Luk 8:26-39 | KingComments | STEP | They continue their boat trip and come in the country of the Gerasenes. The location is specified as the country “which is opposite Galilee”. The Lord goes there to seek and deliver a poor demon-possessed man. After the need of the disciples and the salvation by Him we see in this history the need of one individual person and the liberation from it by Him. The disciples’ need had to do with their service for Him. They had Him with them in their need. It was only about trusting Him. The need of the man in the next history is totally different. He is completely distanced from the Lord and completely in the power of satan. When the disciples were in need, they called to the Lord’s help; the man cried that he had nothing to do with Him. In both cases, the Lord shows His power and outcome. When they have left the boat and come out onto the land, He and His disciples are not warmly welcomed. For the disciples it does mean further teaching. After having experienced the power of the natural elements in the boat, they now enter an area where satan is lord and master. A man from the city meets Him. It is not just any man. Luke describes a man who is completely in the power of satan. The man walks around without any self-respect, naked and without any shame. Nor does he live in a house, but in the tombs, the area of death. There is no normal talking either. When he sees the Lord, he falls down before Him. Loudly he says that there is no connection between him and the Lord. But he does acknowledge His power to judge him. He asks the Lord not to torment him because he knows that this is the judgment that awaits him. The voice of the man is the voice of the demons. The demons have taken such full possession of this man that the words they express are attributed to him. The Lord has come here to deliver men from the power of satan. He commanded the unclean spirit, which is one of the causes of the man walking around shamelessly naked, to come out of him. The evil spirit is not only unclean, but also violent and powerful. It is a spirit that cannot be tamed by people and cannot be bound by any human power. Many times it has been tried to control the man by tying him with chains and shackles. It was all in vain because he broke the bonds. Restlessly he is driven by the demon into the desert.

‏ Luke 8:26-39

A Demon-Possessed Meets the Lord

They continue their boat trip and come in the country of the Gerasenes. The location is specified as the country “which is opposite Galilee”. The Lord goes there to seek and deliver a poor demon-possessed man. After the need of the disciples and the salvation by Him we see in this history the need of one individual person and the liberation from it by Him.

The disciples’ need had to do with their service for Him. They had Him with them in their need. It was only about trusting Him. The need of the man in the next history is totally different. He is completely distanced from the Lord and completely in the power of satan. When the disciples were in need, they called to the Lord’s help; the man cried that he had nothing to do with Him. In both cases, the Lord shows His power and outcome.

When they have left the boat and come out onto the land, He and His disciples are not warmly welcomed. For the disciples it does mean further teaching. After having experienced the power of the natural elements in the boat, they now enter an area where satan is lord and master. A man from the city meets Him. It is not just any man. Luke describes a man who is completely in the power of satan.

The man walks around without any self-respect, naked and without any shame. Nor does he live in a house, but in the tombs, the area of death. There is no normal talking either. When he sees the Lord, he falls down before Him. Loudly he says that there is no connection between him and the Lord. But he does acknowledge His power to judge him. He asks the Lord not to torment him because he knows that this is the judgment that awaits him.

The voice of the man is the voice of the demons. The demons have taken such full possession of this man that the words they express are attributed to him. The Lord has come here to deliver men from the power of satan. He commanded the unclean spirit, which is one of the causes of the man walking around shamelessly naked, to come out of him. The evil spirit is not only unclean, but also violent and powerful. It is a spirit that cannot be tamed by people and cannot be bound by any human power. Many times it has been tried to control the man by tying him with chains and shackles. It was all in vain because he broke the bonds. Restlessly he is driven by the demon into the desert.

The Demons Enter the Swine

The Lord wants the demon to make himself known and asks for his name. The demon answers that his name is “Legion”, because he is not alone, but with him many demons have entered the man. How it came thus far, isn’t mentioned. It is a warning that we should not open up for anything originating from satan. Once he has a point of entry in a person, he will try to gain full control over that person. An unclean spirit can slowly but surely take possession of someone if he, for example, engages in pornography. Every impure thought or unclean image must be judged as soon as it arises, otherwise satan has an opening.

The demons know that the Lord has the power to send them into the abyss. Therefore they beg Him not to do that. They suggest to Him to send them into the swine. He allows that. That is not indulgence from His side, but he uses the demons to judge the evil of the inhabitants of that country. They are as unclean as the swine they keep. In addition, the demons reveal their desire to destroy.

Just as the wind and the sea obeyed Him, so do the demons. What happens to the swine is a picture of what will happen to the apostate Jews. Later, when heathen powers will come to take possession of their holy city, they will throw themselves into battle in an incomprehensible blindness to let themselves be slaughtered. This is the result of their rejection of the Lord Jesus.

Reaction of the People in Gerasa

Those who had herded the swine run away. They have completely lost control of the herd. Everywhere in the area, both in the city and in the country, they tell what has happened. They do an eyewitness account because they have seen it with their own eyes. Their story leads all who hear it to go and see what has happened.

When they come to the Lord, they find there the man who had always made their area unsafe, sitting at His feet in complete peace. He is no longer naked and insane. He is physically dressed and mentally healthy. Here we see a picture of what grace is capable of working in a human being who, shortly before, was still completely in the power of satan. That should touch their hearts. The grace of God in Christ has done what they couldn’t achieve with their chains and shackles.

But the effect on the people who see this, is fear. Then the witnesses report of the salvation of the man who was demon-possessed. They have seen how the demons were expelled from him by the Lord, and went into their herd, and how their herd had perished. Instead of being impressed by the healing of the possessed, they are impressed by the loss of their herd. The Lord had destroyed their herd. They rather get rid of such a Person Who had taken their possessions. They don’t want Him. They have tolerated the company of a man who was demon-possessed, but they do not tolerate the Lord’s company. If He would please leave them. Without saying a word, the Lord goes into a boat again and returns to Galilee.

The Commission

It is understandable that the man, delivered by the Lord, wants to stay with Him. But the Lord sends him away. At the same time he gives him a commission. He tells the man to go to his house, where he has not been since he was demon-possessed and lived in the tombs. There he can show his family how he has changed and tell them what happened to him. That is the simplest thing that everyone who has been delivered by the Lord from the power of satan can do. This commission also applies to us.

The Lord says to the man that he must tell “what great things God has done” for him. However, the man tells “what great things Jesus had done for him“. It is clear to him that the Lord Jesus is God. He tells his story not only at home, but throughout the whole city. They did not want the Lord to be with them, but in His great grace He sends them a witness. This is what has been happening since His rejection. We have been sent into the world from which He left because it rejected Him, to testify of what He did to us.

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