Chapter

Luke 4:41

ESV And demons also came out of many, crying, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
NIV Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.
NASB Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, 'You are the Son of God!' And yet He was rebuking them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that He was the Christ.
CSB Also, demons were coming out of many, shouting and saying, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ.
NLT Many were possessed by demons; and the demons came out at his command, shouting, 'You are the Son of God!' But because they knew he was the Messiah, he rebuked them and refused to let them speak.
KJV And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ.
NKJV And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of God!” And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.

What does Luke 4:41 mean?

In the Gospels, Jesus takes two different approaches to publicity about His role as Messiah. In areas further from Jerusalem, or around more Gentiles, He is more open about being the Anointed One (John 4:25–26), though He doesn't often tell people to spread that truth. In heavily Jewish areas, He is more reserved (Matthew 16:20), seemingly to avoid people overreacting and attempting to overthrow Roman control (John 6:15). This changes at the triumphal entry into Jerusalem: the intended moment when Messiah was to be announced to Israel (Matthew 21:8–9).

In almost all cases, however, Jesus works against being proclaimed by demons and evil spirits. Their statements are true—Jesus is "the Holy One of God" (Luke 4:34). The expelled demons mentioned here are not lying when they declare Jesus the Son of God (Matthew 4:3; Mark 1:1). What Jesus seems to be avoiding is confusion on the part of others. He doesn't want the truth to be tainted, in the eyes of the world, through a connection to evil. Later, Paul will point out that even those with bad intentions can preach parts of the truth (Philippians 1:15–18). Even Paul, however, occasionally cut off demonic speech so it wouldn't confuse those who needed to hear the gospel (Acts 16:16–18).
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