From Legion to Liberation (Lk. 8:26-39)
Today, we are looking at the story of the Gerasene or Gadarene demoniac in Luke chapter eight. This event is shared by all the synoptic authors and highlights the beginning of Jesus’ ministry to Gentile nations. There is so much that we can learn from this story. We can learn about the very real presence of demonic forces at work in our world trying to destroy the image bearers of God. We can learn about the awesome power that our God has for helping us overcome the work of Satan, the Enemy, in our lives. We can also learn about the importance of taking our role in sowing the seeds of God’s Word more seriously.
This event continues the theme of hearing God’s Word properly which began with the parable of the Sower (Lk. 8:4-15). What you hear is important and how you hear, how you respond to what you hear, is vitally important as well. Luke gave us a couple of examples that made this point clear.
Kinship (family), in the kingdom of God, is linked to our obedience to the Word of God.
Family obeys the Word of God (Lk. 8:19-21). Creation obeys the Word of God (Lk. 8:22-25). Creation never argues, negotiates or delays in obeying the Word of God. And for today, the theme continues by pointing out that even demons obey the Word of God (Lk. 8:26-33).
Because this is true, as the Author of Hebrews tells us,
Hebrews 2:1–3 NKJV
1 Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.
2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward,
3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,
Speaking on these verses, Andrew Murray shares this convicting encouragement in his book, The Holiest of All,
Nothing less [than giving the more earnest heed to God’s Word] will satisfy Him...It is the lack of this taking more earnest heed, the lack of intense earnestness, giving God and religion the first place and the best powers of our life which is at the root of the feebleness and sickliness of the Christian life. God is speaking to us in His Son, there we ought to take more abundant heed.[i]
Today, for the first time in Luke’s account, Jesus crosses longstanding boundaries, to bring the light of the Gospel into the dark regions of the Gentile’s land (Lk. 2:29–32) and to plant the seed of God’s Word in non-Jewish soil.
Recognize God’s Power (Lk. 8:26-31)
To begin, there are at least four very important things that we can learn from this event in Luke’s Gospel. Our first takeaway is this, we must learn to recognize the power of God. What I mean by recognize is this, not only are we to see God’s power, to identify it, but we must also surrender to it.
Luke 8:26–29 NKJV
26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee.
27 And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs.
28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!”
29 For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.
Earlier, after Jesus calmed the winds and the waves, His disciples responded by asking a question,
Luke 8:25 NKJV
25 “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”
Well, that question posed by His disciples, is answered by the demon-possessed man as he calls Jesus, “Son of the Most High God” (v28). This is the same title Gabriel gave to Jesus when he announced His birth to Mary at the beginning of Luke’s Gospel.
Luke 1:31–32 NKJV
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.
32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest;
What the disciples of Jesus couldn’t understand while in the storm, the demons knew.
This is Jesus’ first official Gentile encounter in Luke’s Gospel. In a similar fashion to the start of His ministry among the Jews, Jesus begins His non-Jewish ministry by casting out demons.
The theme of recognition is repeated throughout the Gospels. If you remember from Luke 4, as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue in Capernaum, He was confronted by a demon-possessed man. In contrast to the people of Nazareth, who did not recognize Jesus, the demon-possessed man in the synagogue did recognize Jesus, and he begged for mercy. Jesus didn’t allow the demons to speak in Luke 4, but in Luke 8
Luke 8:30–31 NKJV
30 Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him.
31 And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.
Let me tell you something that Scripture continues to point out to us. From Genesis to Revelation. Satan has no more power than what he is allowed to exercise. The power that he performs in your life may be because of your own invitation as you join yourself to demoniac influences or it might be by God’s initiative for the purpose of proving His power over the Enemy for your salvation or the salvation of others. That is true now and it’ll be true until the day Jesus returns for His Bride.
Ephesians 6:12 NKJV
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
While you and I may be in a spiritual battle there is no fight between Yahweh and Satan. The Enemy is already defeated.
1 John 3:8 NKJV
8 For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
Hebrews 2:14 NKJV
14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
When we recognize God’s power at work in and around us and surrender to it for our salvation, we can walk in victory and experience a newness of life unlike anything we have known before.
