Luke 8:26-37 New International Version (NIV)
26 They sailed to the region of the
Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. 27 When Jesus stepped ashore,
he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had
not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. 28 When he
saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice,
“What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t
torture me!” 29 For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man.
Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept
under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into
solitary places.
30 Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“Legion,” he replied, because many demons
had gone into him. 31 And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go
into the Abyss.
32 A large herd of pigs was feeding there on
the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave
them permission. 33 When the demons came out of the man, they went into the
pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
34 When those tending the pigs saw what had
happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, 35 and
the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they
found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet,
dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 36 Those who had seen it
told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. 37 Then all the
people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they
were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The familiar passage above from the Book of Luke was
included in my daily Bible reading plan for this week.* In this passage, we read of Jesus casting out
the legion of demons from the man of Gerasenes into a herd of pigs, leaving the
formerly possessed man healed, dressed, and in his right mind.
Reading this passage during Holy Week this year, I was
struck again by just what God will do to reach a single person. In the verses immediately preceding this
passage, we read that one day, just out of the blue, Jesus had spoken to His
disciples and told them, “Let’s go over to the other side of the lake” (Lk
8:22). Jesus and His disciples had been
ministering in Capernaum on the west side of the Sea (Lake) of Galilee for some
time, but for some reason, Jesus just decided that today was the day to cross
over the sea to go to the other side.
The story is familiar to us. Jesus and His disciples get into their boat
and sail out across the lake. As they
head towards the distant shore and Jesus sleeps in the front of the boat, a storm
comes up of such terrible ferocity that it terrifies even the seasoned
fishermen who were piloting the craft.
Jesus wakes to their cries for help and calms the storm with a word, and
they continue on their journey.
They land at Gerasenes, where they are immediately
confronted by the demon-possessed man.
Luke tells us he had lived in the tombs for years, without clothes and
in poor condition, harassed by the demons within. A man truly in need of salvation. A man truly in need of a Savior.
Jesus steps out of the boat and the demons immediately
begin to get worried. Light had come to
a dark shore. They beg for Jesus to not
cast them into the Abyss, but to let them go into the pigs who were nearby --
just as a note, this was an indication that Gerasenes was a primarily Gentile
area, and Jesus had not yet carried His message to anyone outside the Jewish
community. Jesus relented and allowed
the demons to leave the man and go into the pigs. Even as the pigs rushed into the water and
drowned, this formerly demon-possessed man finds himself made clean and whole
and restored for the first time in years.
Others from the region come to the scene, and beg Jesus
to leave. They want no part of what they
have just seen (remember: these are Gentiles who are pagan in their
beliefs. They do not truly understand
Who stands before them or what He has done.
Their fear leads them to push away the One who came to redeem
them.). In response to their urgings,
Luke tells us, “So, He got into the boat and left” (Luke 8:37).
“He got into the boat and left.” That is the phrase that made me catch my
breath when I read this passage.
Remember what has just occurred.
Jesus has been successfully ministering in Capernaum and just decides to
leave one day to go to the other side of the lake, encountering a terrible
storm, and then confronting a legion of demons in a man isolated from life and
community. He undertakes this great
journey to go all the way to the other side of the lake, only to get back into
the boat and immediately leave.
What does this tell us?
That this whole trip was conceived and executed for a single person. This whole journey, including the frightful
passage through the storm, was Jesus’ efforts to reach just one person, to save
just one person, to restore just one person.
Do you understand what this means? If Jesus would go to such extremes to just
save one person, then He will go to such extremes just to save you!
During Holy Week, we often hear people reflect on the
cross and say, “If it had only been you in need of a Savior, Jesus still would
have come and died.” We hear this, we
nod in assent, but do we really believe it in our hearts? Do we really consider ourselves worthy for
the Lord of all creation to come to earth as a man, born in a manger and living
in an oppressed world, dying on the cross and suffering the wrath of God, all
just for us?
If we’re honest, we really don’t believe that. We believe that Jesus came to save the world
(i.e. John 3:16), but just us? No, we
don’t believe that He would care that much for just one person, especially for
us. But, the scriptures say otherwise.
Jesus undertook a journey of great peril to redeem and
restore one demon-possessed man, and then immediately left the region, having
victoriously accomplished this purpose.
God sent Philip the evangelist into the desert to witness to just one
man, the Ethiopian eunuch. And God would
have sent Jesus to earth to die on the cross and suffer His wrath in our place
just for you.
There is a very popular Christian song out now by Cory
Asbury called, “Reckless Love,” which speaks of the measures Jesus will go to
just to save us individually. Let me
quote part of the song for you:
“Before I spoke a word, You were singing over me
You have been so, so good to me
Before I took a breath, You breathed Your life in me
You have been so, so kind to me
“Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the
ninety-nine
I couldn't earn it, and I don't deserve it, still, You
give Yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God,
yeah
“When I was Your foe, still Your love fought for me
You have been so, so good to me
When I felt no worth, You paid it all for me
You have been so, so kind to me
“And oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of
God
Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the
ninety-nine
And I couldn't earn it, and I don't deserve it, still,
You give Yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God,
yeah
“There's no shadow You won't light up
Mountain You won't climb up
Coming after me
There's no wall You won't kick down
Lie You won't tear down
Coming after me”
So, what does Holy Week and Easter mean to me in light of
this passage from Luke? It is a reminder
to me of just how much God loves us, something that is hard for us to really
understand and accept. But, know this --
it is not just a cliche that Jesus would have come just for you. It is the truth! It is the message behind the cross. It is the message of the empty tomb. It is the voice of God singing over us and
the presence of God kicking down walls and climbing up mountains and leaving His
home in heaven just to find us and restore us and redeem us.
God loves you so much that He couldn’t imagine heaven
without you! Know that. Believe that.
And let it change your life.
*(Just as a note, I am reading through the
Bible again this year, using a plan that has an Old Testament passage, a New
Testament passage, a selection from the Psalms, and another from Proverbs. Although I won’t disagree with the argument
from others that such a plan leads to a disjunct context and causes passages to
be considered in isolation, potentially missing the bigger picture and meaning,
I have found this plan works well for me.)
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