On Each One Of Them Separately

Then, as the sun was setting, all those who had friends suffering from every kind of disease brought them to Jesus and he laid his hands on each one of them separately and healed them. Evil spirits came out of many of these people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he spoke sharply to them and would not allow them to say any more, for they knew perfectly well that he was Christ.  Luke 4:40,41

Verse 40: This ends the "Day in the Life of Jesus at Capernaum."  It has been a Sabbath day, and so all of this healing will not go down well with those who see it as forbidden work.

Notice the first words of the gospel verse: "As the sun was setting." Much of what we do that matters (even matters a lot) has to take place within a certain time frame: a marriage license is good for so many days, the New York Stock Exchange takes place between opening and closing bells, prescriptions are good for so many refills and the meds taken at certain times. But God's action isn't bound or regulated by any earthly understanding of time. Just when everything is supposed to stop and be wrapped up for the day, as the sun is setting, Jesus is surrounded by crowds who go away healed and whole.

Notice this too: "He laid his hands on each of them separately." In Christ there is God's interface with each human person. No big waving of his arm over the masses, but God responding to each individual. Someone asked Mother Teresa of Calcutta about her method. "One, one, one," she said. I expect she'd say Jesus taught her that.

Verse 41: The malign spirits know that Jesus is divine. Here again,  they declare it. They know who he is, even if we often don't, or are afraid to say it because it's gone out of fashion. One senior priest told me that in his religious order there were priests who didn't say the name of Jesus because it isn't considered manly. Wow! Imagine telling an evangelical preacher-man not to use the name of Jesus because it made him look delicate!

Finally, Jesus tells the expunged evil spirits not to speak further. But why? They're not in charge; Jesus is. There are lots of folks, even self-roclaimed religious devotees, who aren't quite sure.

Jesus, take charge of my life, especially the thoughts of my heart.