"Jesus and the Demonic Herd"
Luke 8:26-39
A young father was shopping in a crowded supermarket with his three-year-old son. Riding in the grocery cart, the little boy was misbehaving terribly and causing all kinds of problems. Every time the father would put something into the cart, the little boy would grab it and throw it back out. If the cart went close to the shelves, the little boy would rake stuff onto the floor. At one point, he crawled out of the cart and ran down the aisle knocking over every display he could get to—with his father in hot pursuit. Others in the store could hear the young dad saying out loud over and over, “Just be patient, Tommy. It won’t be much longer, Tommy. It’ll be okay, Tommy. Be calm, Tommy. Hang in there, Tommy.” Finally, one woman came up to the man and said, “I just want to compliment you. I’ve been watching you, and I want you to know that I admire the remarkable patience you have with little Tommy.” “O, ma’am,” the man said. “You don’t understand. His name is Michael. I’m Tommy!” It’s a pretty smart dad who knows to start with himself! Before trying to set a problem right, we have to get ourselves set right first.
That’s what this Bible story is about. Jesus walks into the tormented life of this Gerasene demoniac, whose life is coming apart at the seams, and He turns it around for him. He gives him a new beginning, a new start, a new birth. From the beginning it sounds like a horror story. This wild-eyed, adrenalin-filled maniac comes running and shrieking out of the tomb—held captive by a whole herd of demons who are pulling and jerking him in every direction!
It’s an eerie, grim, and suspenseful situation. Jesus and His disciples have just come through a storm on the Sea of Galilee. It’s nighttime and having survived that frightening storm they’re relieved to set foot on solid ground. But, as they get out of the boat, they encounter a different kind of storm—yet another scary experience. They hear strange sounds coming from the tombs—shrieks, growls, screams, moans, the rattling of chains. Then suddenly a horrifying sight: a lunatic with tattered clothes, bruised, dirty, bloody, and battered with pieces of chains dangling from his arms and ankles, comes running and screaming directly toward them!
Now let me ask you something: “What would you have done in that situation?” In a perilous place at a bloodcurdling moment, and a powerful, dangerous, berserk man, comes charging at you! I think I’d have either set a new land speed record or would’ve tried running—not walking—on the water! But not Jesus! Jesus stood His ground and faced him. Undaunted, unafraid, Jesus stood there and dealt with this wild man. Jesus healed him. He brought peace to his troubled soul. He changed him. He cleansed him. He turned his life around.
And He can do the same thing for you. Let me try to spell this out a bit more by drawing three personal ideas from this great story of a life transformed.
First, you don’t have to be at war with yourself—even though a lot of you are. Although this demoniac was tearing himself apart physically, most of us find more mental and emotional means of destroying ourselves. But just as Jesus healed this madman, He can heal you too so that you’re no longer launching ballistic missiles at yourself—so that you stop your attempts at self-destruction.
Second, you don’t have to be at war with other people. Needless to say, this demoniac’s ludicrous actions didn’t earn him a nice place in proper society. He was alienated and shunned by everyone. But when Jesus healed the inner man—bringing an end to the war within—He also brought about a social healing that caused a ceasefire with the man’s war with other people. When Jesus changes your inner principles, your social and moral values will undergo a transformation as well. I can’t help wondering about the lack of morality in our society. It seems that most people see public life as a struggle for profit and power and relegate morality to the shadowy realm of private choice and lifestyles. What we need—and it should start in the church—is a new sense of family that’s neither self-righteous nor exploitative. To bring more peace and wholeness, we need Jesus to cast out our demons of selfishness and indifference. For when Jesus comes into an area, He not only casts out demons, He changes the economy because He changes people—their goals and values. John Newton, who wrote “Amazing Grace,” stopped his slave trading when Jesus got hold of his life. Charles Colson, Richard Nixon’s hatchet man, was converted and devoted his life to prison ministry. What might happen to our “me-first generation” if Jesus really got hold of us and drove out our demonic herd?
