Encountering Jesus results in either rejecting Jesus in unbelieving fear or joining Jesus mission to influence those in our area of influence toward Him.

This week, we are looking at an encounter between a man who had been taken hold of and control of by demons and Jesus that is recorded for us in an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Luke. Wednesday, we looked on as Jesus responded to a group of demons request to enter into a herd of pigs by granting their request. 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.

We talked about the reality that 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. Today, we see Luke reveal for us how those who witnessed what happened responded to what happened in verse 34:

 When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported it in the city and out in the country. The people went out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened. Those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was demon-possessed had been made well.

Luke tells us that those who were responsible for the herd of swine responded to what had happened by heading straight to town to report what had happened. And just as it is today, the people of the town and the surrounding region responded to the news of what had happened by heading out to see the scene first hand. And when they arrived, all those arrived saw two powerful images. All those who arrived saw 2,000 pigs bobbing in the water of the Sea of Galilee. And all those who arrived saw the man who previously ran around butt naked living in a cemetery clothed and in his right mind.

In other words the man who was once considered insane was now sane. The man who was once isolated from people was now in a place where he could connect with people as he was connecting with Jesus. The man who was once unable to be controlled by people was now in total control of himself. And as people continued to arrive at the scene, those who witnessed the scene recounted the story of how Jesus had rescued this man. Luke then explains that as people saw and hear what had happened, they responded to what happened by becoming frightened.

Now, that seems like a strange response, doesn’t it? I mean, I could see people being angry at the death of the pigs. I could see PETA having a protest. I mean, I could see people being happy and excited about the person what had been buck naked and insane now fully clothed and sane. I could see people feeling a sense of relief over not having to worry about running into the butt naked man who lived in the cemetery. But Luke tells us that the crowds experienced none of those emotions. Instead the crowd was afraid. And if you think that was weird, just look at what happens next in verse 37:

  And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave them, for they were gripped with great fear; and He got into a boat and returned.

Luke tells us that those who lived in the region, responded to all that they had seen and heard by being gripped by fear. In other words, those who lived in the region were gripped with great distress and were overcome with fear. And in their distress and fear, the people asked Jesus to leave. Now a natural question that arises here is “why would they be so overcome by fear that they would ask Jesus to leave? I mean, were they not at least thankful that he had rescued and restored the man who had been taken hold of and controlled by demons?”

The residents of the region were not focused on the miraculous rescue of the man who had been taken hold of and controlled by demons. The residents of the region were focused on the loss of their pigs. The residents of the regions believed that pigs were more important than people. The residents of the regions believed that their possessions were more important than people. And the residents of the region responded to the loss of their possessions with fear and asked Jesus to leave for fear that Jesus would destroy more of their possessions.

You see, their fear was not driven by a fear of God that resulted from an encounter with Jesus who is God in a bod. Their fear did not lead to faith. And as it has been throughout history, fear that is driven by unbelief results in people fleeing from an encounter with Jesus. However, while the residents of the region responded to their encounter with Jesus by asking Him to leave, the man who had been rescued and restored by Jesus had a much different response. We see his response in verse 38:

 But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might accompany Him; but He sent him away, saying, "Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you." So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

Luke tells us that the man who had been rescued and restored by Jesus responded to his encounter with Jesus by begging to join Jesus. Jesus however, responded to His pleas by rejecting his plea. Instead, Jesus sent him away saying, "Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you."

Now Jesus statement here, if communicated in the language that we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: “Instead of coming with Me I want you to return to your friends and your family and describe in great detail what happened to you. I want you to return to your family and friends and proclaim to them all the great things that God has done for you.”

Instead of allowing this man to join Him in where he was going, Jesus sent this man to go to those in his area of influence. Instead of spending his time just hanging out with God, Jesus sent this man to tell those in his area of influence about God. Now notice what Jesus does not tell this man. Notice that Jesus does not tell this man that he was to describe to those in his area of influence his doctrinal convictions. Notice that Jesus does not tell this man that he was to proclaim to those in his area of influence all the things that he knew about God. Notice that Jesus does not tell this man that he was to remain at home studying his Bible until he could answer every possible question that could be asked about the Bible before he was to start engaging those in his area of influence who were far from God.

Instead, Jesus tells this man, who has been a follower of His for five minutes, to start engaging those in his area of influence who were far from God with all that God had done in his life. Jesus simply tells this man to share the story of His activity in his life that rescued and restored his life.

Luke tells us that the man responded to Jesus request by fulfilling that request. This man responded to the mission that he had been given by Jesus by engaging in the mission that He had been given by Jesus. Luke tells us that this man proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him. Now did you catch that? Jesus sent the man to proclaim what great things God has done for you. And this man responded by proclaiming what great things that Jesus had done for him.

You see, just like the demons, this man was fully aware of who Jesus was. However, unlike the demons, this man responded to his encounter with Jesus with a totally different response. This man became the first missionary to the Gentiles. This man became the first missionary to share the claims of Christ with those who were irreligious people that were considered outsiders that were far from God. Instead of fleeing Jesus in unbelief, this man joined Jesus in His mission to be the vehicle that would reveal and reflect Jesus to those in his area of influence.

And it is here, in this event from history from the life of Jesus involving the rescue of a butt naked man who lived in a cemetery, that we see revealed for us a timeless truth that can occur when we encounter Jesus. And that timeless truth is this: Encountering Jesus results in either rejecting Jesus in unbelieving fear or joining Jesus mission to influence those in our area of influence toward Him.

 Just as it was for the demons, just as it was for this man who had been taken hold of and controlled by demons, just as it has been throughout history, encountering Jesus results in either rejecting Jesus in unbelieving fear or joining Jesus mission to influence those in our area of influence toward Him. You see, just like the demons, we can find ourselves in a place in our lives where, despite all of the awareness of who Jesus is, we can respond to an encounter with Jesus by rejecting Jesus in unbelieving fear. And just like the man who had been taken hold of and controlled by demons, we can find ourselves in a place in our lives where we respond to an encounter with Jesus by joining His mission to influence those in our area of influence toward Him.

So here is a question for us to consider: If you were to find yourself in this event from history as a character in this event from history, which character would you be? Would you find yourself in this event from history as one of the demons? Are you rejecting Jesus despite all of the evidence that you have seen when it comes to who Jesus is? As a man named Andy Bannister recently posted on twitter, “Ultimately, the problem for most people is not the absence of evidence, but the suppression of it.”  

Would you find yourself in this event from history as one of the residents of the region? Are you rejecting Jesus because your possessions are what you ultimately worship and to follow Jesus provokes within you a fear that Jesus would want you to place Him over those possessions?

Or would you find yourself in this event from history as the man who had been rescued and restored by Jesus? Are you responding to what great things that Jesus has done for you by proclaiming those great things to those around you in your area of influence who are far from God? If you were to find yourself in this event from history as a character in this event from history, which character would you be?

Because, as we see this morning, encountering Jesus results in either rejecting Jesus in unbelieving fear or joining Jesus mission to influence those in our area of influence toward Him.