Luke 4:31-37

The Healing of a Demoniac

31. came down to Capernaum St Matthew (Matthew 4:13-16) sees in this the fulfilment of Isaiah 9:1-2, omitting the first part which should be rendered "At the former time he brought contempt on the Land of Zebulun and on the Land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he brought honour." It was perhaps on His way to Capernaum that our Lord healed the courtier's son (John 4:47-54). Capernaum is in all probability Tell Hûm. The name means village (now Kefr) of Nahum, and Tell Hûmis -the ruined mound" or -heap" of (Na)hum. It is now a heap of desolation with little to mark it except the ruins of one white marble synagogue possibly the very one built by the friendly centurion (Luke 7:5) and the widely-scattered débrisof what perhaps was another. But in our Lord's time it was a bright and populous little town, at the very centre of what has been called "the manufacturing district of Palestine." It lay at the nucleus of roads to Tyre and Sidon, to Damascus, to Sepphoris (the capital of Galilee), and to Jerusalem, and was within easy reach of Peraea and Ituraea. It was in fact on the "way of the sea" (Isaiah 9:1) the great caravan road which led to the Mediterranean. It was hence peculiarly fitted to be the centre of a far-reaching ministry of which even Gentiles would hear. These things, as St Paul graphically says, were "not done in a corner," Acts 26:26. Besides the memorable events of the day here recorded, it was here that Christ healed the paralytic (Luke 5:18) and the centurion's servant (Luke 7:2), and called Levi (Matthew 9:9), rebuked the disciples for their ambition (Mark 9:35), and delivered the memorable discourse about the bread of life (John 6).

a city of Galilee These little descriptions and explanations shew that St Luke is writing for Gentiles who did not know Palestine. Comp. Luke 1:26; Luke 21:37; Luke 22:1.