when the high priest asked him (22:66-71).

[4:41]  ³⁰ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[4:41]  sn Note how Luke associates Son of God with Messiah (Christ) in this context, a regal connection with OT roots (Ps 2:7). Also, see the note on Christ in 2:11.