Don’t Restrict God’s Power (Lk. 8:11-15)
One of the most profound things we can learn from this story is that we should never ever restrict God’s power. Let me explain what I mean.
Luke 8:11–15 NKJV
11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.
14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.
As co-laborers together with Christ, our responsibility in the ministry and mission of building God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven is simply to sow the seeds of God’s Word. It is not our job to judge the soil. Not only was the Gadarenes opposite the Jews geographically, but they were culturally, relationally, and spiritually opposed to each other as well. What Jesus does by sailing to this restricted area is something that many of us might not do with the people around us. He sows the seed of God’s Word in the land of the Gentiles. And guess what happens? The seed lands in some good soil.
Think about something for a moment. Be honest. How often have you resisted sharing the Gospel with somebody else because you prejudged whether or not they would be receptive to it? How often have you talked yourself out of sowing God’s seed because you convinced yourself that the potential convert didn’t want to hear it or they were too far gone spiritually.
We are really good at talking ourselves into things we want to do and we’re equally as good at talking ourselves out of things we don’t want to bother with. Let me give you a little advice that I learned a long time ago.
Never say somebody else’s “No.”
Here’s what that means.
Before the end of the school semester, my two older sons and I talked about leading a summer Bible study with some of their school friends. I got the sense that they might be a little hesitant to invite their friends, so I encouraged them by reminding them that their only responsibility was to extend the invitation. They didn’t need to worry about if they said yes or no, they just needed to invite them. Well, this past week, eight boys and I went through our first Alpha video for youth and it was amazing. Don’t make excuses for people. Just sow the Seed.
There are people all around us who are spiritually bound just like this demoniac in Luke eight.
This man had been enslaved by a demonic presence for a long time. He is bound physically, mentally, and spiritually. The demons often drove him into the wilderness, Luke says. They drive him into places of barrenness to torment him. Sadly, his only encounter with people has been for them to chain him even more, to increase his suffering. No one is trying to free him from his entrapment; they are extending it. Magnifying it.
David Garland says,
He has been enslaved by both demons and humans, driven by the one to the haunts of wild animals and clapped by the other in irons and treated like a wild animal.[ii]
Society, people in general, have only encountered this man for the purpose of keeping him bound up, but Jesus has come to set him free, and He’ll do the same for you, me and those around us as well.
Understand this, many of the people who enter your life are not at all concerned about your freedom. Beware of those who keep telling you why you’ll never amount to much. Beware of those who keep reminding you of who you used to be, the person Jesus saved you from. Don’t take advice from people who try to keep you in the wilderness of life with them. They want to keep you in chains like the folks did to the demon-possessed man, but Jesus has come that you might have life in abundance!
If you will recognize the power of God’s Word to do exceedingly and abundantly more than you can ever imagine, if you will hear it and obey it, you will find life.
Don’t Resist God’s Power (Lk. 8:32-37)
Sadly, not everyone who is a witness to the power of God will surrender to it. Some people resist the work of God in their lives.
Luke 8:32–37 NKJV
32 Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them.
33 Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.
34 When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.
35 Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.
36 They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed.
37 Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned.
Notice something profound in verse thirty-five.
Luke 8:35 NKJV
35 Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.
What are we looking at here? We are witnessing adoption. Sonship. Why do I say that? Well, if you remember from the message about the sinful woman who washes the feet of Jesus in Luke seven, the feet of Jesus is a place of surrender, a place of humility, a place of submission. And that’s where the people find this man when they return. The demons have tapped out and this man humbles himself at the feet of Jesus. Secondly, we are told that he is “clothed in his right mind”. To be clothed by Jesus, to be clothed by God Himself, is a beautiful picture of acceptance, adoption, restoration, relationship and transformation.
We’re going to see that in chapter fifteen as we read about the Prodigal Son (Lk. 15:11-32). For now, look at verse twenty-two.
Luke 15:22 NKJV
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.
The Bible has much to say about our being clothed by our Father and we are encouraged to clothe ourselves with the character of God. Beginning in Genesis 3. Adam and Eve, like the Gadarene demoniac, are naked and Yahweh Elohim clothes them (Gen. 3:21). We are told in Paul’s letter to the churches in Rome, Ephesus, and Colosse.
