What We Learn from Jesus’ Example of Confronting Evil

Reflections on Luke 4

1 John 3:8b says: “The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the Devil’s works.” The cosmic battle of good and evil is not one that is in doubt. As followers of Jesus, we can be confident that no matter how dark the night, Jesus will prevail and the light of day will dawn.

Let us consider one chapter from Scripture to see the ways Jesus confronts evil and what we may learn.

• Luke 4:1-13: Battling Temptation
  Following Jesus’ baptism where the Father affirms him as “my beloved Son” (Luke 3:22), the Devil comes to test / tempt Jesus and goes straight toward questioning his identity: “if you are the Son of God” (Luke 4:3, 9). The Devil’s temptations relate to exerting independence from God and appealing to Jesus’ supposed self-interest and self-centeredness. Jesus resists by trusting God and submitting to his Father’s will. It’s been pointed out that he used Scripture, God’s Word, to resist temptation.
• Luke 4:14-21: Ministry of Word and Deed: Battling Personal, Corporate, and Systemic Evil
  At the inauguration of his public ministry, Jesus quotes from Isaiah 61 to describe the nature of his work and task. Two things stand out to me. First, his ministry involves word (proclamation) and deed (healing). Secondly, it confronts personal evil (the oppression of sin) and addresses corporate and systemic evil (injustice and poverty).
• Luke 4:31-37: Authority over the Demonic
  When Jesus comes to confront the demonic oppression in people’s lives, there is generally an acknowledgement of Jesus’ identity and authority by the demonic, and the confrontation always ends in victory for Jesus. It is not a true battle where the outcome is uncertain.
• Luke 4:38-41: Healing in a Broken and Fallen World
  In Capernaum, Jesus heals those with various diseases and casts out demons. The Kingdom of God and God’s power and presence are made evident through Jesus in that he attacks the various outcomes related to the Fall when sin entered in the world and infected the soul, the body, and all of creation. Jesus came to demonstrate the power of God over all the consequences of a fallen world.
• Luke 4:42-44: The Good News of Jesus Is the Greatest Advancement over Evil
  When the crowds try to persuade Jesus to stay in Capernaum so he can heal some more, he says he must go to other towns to proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God, “because I was sent for this purpose.” The priority of Jesus’ mission was proclaiming the good news. The miracles and healings were authenticating signs that his ministry was a salvation message to overcome evil and its effects.

What do we learn from Jesus’ example about confronting evil? Confronting evil is multi-faceted. It includes battling personal temptation by remembering our identity as children of God (1 John 3:1), submitting our will to God’s will, trusting in Him, and being shaped by the Scriptures to defeat lies with truth. Our confrontation moves outward as we proclaim the good news of Jesus to the world in word and deed, and attack not only personal sin, but corporate and systemic sins (poverty, injustice, racism, etc.). We confront evil with confidence, not in ourselves, but in the belief that greater is Jesus within us than the evil in the world (see 1 John 4:4). The church’s ministry is to address all the ways sin and the Fall have ravaged our society with bringing the healing presence of Jesus. In the end, however, we know that it is the message of salvation in Jesus that is priority and not merely trying to reform the world.