What Has God Done for You?

Series on Luke

III The Initiation

D The Activities of His Ministry Revealing that the Kingdom Is:

10 Fighting

Text: 8:26-39

Introduction

To introduce us to this story in verses 26-31, I want to share with you something of the scene and the significance of this event. We read, They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. 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. 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!” For Jesus had commanded the evil 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. Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. And they begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss. First the scene is the region of the Gerasenes, called Gerasa or Gergasa, also called by one evangelist Gadara. There is a place called Kersa today on the southeast shore of the sea of Galilee. The ancient town of Gadara was nearby and owned this land. To this place Jesus and his disciples and others sailed after he had rebuked the wind and the waves. It bears the marks of authenticity to this day. The sea has receded some but the hills down which the pigs ran are still there. The tombs hewn in rocks are still there. and even the kind of rocks with which the demoniac cut himself according to Mark’s account are in abundant evidence. Here is one of them and you can see how they are flint-like rocks that break into shards with sharp edges ideal for cutting. Once among these stones the Son of God delivered a man possessed of countless demons and made him whole. This brings me to the second matter i wish to share by way of introduction. The significance of this event which is not to be found in trying to duplicate the experience. As we learned in an earlier message on Luke 4:31-37, demons are fallen spirit beings under Satan’s rule, incapable of being redeemed, and demon possession is a phenomenon which in the Bible occurred almost exclusively, but to an amazing extent during our Lord’s ministry. It occurred only twice in the Old Testament and rarely during the activity of the Apostles after Jesus’ resurrection. Demons virtually came out of the walls during Jesus’ earthly ministry because He was the Son of God here to save us. Satan unleashed all his forces against the anointed one of God. Thus we are not going to learn from this passage either to be afraid of demons or how to cast them out but rather we shall learn about Christ confronting and conquering them so that we can do the work he has called us to. Let us proceed with three considerations, the triumph, the testing and the testimony.

I The Triumph

Demons reacted to Jesus with stark raving fear in verses 28 and 31. He is their creator for they are fallen spiritual beings. He is almighty and they know it as we read in James 2:19, You believe that there is one God, good, even the demons believe that and shudder. They also know that He is not here to redeem them because the Son of God was manifested to destroy the works of the devil. The Bible says when the seed of the woman comes he will bruise the serpent’s head. When the seventy disciples returned from a successful mission saying even the demons are subject unto us, Jesus said, I beheld Satan fall as lightening from heaven. And so the demons cry out, don’t torment us, and they beg Him not to order them into the abyss. What do they know that many Christians don’t seem to realize. Just this! It was not God’s plan to destroy Satan directly although he could have done that at any moment. It was God’s plan to destroy Satan’s rule through Adam, and when that failed, through a second Adam, Jesus of Nazareth, the God man. But this triumph over Satan is the triumph of the cross. Jesus had to rescue His people by His atoning death and resurrection. The last enemy to be destroyed is death but death could not hold him. Lest you think I am indulging in theological speculation, listen to what Paul says in I Corinthians 2:8, None of the rulers of this world understood this for if they had they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. The thing they did not understand we learn from the context is God’s wisdom in the plan of salvation. The rulers are not earthly politicians or princes, they are the ones Paul refers to in Ephesians 6, We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. When they crucified Jesus they sealed their own fate. Remember at the moment of Jesus betrayal the Bible says Satan entered into Judas. Nowhere does Paul state the matter more clearly than in Colossians 2:15, And having disarmed the powers and authorities,he made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them by the cross. Listen, the gospel of Christ crucified which is the true gospel, deprives the devil and his demons of their weapon, delusion. All people worship these powers in various forms until the gospel comes. In the preaching of the gospel the delusion dies and the powers are unmasked and disarmed. As Luther put it in his great hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” one little word will fell the devil, the name of Jesus! Are we to go through life worried and anxious about the nature of these powers, or succumbing to them and serving them? Never! Christ and the gospel have openly unmasked and disarmed them.

II The Testing

Now, as I said, the world lies in the power of the wicked one and men worship the rulers of this age in various forms. The pagans worshiped them in trees, the Jews worshiped them in the commandments of the Pharisees, and all men everywhere worship them in the love of money which is the root of all evil. Greed is demonic. And so all the people of that area begged Jesus to leave because of what he did with the demons in verses 32-37, A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into them, and he gave them permission. 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. When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, 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. Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. 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. He had rebuked the demons and here sat this wild man in his right mind, cured and clothed, sane, sensible and sociable. the victory of Jesus was clear but they rejected it as men do today. they preferred their pigs. oink oink what a perfect picture of greed. This was an area with a lot of Greek influence in it, so it was not that surprising to find a herd of pigs. What angered them was the cost. Luke twice mentions that the people were afraid. But this was not a Godly fear. It was a fear that the power of God might intrude upon and upset their lives. Those who raise questions about Jesus destroying this private property are absurd. Whose property was it anyway? Until we realize that it’s all God’s property and give Him what He commands and deserves, we here in this nation of plenty will be saying to Jesus, “Go away.” That is exactly what we have said to Jesus. Gentle Jesus meek and mild come and sit with us, but if you’re going to make my pigs run over the cliff, leave. There is after all a choice to be made which is a test of true faith. Which was more important, one redeemed soul or their property? What will a man give in exchange for his life, and what shall it profit him if he gain the whole world and lose his life? This brings us to our final point, the testimony.

III The Testimony

The conclusion of our text in verses 38 and 39 reveals the testimony to be borne, The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him. The man wanted to go with Jesus, and who wouldn’t? Jesus said no, go and bear testimony. In this region he did not need him to keep quiet as Jesus told people in other places. Tell all God has done he said. Executive counselors during the last week of a recent evangelistic crusade, Encounter 91, were charged with following up after the regular counselors. The first question we were to ask was, “What has God done for you tonight?” This is exactly what Jesus told the man to go and tell. Let me suggest that of all the people Jesus met and helped, if I had been in charge, which thank God i was not, this man would have been the person I would have kept close to me. The most degraded, disgusting, the most awful example of the dregs of sinful humanity you can find on the pages of holy writ. Surely he needed to remain with Jesus, but Jesus sends him off. What does that tell you about the victory Jesus brings in your life and the life of others. What does that tell you about the triumph of the cross? To this man the gospel had come, deception was done, life was secure in the Son. This is the treasure you bear in your earthen vessels, the triumph of light and truth. What are you doing about it. Are we giving it out, or are we greedily clutching our pigs and giving in to fear?