This week we
are looking at an encounter that an individual had with Jesus that is recorded
for us in an account of Jesus life in the bible called the gospel of Luke.
Yesterday, we looked on, to see that as Jesus and the disciples stepped out of
the boat and onto dry land, they were met by a man from a local town who was
possessed by demons. In other words, this man was no longer in control of his
life. Instead, his life had been taken hold of and was controlled by demons.
As
a result of being taken hold of and controlled by this multitude of demons,
this man had not put on any clothing in a long time and was not living in a house,
but in the tombs. In other words, this man ran around butt naked and lived in a
cemetery. This man was isolated from people and was unable to be controlled by
people.
This man’s family and friends would attempt to
regain control of this man’s life in an attempt to rescue this man’s life.
However, time after time of reaching out to their relative and their friend,
they ended up without success. Even after being bound and placed under guard,
the man would simply break his bonds and return back to the cemetery outside of
town, driven there by the demons who had taken hold of and controlled his life.
The demons
gave this man supernatural power that prevented him from being restrained for
his protection. And these demons would drive him into the desert and into a
life of isolation and destruction. Upon encountering Jesus, the demons drove
the man to fall at the feet of Jesus and proclaim with a loud voice "What
business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg
You, do not torment me."
We talked
about the reality that demons are fully aware of who Jesus is. And demons
recognize that Jesus has authority and power over them. However, demons reject
and rebel against Jesus. And in their rebellion and rejection, these demons
attempt to manipulate Jesus through the man that they had taken hold of and
control of. Notice that the demons say do not torment me, not do not torment
us. The demons were attempting to deceive Jesus when it came to their numbers
and who was actually in control of this man. Today, Luke reveals how Jesus
responded to the demons attempts at manipulation in Luke 8:30:
And Jesus asked him, "What is
your name?" And he said, "Legion"; for many demons had entered
him. They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into the abyss.
Jesus
responds to the attempted manipulation of these demons by asking their name.
Luke tells us that the demons responded to Jesus question with an answer and a
plea. Now when the demons say that there name was legion, this word was used to
describe a large unit of soldiers, which could range from 1,000 to 6,000 in
number.
So instead
of answering Jesus question with a name, the demons attempt to evade Jesus in
hopes of escaping any punishment from Jesus. We see that reality revealed by
the demons imploring Jesus not to send them to the Abyss. Now when the demons
refer to the Abyss here, they are referring to the place where demons and
disobedient spirits are kept in confinement.
You see, the
demons feared losing their freedom; the demons feared being confined. And the
demons knew that Jesus had the authority and the power to throw them into the
abyss. And because of that reality the demons begged Jesus not to confine them
in the abyss. We see the demons continued pleas and Jesus response to their
pleas recorded for us in verse 32:
Now there was a herd of many swine
feeding there on the mountain; and the
demons implored Him to permit them to enter the swine. And He gave them
permission. And the demons came out of the man and entered the swine; and the
herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
As the
demons pleaded with Jesus to escape and evade punishment from Jesus, they
requested that Jesus allow them to enter into a herd of pigs that were feeding
on a nearby mountain. We know from another account of Jesus life that is
recorded for us in the Bible called the gospel of Mark that there was around
2,000 swine in that area at that time.
Now a
natural question that arises here is “why would the demons ask permission to go
into pigs?” You see, knowing Jesus authority over them, these demons would go
anywhere to avoid confinement and the loss of their freedom. Luke then explains
that Jesus responded to the demons request by granting their request. And as
the demons left the man that they had taken hold of and control of; as the
demons proceeded to take hold of and control of this herd of pigs, Luke tells
us that the demons drove the herd of pigs straight down the steep bank of the
mountainside and into the lake, killing all 2,000 pigs.
Can you imagine what
that looked like? Can you imagine the scene as 2,000 pigs ran headlong off a
cliff and into the lake to their death? Now, I don’t know about you, but there
are several questions that come to mind here, aren’t there? I mean,
first off, why would Jesus give them permission to go into the pigs in the
first place? Why would Jesus allow the demons to take hold of and control of
the pigs?
Second, why would Jesus allow the demons to destroy the pigs? I mean,
the owners of those pigs lost all of their business. Doesn’t the responsibility
for that fall on Jesus for that? Isn’t the death of these pigs Jesus fault? So
let’s take a minute and tackle these questions one at a time.
First, the
reason why Jesus gave permission for the demons to take hold of and control of
the pigs instead of the man is because people are more important than pigs.
People, not pigs, are created in God’s relational image. And Jesus came to
reveal and explain God to people, not pigs. While we should take care to not
abuse or neglect animals, animals are not of equal value and worth in God’s
sight to human beings.
Second,
while Jesus allowed the demons to enter into the pigs, Jesus is not responsible
for the actions of the demons. Instead the demons are responsible for the
destruction of the pigs. Here is something to consider: how would those around
the demon possessed man know that he had been rescued from the demons? What
evidence would you need to see to believe that this man would have been rescued
and restored?
You see, the
destruction of these pigs served to provide the evidence of two very important
things from this event from history. First, the destruction of these pigs
served as visual evidence in order to demonstrate that this man had been
rescued and restored. Second, the destruction of these pigs served as visual
evidence of the reality that the removal of evil is costly. Just as it was for
the owners of those pigs, the removal of evil often comes at great cost.
Friday, we
will see how those who witnessed what happened responded to what happened and
discover a timeless truth that can occur when we encounter Jesus…
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