Luke emphasizes the authority of Jesus’ word. The demonic reaction emphasizes this point. The demons wanted their synagogue revival. They wanted their week to shine by showing their power through erratic behavior and violent preaching techniques. Jesus’ appearance on the scene is a challenge to the demonic itinerant preachers.
The dispute at the synagogue was a dispute for who would lead the Church’s pulpit and who would revive Israel. The demons wanted to revive Israel by killing her, and Jesus wanted to revive Israel by giving her abundant life. This was a dispute of word preeminence.
Jesus wasted no time in setting himself as the true Preacher of Israel. The demons knew that: “What do you want with us, Holy One of God?” In other words, “don’t you know our revival has lasted quite long in these last few centuries?” Jesus’ response (Φιμώθητι) is more than just “hold your peace” as some translation have it, but it is more appropriately translated as “Shut your mouth” or “become speechless.” Our blessed Lord is putting his house in order. He is coming to bring light and make all things new, and his authoritative word will commence the un-doing of this Babelic nation.