Third, you don’t have to be at war with God. Within every one of us is a sinful nature that wreaks havoc with the way we act, think, feel, and believe. Worst of all, that nature builds up a wall that separates us from God—that initiates a war against God in our lives. Jesus’ ultimate purpose in this world is to bring forgiveness for our sin and thereby render ineffective our sinful natures. By taking upon Himself the penalty for our sin, He signs a peace treaty that brings us back into a right and loving relationship with our God, that tears down the wall separating us from Him. And then, as Bill Gaither wrote, “It is finished; the battle is over!”
John Killinger tells a powerful story about a man who is all alone in a hotel room in Canada. The man is in a state of deep depression. He’s so depressed that he can’t even bring himself to go downstairs to the restaurant to eat. He’s a powerful man usually—the chairman of a large shipping company—but at this moment, he’s absolutely overwhelmed by the pressures and demands of life, and he lies there on a lonely hotel bed far from home wallowing in self-pity.
All of his life, he’s been fastidious, worrying about everything, anxious and fretful, always fussing and stewing over every detail. And now, at mid-life, his anxiety has gotten the best of him, even to the extent that it’s difficult for him to sleep and to eat. He worries and broods and agonizes about everything—his business, his investments, his decisions, his family, his health, even his dogs. Then on this day in this Canadian hotel, he craters. He hits bottom. Filled with anxiety, completely immobilized, paralyzed by his emotional despair, unable to leave his room, lying on his bed, he moans out loud: “Life isn’t worth living this way; I wish I were dead!”
But then he wonders what God would think if he heard him talking this way. Speaking aloud again he says, “God, it’s a joke, isn’t it? Life’s nothing but a joke.” Suddenly it occurs to him that this is the first time he’s talked to God since he was a little boy. He’s silent for a moment, and then he begins to pray. He prays out loud about what a mess his life was in and how tired he was and how much he wanted things to be different in his life. In that next moment of silence, he senses a voice say, “It doesn’t have to be that way!” That’s all the voice said—and only once.
He went home and told his wife about what happened. He talked to his brother who is a minister and asked him: “Do you think it was God speaking to me?” His brother said, “Of course! That’s the message of God to you and every one of us. That’s the message of the Bible. That’s why Jesus Christ came into the world--to save us, to deliver us, to free us, to change us—and to show us that it doesn’t have to be that way.” A few days later, the man called his brother again and said, “You were right. It really has happened. I’ve done it. I’ve had a rebirth. I’m a new man. Christ has turned it around for me.” That man is still prone to anxiety. He still has to work hard. But now he has a source of strength—a God who reminds him of who he is and more importantly, of whose he is.
In the great hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” Martin Luther writes: “And though this world, with evil filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him—His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure: one little word shall fell him.” But before this famous hymn could be written, Luther had to battle his own personal demons. He felt utterly worthless and incapable of carrying the burdens of priesthood. On occasion Luther even flogged himself in an attempt to keep himself from sin. He often felt pursued and tormented by Satan and his cohorts. Until one day, while reading Paul’s letter to the Romans, he suddenly understood the meaning of God’s grace and how it’s appropriated by faith. In that moment he came to understand that he was justified before God through faith and not by his works. You might say that after this experience Luther was no longer possessed by his demons; he was sitting upright, dressed, and in his right mind.
The story of this delivered demoniac gives us one final point of application. Not everyone is called to a ministry of traveling to share Jesus; not everyone is called to a mission field far from home. Sometimes Jesus wants those who have experienced His goodness to tell those in their own hometown about Him. Some are called to go; others are called to stay. This newly healed and transformed man didn’t need to raise support to find his mission field; he simply needed to start sharing—which, in fact, he did. If your life has been transformed by Jesus—whether you’re called to go or to stay—start sharing the change He’s brought about in your life with others. Live and tell what He’s done for you.
Let us pray: Lord, for those of us who beat ourselves up physically, mentally, or emotionally, for those of us on the path to self-destruction, for those of us who are dealing with what seems like a demonic herd—bring the healing and transformation in our lives that only You can bring. Indeed, Lord, as You save us for Yourself, save us also from ourselves. For we pray it in Jesus’ name.