Romans 13:14 NKJV
14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
Ephesians 4:24 NKJV
24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Colossians 3:9–10 NKJV
9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,
10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,
When we get to the book of Revelation, we see God clothing the faithful followers of the Lamb.
Revelation 6:11 NKJV
11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.
Revelation 19:8 NKJV
8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
Can I make an observation really fast? There are lots of people around us today who are walking through life spiritually naked and some of them have no shame about it. Some Christians spend more time fixing their hair than fixing their eyes on Jesus. Some people spend more time picking out clothes to wear to exercise than they do clothing their spirit with Christ. Some of women spend more time in the mirror put on makeup than they do putting on righteousness. Some of you guys, you’re more concerned about what shoes you have on than having your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel (Eph. 6:15).
Your spirit is naked and you have no covering for yourselves because you have resisted the power of God at work in and around you.
Put on the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:10-18) and let Him clothe you with “the garments of salvation and the robe of righteousness” (Isa. 61:10). Yield to the power of God and watch Him clothe you with “majesty and strength” (Ps. 93:1). If you have been baptized into Christ then you have put on Christ as your covering (Gal. 3:27).
Stop walking around with your spirit exposed when you have an entire wardrobe to cover yourself.
Relay God’s Power (Lk. 8:38-39)
The last point I want to make is this. When you have recognized the power of God and you have not restricted it or been resistant to its work in your life, the final step is to relay it to others.
Luke 8:38–39 NKJV
38 Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying,
39 “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.
Folks listen, if you have been transformed by the wonder-working power of God, then you have a story to tell. We’ve talked about this many times before, but it bears repeating. Do not make excuses for other people which will cause you to resist sharing the hope you have in Christ. The man who had been demon possessed had a really good reason for not talking about what happened that day. The citizens had run Jesus out of town because of what He did for this man. An economy had collapsed because of Jesus. The whole town could’ve turned on this man and blamed him for what took place. Any number of reasons could’ve been employed for making excuses about why he didn’t share his experience, but I love how simple Jesus made his assignment.
Luke 8:39 NKJV
39 “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.
Can you do that?
Can you tell people what great things God has done for you? You don’t have to prejudge the soil. You just need to sow the seed. And get this, Jesus has already prayed for you and for those you share the Gospel with.
John 17:9 NKJV
9 “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.
John 17:15 NKJV
15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.
John 17:20 NKJV
20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;
Understand something, church. We are in a spiritual battle. Our enemy, Satan, is constantly at work enslaving people, keeping them bound up in dark and deadly places of torment. But we have a Light that pushes that darkness back. Don’t cover it up. Shine brightly so others will see it and glorify God for what He has done in your life.
Respond
Professor and evangelist, Andy Bannister says,
Have you ever wondered that what most of us want when it comes to evil and suffering is not something said about it but something done about it?
At the heart of the Christian faith is a God who hasn’t just said something about suffering but who, in the cross of Jesus Christ, has done something about evil and suffering, defeating and disarming it at Calvary. But that defeat came at a great price. We see in Jesus a God of compassion, a God who does not merely give us the ability to name evil for what it is but a God who dealt with it and has given us the certain hope that one day evil will be gone forever.[iii]
You and I get to play a very significant role in the mission and ministry of Jesus in the lives of those around us today. It’s important that we recognize the power of God at work. Not only that we see it, but that we also surrender to it for our own salvation. Furthermore, it’s important that we are not restricting the Gospel. Our responsibility is to scatter seeds far and wide without judging the soil. We plant and water, but God causes the seed to take root and produce fruit. For those of you who are not Christians today, your role in this life-changing work of God is to be open and receptive to the grace that God is extending to you. Do not resist the power of God that is at work in your life. Finally, we are called to give a reason for the hope that we have in Jesus by relaying to others “what great things God has done for you.” That’s what the man from the Gadarenes did. He didn’t have to make up some grand story. He just needed to relay to others what God did for him.
[i] (Andrew Murray, The Holiest of All, p68).
[ii] (David Garland, Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, 358)
[iii] (Andy Bannister, How to Talk About Jesus Without Looking Like an Idiot, 173)
