What a spectacle greeted Jesus Christ! We are studying Luke chapter 8 and we come to verse 26. Jesus and his disciples have just sailed on the lake of Galilee, having been in a violent storm, which calmed and rescued the situation from possible eternal danger. I described to them what a Galilee storm is like having watched such a scene from the safety of our hotel room.
A man came to Jesus. He is naked, controlled by evil spirits, demonized.
Remember that this book is being written by a doctor and inspired by the Holy Spirit, and we have read how reliable this book is in the first four verses of Luke. These facts must be taken into account particularly in these times of skepticism.
This man is wild – restless – uncontrollable – dangerous. Demons want to make a man what they are. When this tragedy of a man saw Jesus Christ, he began to cry and shout and roar: “What do you want from me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?”
It’s wild and dirty. Evil spirits compel and control. They are intense and persistent. They distract people. Something keeps repeating itself, and normal Christian discipline will not deal with it: it must be thrown out.
They dominate – manipulate – intimidate. These are characteristic marks of evil spirits.
Sometimes we don’t know where they come from.
A mosquito bites, and then you get malaria, and you don’t remember being bitten. It can be so in spiritual warfare, if we let our guard down and don’t wear the armor that God provides. (See Ephesians Chapter 6)
They recognize who Jesus is, they know who Jesus is, but they fight, fight, rebel and argue with JESUS. They know that He is the Son of God, but they cannot serve or worship. Immediately, there is a negative reaction to Jesus. This man’s behavior is regrettable and irrational. There was no reason for the man to behave this way, and not even Jesus could reason with him.
Now, there are some people you can’t reason with. Some people fight and fight and rebel and argue and one wonders: why do they react like this? It’s irrational!
If you find that someone is trying to dominate, manipulate or intimidate you, know where that is coming from and be very careful!
Society could do nothing with this needy man, and could do nothing for him.
Perhaps he thought that no one could do anything for him, a totally hopeless case. However, he comes to Jesus. He has been rejected by everyone, family and friends, he is lost, alone, isolated and afraid.
v 30 Jesus asks his name, and the answer is “Legion”. His mind was like a regiment of Roman soldiers marching and marching: such were his troubles, anguish, confusion, burden, and restlessness.
Jesus Christ expels evil spirits from man and casts them into a herd of swine. All it takes from Jesus Christ is a word of authority, and they have to go. The pigs ran down the hillside and drowned in the lake.
Jesus Christ has no mercy on evil. Jesus did not show goodness to evil. He dealt with evil firmly, and with power and authority.
When evil confronts Jesus Christ it is war, and Jesus defeats it. He deals with him, and throws him out. When we face evil, we must cast it out and put an end to it.
Jesus does not say that this man needs six weeks of counseling. He doesn’t pray for it. He exercises the authority that he had received, and Jesus does not deal with any other manifestation of evil in that area. He only deals with the evil that confronts him, and he deals with it in public.
When those who were feeding the pigs saw what had happened, they ran to the village and all over the place, telling what they had witnessed. People came out to see. They were curious. “What is this all about?”
They saw that dear man sitting at the feet of Jesus – clothed – clothed – and in his right mind – at peace. And they were afraid. When they realized what had happened, they told Jesus to go and take his ministry elsewhere. Jesus had just arrived, but instead of being happy, they ask him to leave.
The locals could live with a madman, but NOT with Jesus. It is as if they preferred their lunatics and pigs to Jesus. It’s like they care more about pigs than people. They cared more for animals than for a man in great need.
Jesus is willing to sacrifice a herd of pigs to get a man back. Jesus is willing to sacrifice them to see a man receive peace. For Jesus the well-being of a man is important. This is why within the Fraternity of the Church of Jesus Christ, no one is excluded. If we ever draw a circle that excludes someone, Jesus comes and draws a larger circle that will include that person.
The healed man stays close to Jesus and yet people are trying to push Jesus away, out of the way, leave us alone! Jesus knows when he is not loved, and he leaves that area. The healed man wants to go to Jesus, but Jesus says “No!” Sometimes Jesus says “No” and usually there is a reason. “Go home and testify – go home and tell what God has done for you – share your experience!” And He obeys Jesus Christ the Son of God. Now, that’s another miracle.
What a testimony that must have been, just to see him walking down the road, healed, in control, full of peace, so changed, transformed, a new man, a totally different person. He wasn’t ashamed or ashamed of what he had been.
Some people want Jesus to go; a man wants to go with Jesus. What lessons these disciples must have learned that day, what training they received without knowing it, in the boat and on the shore.
In each experience, learn and grow, and let yourself be guided by His Word. Some will be sent back home to serve, work, and witness there; others Jesus will take in the boat to travel with Him to some other area. The important thing is to serve where He wants us to serve, knowing that his Promise is to be with us at all times, and Jesus never breaks his Promise.
There are things that have to be thrown out, and then there is no use trying to crucify them. And there are works of the flesh, which have to be crucified, and there is no point in trying to cast them out. You cannot crucify an evil spirit.
Here we see the King at work in His Kingdom. The enemy was ready to destroy. He is in the destruction business. He is in the death business. Jesus comes to rescue and restore and give life and peace. Jesus saw the world in terms of the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness. To minister like this we have to be full.
Do you think there is something wrong with the pilot who has just flown to Inverness and asks to be filled out before heading back to London? No. he has been emptied, drained. If he can’t refuel his plane at the airport, where can he refuel? If you can’t be filled with the Holy Spirit when you come to worship, where can you be filled?
There are lessons here that demand serious study.
Sandy Shaw.