Luke 8:26-39
A young father was shopping in a crowded supermarket with his three-year-old son. Riding in the grocery cart, the little boy was misbehaving terribly and causing all kinds of problems. Every time the father would put something into the cart, the little boy would grab it and throw it back out. If the cart went close to the shelves, the little boy would rake stuff onto the floor. At one point, he crawled out of the cart and ran down the aisle knocking over every display he could get to—with his father in hot pursuit. Others in the store could hear the young dad saying out loud over and over, “Just be patient, Tommy. It won’t be much longer, Tommy. It’ll be okay, Tommy. Be calm, Tommy. Hang in there, Tommy.” Finally, one woman came up to the man and said, “I just want to compliment you. I’ve been watching you, and I want you to know that I admire the remarkable patience you have with little Tommy.” “O, ma’am,” the man said. “You don’t understand. His name is Michael. I’m Tommy!” It’s a pretty smart dad who knows to start with himself! Before trying to set a problem right, we have to get ourselves set right first.
That’s what this Bible story is about. Jesus walks into the tormented life of this Gerasene demoniac, whose life is coming apart at the seams, and He turns it around for him. He gives him a new beginning, a new start, a new birth. From the beginning it sounds like a horror story. This wild-eyed, adrenalin-filled maniac comes running and shrieking out of the tomb—held captive by a whole herd of demons who are pulling and jerking him in every direction!
It’s an eerie, grim, and suspenseful situation. Jesus and His disciples have just come through a storm on the Sea of Galilee. It’s nighttime and having survived that frightening storm they’re relieved to set foot on solid ground. But, as they get out of the boat, they encounter a different kind of storm—yet another scary experience. They hear strange sounds coming from the tombs—shrieks, growls, screams, moans, the rattling of chains. Then suddenly a horrifying sight: a lunatic with tattered clothes, bruised, dirty, bloody, and battered with pieces of chains dangling from his arms and ankles, comes running and screaming directly toward them!
Now let me ask you something: “What would you have done in that situation?” In a perilous place at a bloodcurdling moment, and a powerful, dangerous, berserk man, comes charging at you! I think I’d have either set a new land speed record or would’ve tried running—not walking—on the water! But not Jesus! Jesus stood His ground and faced him. Undaunted, unafraid, Jesus stood there and dealt with this wild man. Jesus healed him. He brought peace to his troubled soul. He changed him. He cleansed him. He turned his life around.
And He can do the same thing for you. Let me try to spell this out a bit more by drawing three personal ideas from this great story of a life transformed.
First, you don’t have to be at war with yourself—even though a lot of you are. Although this demoniac was tearing himself apart physically, most of us find more mental and emotional means of destroying ourselves. But just as Jesus healed this madman, He can heal you too so that you’re no longer launching ballistic missiles at yourself—so that you stop your attempts at self-destruction.
Second, you don’t have to be at war with other people. Needless to say, this demoniac’s ludicrous actions didn’t earn him a nice place in proper society. He was alienated and shunned by everyone. But when Jesus healed the inner man—bringing an end to the war within—He also brought about a social healing that caused a ceasefire with the man’s war with other people. When Jesus changes your inner principles, your social and moral values will undergo a transformation as well. I can’t help wondering about the lack of morality in our society. It seems that most people see public life as a struggle for profit and power and relegate morality to the shadowy realm of private choice and lifestyles. What we need—and it should start in the church—is a new sense of family that’s neither self-righteous nor exploitative. To bring more peace and wholeness, we need Jesus to cast out our demons of selfishness and indifference. For when Jesus comes into an area, He not only casts out demons, He changes the economy because He changes people—their goals and values. John Newton, who wrote “Amazing Grace,” stopped his slave trading when Jesus got hold of his life. Charles Colson, Richard Nixon’s hatchet man, was converted and devoted his life to prison ministry. What might happen to our “me-first generation” if Jesus really got hold of us and drove out our demonic herd?
