The Meaning of Luke 4:41 Explained

Luke 4:41

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.

YLT: And demons also were coming forth from many, crying out and saying -- 'Thou art the Christ, the Son of God;' and rebuking, he did not suffer them to speak, because they knew him to be the Christ.

Darby: and demons also went out from many, crying out and saying, Thou art the Son of God. And rebuking them, he suffered them not to speak, because they knew him to be the Christ.

ASV: And demons also came out from many, crying out, and saying, Thou art the Son of God. And rebuking them, he suffered them not to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Luke 4:41 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Only Luke recorded that the demons called Jesus "the Son of God." This was another testimony to His true identity. Again Jesus told them to keep quiet (cf. Luke 4:35). He wanted people, not just demons, to believe that He was the Son of God. Moreover the testimony of demons might appear suspect to the people present since they serve the father of lies. Note that Luke equated "Son of God" and "Christ (Messiah)," which many of Jesus" followers had difficulty comprehending and acknowledging.
The demons" witness to Jesus" identity seems to be the point of this story.

Context Summary

Luke 4:31-44 - Healer And Preacher
In after years the evil spirit cried out, "Jesus I know," Acts 19:15. Evidently our Lord was not only "seen of angels," but closely watched by the fallen spirits, who beheld His every act and listened to every word. What a remarkable verdict was that given in Luke 4:34! Those who know most of evil are most certain of the ultimate woe which awaits its votaries; and they know genuine goodness when they meet it. Our Lord had overcome the prince of demons, and could therefore command His household.
We need to be delivered from the fever of passion, caught in the low-lying marshes of our lives; to have Christ's hands laid upon our sicknesses and wounds; to be delivered from evil things that haunt our hearts. Then we must help Him in similar services to others. But if He must have His quiet prayer times, so must we, Luke 4:42. [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 4

1  The fasting and temptation of Jesus
14  He begins to preach
16  The people of Nazareth marvel at words, but seek to kill him
33  He cures one possessed of a demon,
38  Peter's mother-in-law,
40  and various other sick persons
41  The demons acknowledge Jesus, and are reproved for it
42  He preaches through the cities of Galilee

Greek Commentary for Luke 4:41

Came out [εχηρχετο]
Imperfect tense, repetition, from one after another. [source]
Thou art the Son of God [Συ ει ο υιος του τεου]
More definite statement of the deity of Jesus than the witness of the demoniac in the synagogue (Luke 4:34; Mark 1:24), like the words of the Father (Luke 3:22) and more so than the condition of the devil (Luke 4:3, Luke 4:9). In the Canterbury Revision “devils” should always be “demons” Imperfect third singular active of εαω — eaō very old and common verb with syllabic augment ει — ei The tense accents the continued refusal of Jesus to receive testimony to his person and work from demons. Cf. Matthew 8:4 to the lepers.Because they knew Causal, not declarative, οτι — hoti Past perfect of the second perfect οιδα — oida he was the Christ Infinitive in indirect assertion with the accusative of general reference. Τον Χριστον — Ton Christon = the Anointed, the Messiah. [source]
Suffered them not to speak [ουκ εια αυτα λαλειν]
Imperfect third singular active of εαω — eaō very old and common verb with syllabic augment ει — ei The tense accents the continued refusal of Jesus to receive testimony to his person and work from demons. Cf. Matthew 8:4 to the lepers. [source]
Because they knew [οτι ηιδεισαν]
Causal, not declarative, οτι — hoti Past perfect of the second perfect οιδα — oida he was the Christ Infinitive in indirect assertion with the accusative of general reference. Τον Χριστον — Ton Christon = the Anointed, the Messiah. [source]
the Anointed []
, the Messiah. [source]
Crying out [κραυγάζοντα]
The inarticulate demoniac scream. [source]
Saying []
The articulate utterance. Mr. Hobart (“Medical Language of St. Luke”) remarks that the medical bias of Luke may be seen from the words he abstains from using as well as from those he does use in respect of disease. Thus he never uses μαλακία for sickness, as Matthew does (Matthew 4:23; Matthew 9:35; Matthew 10:1), since this word is never so used in medical language, but is confined to the meaning of delicacy, effeminacy. So, too, he never uses βασανίζειν ,to torment, of sickness, as Matthew does (Matthew 8:6), as it is never so used in medical language, the word there meaning to examine some part of the body or some medical question.sa40 [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Luke 4:41

Luke 8:28 Torment [βασαμίσῃς]
See on Matthew 4:24. Luke never uses the word of sickness, as Matthew 8:6. See on Luke 4:41. [source]
Acts 16:17 The Most High God [του τεου του υπσιστου]
Pagan inscriptions use this language for the Supreme Being. It looks like supernatural testimony like that borne by the demoniacs to Jesus as “son of the Most High God” (Luke 8:28. Cf; also Mark 1:24; Mark 3:11; Matthew 8:29; Luke 4:41, etc.). She may have heard Paul preach about Jesus as the way of salvation. [source]
Acts 8:7 For many [πολλοι γαρ]
So the correct text of the best MSS., but there is an anacoluthon as this nominative has no verb with it. It was “the unclean spirits” that “came out” The margin of the Revised Version has it “came forth,” as if they came out of a house, a rather strained translation. The loud outcry is like the demons cast out by Jesus (Mark 3:11; Luke 4:41). [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 4:41 mean?

Were going out now also demons from many crying out and saying - You are the Son - of God rebuking [them] not did He allow them to speak because they knew the Christ Him to be
ἐξήρχετο δὲ καὶ δαιμόνια ἀπὸ πολλῶν κραυγάζοντα καὶ λέγοντα ὅτι Σὺ εἶ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπιτιμῶν οὐκ εἴα αὐτὰ λαλεῖν ὅτι ᾔδεισαν τὸν Χριστὸν αὐτὸν εἶναι

ἐξήρχετο  Were  going  out 
Parse: Verb, Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἐξέρχομαι 
Sense: to go or come forth of.
δὲ  now 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
καὶ  also 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: καί  
Sense: and, also, even, indeed, but.
δαιμόνια  demons 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Neuter Plural
Root: δαιμόνιον  
Sense: the divine power, deity, divinity.
πολλῶν  many 
Parse: Adjective, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: πολύς  
Sense: many, much, large.
κραυγάζοντα  crying  out 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Neuter Plural
Root: κραυγάζω  
Sense: to cry out, cry aloud, to shout, to cry out to one.
λέγοντα  saying 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Neuter Plural
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
ὅτι  - 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ὅτι  
Sense: that, because, since.
Υἱὸς  Son 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: υἱός  
Sense: a son.
τοῦ  - 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Θεοῦ  of  God 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: θεός  
Sense: a god or goddess, a general name of deities or divinities.
ἐπιτιμῶν  rebuking  [them] 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἐπιτιμάω  
Sense: to show honour to, to honour.
εἴα  did  He  allow 
Parse: Verb, Imperfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἐάω  
Sense: to allow, permit, let.
λαλεῖν  to  speak 
Parse: Verb, Present Infinitive Active
Root: ἀπολαλέω 
Sense: to utter a voice or emit a sound.
ὅτι  because 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ὅτι  
Sense: that, because, since.
ᾔδεισαν  they  knew 
Parse: Verb, Pluperfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: οἶδα  
Sense: to see.
Χριστὸν  Christ 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: Χριστός  
Sense: Christ was the Messiah, the Son of God.
εἶναι  to  be 
Parse: Verb, Present Infinitive Active
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.