Make a big splash

Make a big splash

Luke 4:31 – 37

Rabbi Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz

Luke 4:31   And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; 32 and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority. 33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Let us alone! What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are — the Holy One of God!” 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing him any harm. 36 And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another saying, “What is this message? For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.” 37 And the report about Him was spreading into every locality in the surrounding district.

We reach this point in chapter 4 of Luke’s gospel we hear about the first struggle with the demon. The watchers described in Genesis chapter 6, who were condemned into the foundations of the earth, are believed by people in Jesus’ day to be the source of the demons and unclean spirits mentioned in the Gospels. Let me give you a brief history of these demons because you will not hear much about them in your normal reading. Now why would that be?

You have to read a book called 1 Enoch to get the full story of the demons. Chapter 1 through 36 of that book is called the Book of the Watchers. You can find a summary about the watchers in Genesis chapter 6. Basically, what happened were 200 angels came before the Lord and said that they wanted to go visit the earth and experience what the humans were experiencing. God said to the 200 angels that if they went to the earth that they would surely sin against God and would have to be punished for it. The 200 angels decided they could handle it, so they went to the earth.

These 200 angels took human form and married mortal women. The offspring from this union were the Giants called the Nephilim. People believe that Goliath, who fought David, was a descendant of these individuals. Unfortunately, the Nephilim and their offspring caused a lot of trouble on the earth. One thing that happened was they killed humans and drank their blood. This infuriated the Lord because one of the most important laws that you’ll find in the book of Leviticus is that you’re not allowed to drink blood. People believed that the soul of the person or the animal lived in the blood. For ancient people, this made sense because when a person bled out, they died therefore, their spirit or soul left the body.

The watchers, the 200 angels, tried to give the humans tools in order to fight the Nephilim. It is believed this is where the knowledge of metallurgy came to be. Of course, God knew that if the humans were to receive the concepts of metallurgy that they would eventually turn against each other and kill each other. God intervened and destroyed the Nephilim and also held the 200 angels accountable for what happened.

The punishment for the angels was that they were sent into the foundations of the earth. Ancient people believed that pillars, the foundations of the earth, held the earth up. It was believed in Jesus’ day that the unclean spirits and demons were these 200 watchers trying to affect humanity. From time to time, they would leave the foundations of the earth and infect people. That’s what is happening in this story and every narrative that talks about people being possessed by demons or unclean spirits.

One of Jesus’ tasks was to rid the earth of these 200 fallen angels. If you believe Satan is a fallen angel from heaven then you are referring to the Book of the Watchers. The leader of the 200 angels received a sentence to hell and transformed into Satan. That is what the Book of the Watchers talks about. I would love to give you more details of the Book of the Watchers, but that’s not what we’re concentrating on today.

So, we know what happened in the narratives when Jesus exorcised these unclean spirits, or demons if you wish to call them that, from a man in the synagogue. What I’d like to talk about is that because of this miracle that Jesus did, his fame spread. It was through his signs, miracles, and wonders that people got to know about Jesus and sought him out.

One thing that I learned back in the 1990s when I was teaching leadership skills to a nonprofit organization was the idea that in order for the organization to survive, it needed to make a big splash in its community. The organization needed to be known for something that no one else was doing and was necessary for the community. Now, let’s apply that to the church. If you are a member of a church, ask yourself what your church does for the community.

For most churches, they are involved in either no community activities or a mixture of activities. The problem with not being in the community is that you will attract no one in your church because they have no idea who you are and what you stand for. That’s the simple one. For churches that are in multiple areas of the community, the problem is the church is not known for something special. Let me give you an example.

I was appointed to a United Methodist church where the women ran a very successful thrift shop for the community. When I was there in 2010, the thrift shop generated $60,000 in profits. Since I was new to the church, I asked the leaders of the thrift shop what happened to the profits. They showed me a list of about 40 charities that they gave their money to. The church was in a small town that had problems that were not being solved by the politicians or any other group in the area. What problem could that be you ask? They had nothing for the youth to do when they got out of school and when they were out of school for the summer. It was a problem for the community. I am not saying that the youth of the town caused a lot of trouble. What I am saying is they needed something to keep them busy.

Parents started Sunday school back in the late 1800s because they didn’t know what to do with their kids on Saturday and Sunday due to the implementation of child labor laws. Therefore, you went to church on Sunday and Sunday school and that took care of one of the two days. The same situation was happening in this town. Youth get restless when I have nothing to keep them busy.

I was sent to this church to get a building addition built. The construction team built a 7200 square-foot facility, primarily a giant multipurpose room. So, I said to the ladies who were running the thrift store that if they would give the $60,000 to the church only to run a youth program in the new building addition, we could solve a major problem of the community. Then the church would become well known for doing this one thing that everyone said we needed. If the church had done this, people would’ve come to the church because they would have known all about us and what we stood for. We would’ve been there to help the community.

Instead, they said “no can do” because they had to give the money to the 40 different charities that are on their list because that’s the way they have always done it. Very few people in the community I talked to knew that the thrift store was a part of the town’s United Methodist Church. They knew that the thrift store existed, and they knew profits went to some charities, but they did not know that it belonged to the United Methodist Church. Even though there was a sign in the window that said that it was part of the United Methodist Church, people didn’t know it.

If the thrift store would’ve worked with me and created that youth program, the church would become well known and I strongly believe that people would help us, especially young people. Back in 2010 and it’s the same today that young parents want to see things improved in their own community for their children. They are not as interested in sending money overseas as they are in spending it locally and make things better for their kids. I am not saying that we should not send charity to other countries on other continents. What I am saying is that we need to become known for something.

Let me give you another example that worked. I’d be willing to bet everyone reading or listening to this message knows about the Shriners. The Shriners is a Masonic organization that back in the 1920s and 30s was about to become extinct. Their leadership understood what they needed to do. What they did is they created the Shriners children’s hospitals. They concentrated every time they could into creating this network of hospitals that do not charge parents to have their children brought to the hospital to receive whatever surgery or physical therapy they need for that child. Because the Shriners became well known for these hospitals, they grew in tremendous numbers. They learned they needed to become known for something that nobody else was doing.

Nowadays the Shriners are in trouble because they are losing members because of aging and also because they’re not as well-known as they used to be. 10 or so years ago you would not have seen or heard of a commercial asking you to give money to Shriners Hospital for Children. Today you see it all the time. The Shriners had lost that which made them an elite organization. They diversified and took them out of the public eye. Because of this mistake, the Shriners have been losing membership like a barrel with a big hole in it leaking water. That’s unfortunate and I pray that the Shriners children’s hospital never closed down. 30 years ago, I sponsored a family to go to the Shriners Children’s Hospital, and that young girl received such fantastic care that today you cannot tell that she was ever there.

If you want your church to become known in your community you need to bring all your resources together and solve a problem that no one else is solving or a problem that needs help that will make you well known. Unfortunately, we live in a world where we have to do this kind of marketing. If your church could solve a problem that’s been plaguing the community for quite some time the community will see the church as a miracle working church. Jesus went through the country of Galilee and Samaria solving problems that the community could not solve. In Jesus’ case it happened to be healing people and ridding them of demons and unclean spirits. He became known for helping others before helping himself.

So, one of the lessons of the story is that the church needs to find that one thing the community needs and solve and most importantly tell the community that is being done through the faith of the people in Jesus Christ. In this way we can say that Jesus gave the church the power to perform miracles just like he did. If your church is not concentrating on one area, ask your leadership to do this and explain to them why it is so urgent. Jesus became known for miracles and your church can also!