Third, you don’t have to be at war with God. Within every one of us is a sinful nature that wreaks havoc with the way we act, think, feel, and believe. Worst of all, that nature builds up a wall that separates us from God—that initiates a war against God in our lives. Jesus’ ultimate purpose in this world is to bring forgiveness for our sin and thereby render ineffective our sinful natures. By taking upon Himself the penalty for our sin, He signs a peace treaty that brings us back into a right and loving relationship with our God, that tears down the wall separating us from Him. And then, as Bill Gaither wrote, “It is finished; the battle is over!”
John Killinger tells a powerful story about a man who is all alone in a hotel room in Canada. The man is in a state of deep depression. He’s so depressed that he can’t even bring himself to go downstairs to the restaurant to eat. He’s a powerful man usually—the chairman of a large shipping company—but at this moment, he’s absolutely overwhelmed by the pressures and demands of life, and he lies there on a lonely hotel bed far from home wallowing in self-pity.
All of his life, he’s been fastidious, worrying about everything, anxious and fretful, always fussing and stewing over every detail. And now, at mid-life, his anxiety has gotten the best of him, even to the extent that it’s difficult for him to sleep and to eat. He worries and broods and agonizes about everything—his business, his investments, his decisions, his family, his health, even his dogs. Then on this day in this Canadian hotel, he craters. He hits bottom. Filled with anxiety, completely immobilized, paralyzed by his emotional despair, unable to leave his room, lying on his bed, he moans out loud: “Life isn’t worth living this way; I wish I were dead!”
But then he wonders what God would think if he heard him talking this way. Speaking aloud again he says, “God, it’s a joke, isn’t it? Life’s nothing but a joke.” Suddenly it occurs to him that this is the first time he’s talked to God since he was a little boy. He’s silent for a moment, and then he begins to pray. He prays out loud about what a mess his life was in and how tired he was and how much he wanted things to be different in his life. In that next moment of silence, he senses a voice say, “It doesn’t have to be that way!” That’s all the voice said—and only once.
He went home and told his wife about what happened. He talked to his brother who is a minister and asked him: “Do you think it was God speaking to me?” His brother said, “Of course! That’s the message of God to you and every one of us. That’s the message of the Bible. That’s why Jesus Christ came into the world--to save us, to deliver us, to free us, to change us—and to show us that it doesn’t have to be that way.” A few days later, the man called his brother again and said, “You were right. It really has happened. I’ve done it. I’ve had a rebirth. I’m a new man. Christ has turned it around for me.” That man is still prone to anxiety. He still has to work hard. But now he has a source of strength—a God who reminds him of who he is and more importantly, of whose he is.
In the great hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” Martin Luther writes: “And though this world, with evil filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him—His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure: one little word shall fell him.” But before this famous hymn could be written, Luther had to battle his own personal demons. He felt utterly worthless and incapable of carrying the burdens of priesthood. On occasion Luther even flogged himself in an attempt to keep himself from sin. He often felt pursued and tormented by Satan and his cohorts. Until one day, while reading Paul’s letter to the Romans, he suddenly understood the meaning of God’s grace and how it’s appropriated by faith. In that moment he came to understand that he was justified before God through faith and not by his works. You might say that after this experience Luther was no longer possessed by his demons; he was sitting upright, dressed, and in his right mind.
The story of this delivered demoniac gives us one final point of application. Not everyone is called to a ministry of traveling to share Jesus; not everyone is called to a mission field far from home. Sometimes Jesus wants those who have experienced His goodness to tell those in their own hometown about Him. Some are called to go; others are called to stay. This newly healed and transformed man didn’t need to raise support to find his mission field; he simply needed to start sharing—which, in fact, he did. If your life has been transformed by Jesus—whether you’re called to go or to stay—start sharing the change He’s brought about in your life with others. Live and tell what He’s done for you.
Let us pray: Lord, for those of us who beat ourselves up physically, mentally, or emotionally, for those of us on the path to self-destruction, for those of us who are dealing with what seems like a demonic herd—bring the healing and transformation in our lives that only You can bring. Indeed, Lord, as You save us for Yourself, save us also from ourselves. For we pray it in Jesus’ name.
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