Luke 8:26-39
26 Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me”— 29 for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) 30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. 31 They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.
32 Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
34 When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36 Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.
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This narrative of Jesus against the power of evil is recorded in all three gospels. Matthew tells this story a little less in detail than Luke, but Mark gives us more detail than Luke.
Story like this, dealing with the supernatural realm of the unclean spirit, reminds me of my youth back in Burma. I joined a retreat in a small remote town call Kyautme, a town that belong to Shan State and mostly inhabited by the Shan tribe, a tribe that believe a great deal in shamanism.
One day as I was touring the town during the break with a fellow camper, we came across a house with a large crowd inside and out. We join the crowd and as saw a shaman trying to talk to the spirit. A shaman is a member of the tribal society who acts as a medium between the visible world and the invisible supernatural world. So this shaman was trying to communicate with the spirit on behalf of the family.
He was meditating and dancing for quite a long time but there was no spirit coming to him. Usually what happen was the spirit would take over a shaman’s body and talk. For example, if this family wanted to communicate with their late mother, the shaman would evoke the spirit of her mother and let the mother’s spirit takeover his body. In this case, when the mother’s spirit took over the shaman and the shaman would speak as the mother. A shaman is usually a man, but in this case like this produce a woman’s voice because he is no longer himself but the late mother of the family that has possessed his body.
We waited there for about half an hour, but nothing happened. Than the shaman shouted to the crowd saying that he sensed that there were “Jesuses” among the crowd, that’s why the spirit wouldn’t come. The tribal people called Christians “Jesuses” because they don’t have a special term like “Christians.” What he meant was that when the Christians were around, the spirit wouldn’t come. So he asked, “If there any Jesuses in the crowd, please leave. All Jesuses go home!” We didn’t want to look obvious, so we didn’t leave. We pretended that we were not the “Jesuses” he was talking about and we didn’t want leave also because we want to see what it was like.
Another fifteen minutes went by and nothing happen, and the shaman got annoyed. We also needed to get back to the camp, so reluctantly we left. Some people in town told us later that the spirit came. Every time I thought of that incident, I had a mixed feeling because I miss the opportunity to observe the appearance of the spirit. I felt I had the disadvantage of being a Christian. On the other hand, I felt the advantage of being a Christian because I realized that I was protected by the Spirit of Jesus Christ since the evil spirit was afraid of my presence with the Holy Spirit.
What made me wonder was why the spirit of the late mother of the family didn’t show up. Was it because she was an unclean spirit because only the unclean spirit would have conflict with Jesus’ Holy Spirit? I would think the mother’s spirit would be just the neutral spirit. It also made me think that the spirit that processed the shamans must be an unclean spirit that pretended to be the mother. That must be why it is afraid of the presence of the Holy Spirit.
In any case, that event provided me a disappointment of never able to see the ghosts, and in the same time it was very comfortable and encouraging to grow up knowing that I was protected by the Spirit of Jesus Christ and I didn’t have to be afraid of the ghosts when I walk in the dark, being alone, or walk across the graveyard. It means a great deal for a young man.
It is interesting that the word demon is mentioned only a couple times in the Old Testament, but quite a lot in the Gospels. The Jews believed in the existence of demons. However, why did they appear so often in the New Testament? The reason is the coming of Jesus was the equivalent of visitation of the kingdom of God. Jesus said in Luke 11:20, “But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you.” In the presence of Jesus Christ, we see a glimpse of the future kingdom of God. The coming of the kingdom of God means imprisonment of the evil spirit so they reacted to Jesus’ appearance.
Verse 28 says, “When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me”— It was tormenting for the devil to see Jesus, and in another story they asked why Jesus appeared on earth because the end time has not come yet; they were not supposed to be punished yet. Verse 31 says, “They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.”
It was strange to see that the devil believes in Jesus as the Son of the Most High God, but it just doesn’t want to change its behavior.
Let us look at the application part of this scripture lesson. What does it have to do with our life, and what is this passage telling us to do?
1 - Trust Jesus for your problems big or small
Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. (Luke 8:30)
A legion of the army in those days had 4000-6000 soldiers. Let’s pick 5000 as the medium number. That means this man has about 5000 devils in him. It was like having 5000 problem in his life. How big is your problem, or how numerous are your problems? Do you have 5000 problems? We often use the expression, “I have 1000 problems to deal with. I am burning out.” But Jesus can handle all of that and more than that.
This man has so many problems that he has lost his shame; he didn’t wear any clothes. He had lost his sense of decent living; he was living in the tombs. No matter how big your problem is, it is definitely not as big as this one.
Among all the stories of Jesus’ power against the forces of evil this is probably the biggest one. Since Jesus could handle 5000 problems of this man, he definitely can handle all of your problems. So trust him with your problems big or small.
2 - Claim God’s promises
It was fascinating to read about this dialog between Jesus and the demons. They asked him not to send them back to the abyss. The reason was the time hadn’t come for them to go there yet. It was as if God had made a covenant with the devil that he would send him to the abyss until the kingdom of God comes. The demons now asked Jesus to keep his promise and asked for the permission to enter the swine.
Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
The point is that if Jesus kept his promise with the lowly demons, he surely would keep his promises with us. Do you know that there are about 6000 promises in the Bible, if you have 6000 problems, there is a promise for every problem you have. Even Jesus’ last word is a great and comfortable promise, “I’ll be with you to the end of the age.” Jesus is a promise-keeper, and you can claim all his promises and live a secure and confident life.
3 - Don’t be afraid
The people in the community were afraid after seeing and hearing the power of Jesus Christ.
And they were afraid. Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned.
Don’t be afraid like these people, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” 2 Tim 1:7. Whenever we have the spirit of fear, we need to examine ourselves where it came from because the Bible says God has not given us the spirit of fear and timidity.
This former demoniac was sitting in front of Jesus obviously in comfort and relief. But, the rest of the crowd asked Jesus to leave. It reminds me of my story at that I told you the beginning, in which the shaman asked, “All those who are Jesus, please leave here.” The unclean spirit is the spirit of fear and they are afraid of Jesus’ presence. The presence of Jesus means to some people a change for their future. So recognize the power of Jesus Christ and don’t be afraid of your future.
4 - Tell Others what God has Done for You
You might ask why Jesus sent this man out to witness to others what God had done for him, but in other occasions Jesus wanted those whom he healed to keep quiet. It was because those people were the Jews and this one happened to be in a Greek, or gentile town. When Jesus performed miracles among the Jews, he asked them to keep quiet because the time for his crucifixion and resurrection hadn’t come yet. But, in this Greek town, it was not harmful to witness for him, so he sent him out to tell people what Jesus had done for him.
“The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.”
Evangelism is to tell what God has done for you. It is that simple. The word evangelism came from the same root word as Angel, which means the carrier of the Good News. So if you have good news, you are evangelizing. Jesus is asking us to be the witness for him.
I know that some of us came to the church this morning with a thousand problems at home or at work. How big or how many problems do you have? Give Jesus your problems because he can handle it. Claim his promise because he is the promise-keeper. Don’t be afraid because fear does not come from the Holy Spirit but some other unclean spirit. And tell others about your experience. May God bless you all! Amen!
