Quit an eye-catching story about how Jesus heals a demon possessed man recently captured my attention as I listened to a sermon by one of renown men of God. As a Pastor for many years, this is not the first time I’ve come across this passage but as we get open our minds for the Holy Spirit’s illumination, every time I read God’s word, I get a new revelation.
In Luke 8:22-39, here we see two different stories but closely related by the fact that one sets the background to the other. In the few minutes this is what we shall be talking about in this post and so I request that you may follow keenly, and we will learn important truths from God’s word.
The Storm
Now, the story kicks off by setting up the stage in Luke 8:22, whereby we are told that one day or on a certain day, Jesus told His disciples to go to the other side of the lake. The way to get there was by sailing through the lake by a boat.
You need to note the following: –
1. That ‘other side’ they were going was occupied
In order to maximize our learning from the word of God, we must seek to understand that the scriptures were inspired by the Holy Spirit (2Timothy 3:16-17) who understands hidden things and the mind of God in our lives (1Corinthians 2:10-12). The bible is the only book which when read the author is always present unlike all other books written by men.
Read: How to proclaim the Kingdom of God
Having said that, let’s make the best from God’s word. In verse 22, when Jesus said that they needed to go to the ‘other side’ of the lake, he understood the nobility of the mission ahead. As a man, Jesus seemed to be reluctant of the occurrence in the lake as they sailed through a stormy water. However, His confidence and calmness when He awoke from sleep indicates that Jesus was not surprised or shaken in any way by the storm.
Regarding this point, it has been said that life is spiritual, and that the spiritual realm is more superior than the physical. When Jesus said that ‘let’s go to the other side,’ Jesus was concerned about the spiritual realm. That ‘other side’ they were going too was not unoccupied, that is to mean there were territorial demonic authorities and principalities controlling the environment. Therefore when Jesus and disciples were sailing, there were great storm (opposition).
2. The Composition of ‘Storm’
We may need to understand exactly what is comprised in a storm before we move forward. Storms exclusive of desert storms must have the following: –
a) Water
If it’s a sea or lake storm, there must be water which is a representation of the physical things. Water is normally what we see during the storm and most people will easily blame the water for being restless. You need to understand what this means to your life in relation so that this lesson may have a meaning. Water represents those things that manifest physically in your life for example the sicknesses, famine, getting fired in your job, uncommon failure, broken marriages/relationships, financial failures, etc.
When such things happen to us, we try as much as possible to suppress them or deal with them physically, only to find that we require external force to change them. In the same way, no one could calm down the troubled waters in the lake unless with an exertion of power from a higher authority.
b) Wind
The second element in storm is wind which is actually the force behind every unrest in the water. Interestingly enough, no one can tell how it looks like because the wind is unseen. We can only feel the force generated by the wind but we can’t tell the color or size of the wind. The water is a victim of this unseen monster.
I hope now you can figure out what I am driving at. The wind represents Satan’s power, which is obviously unseen and, in many cases, unsuspected. This is the force that that makes people’s lives miserable and defeated. Look at this story at hand, when Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging of water (brought about by the wind) (Luke 8:24).
Read: Is there power in the blood of Jesus?
Jesus understood that the water was just a victim of another opposing power (the wind) and so he dealt with the source of the problem. Hope you are getting some wisdom in this story already. Don’t waste time rebuking the water (physical problems). Deal with the real issues at the core, I mean deal with the source.
Remember according to Ephesians 6:12-18, our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against principalities and authorities.
How Jesus Healed the Demon Possessed Man
As Jesus heals a demon possessed man, the pig’s owner lamented for his great loss, but ten cities were healed. Let’s walk through this process together.
- Jesus Arrived at the Shore
Despite the challenges finally, according to Luke 8:25-27, Jesus and the disciples landed safely at the shore of the Gerasene’s. His arrival meant that somebody’s life is gonna change because whenever Jesus went, He did good (Acts 10:38).
The presence of Jesus in this region meant signified presence of higher authority in the spiritual realm. Jesus as the ‘Word’ didn’t need any permission from anyone to be here. Demons understood who Jesus was – they knew He was the Son of God.
2. Jesus Met the Demon Possessed Man
On arrival, Jesus was met by a demon possessed man who for a long time neither wore clothes nor lived in a house. When he saw Jesus, he cried at the top of his voice and threw himself down at His feet begging Jesus not to torture Him.
Notice the man’s hopeless situation that existed for a long time and no one could help him. Can you imagine the best thing people could do was to tie him with chains – which wasn’t a solution at all. What kind of a hopeless situation are you encountering today? If you trust people with your problems, they will burden you more. All you need is to meet Jesus, He has more than enough to change your life.
3. Demons Begged Jesus
Why would demons beg Jesus not to send them to the abyss? Because according to John 1:3; Colossians 1:16, they knew Jesus as Master of masters had p for ower to do whatever He wanted with them.
Secondly, they knew that Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, and that he holds the key to death and Hades (Revelation 1:8; 17-18). Amazingly, they recognized Jesus as the Son of the living God (Luke 8:28). With such a knowledge, they could not take chances, so they begged Jesus to send them to the nearby of herd of pigs.
4. Jesus Responds to Demons Request
In versed 28-29 of our passage, we see the demons speaking to Jesus through the man. in verse 31, they even repeatedly begged Jesus not to send them to Abyss. Since am talking to good bible students, why would Jesus even allow demons a chance to speak? Someone may be wondering aloud!
To answer this, in Psalm 7:11;18:20-27, we read that God is a righteous and a just Judge who treats everyone according to their deeds. For the Satan and demons, their destiny is already sealed, however, they enter people’s bodies and territories following legal grounds (sin).
So, Jesus, the Master of all creation and spiritual laws, had to listen to the demon’s request because they were operating in that man’s life or were in that vicinity legally. Any demonic activity in a man’s life does not just happen, it’s made to happen.
Read: what does seek ye first the Kingdom of God mean?
In verse 32, can you imagine Jesus the demons to enter someone’s herd of pigs to drown? Two thousand pigs wasn’t a little investment in today’s market price. Just for the sake of this study, if one pig costs roughly $500, then the owner got a loss of $1,000,000 for the 2,000 pigs that drowned that day.
Why would Jesus do this? Because of the next point.
5. Jesus Came for the Lost Sheep
As the demon possessed man got his deliverance and healing, the pigs owner(s) lamented for their great loss. If you are still wondering why a ‘loving Jesus’ could heal only one person on expense of somebody else’s business, just pay attention to what am gonna say next.
Look at this, in Luke 8:30, Jesus asked the man his name and he answered ‘Legion’ because there were many demons that had gone into him. At this point we learn that one person can be possessed by many demons. So if you are curious like me you would wonder what was so special in this man that attracted many demons into him yet he was not the only person in Gerasene.
Why Was One Man Attacked by So Many Demons?
a) Satan/demons knew what this man carried, so they wanted to eliminate him as early as possible before his manifestation.
b) This man was a battle ground for the two kingdoms (Kingdom of God and of darkness). In Ephesians 1:4, God chose us before the beginning of the world to be holy and blameless. Satan however, seeks to attack alter God’s work in His people.
c) After deliverance, this man went to preach to Decapolis (10 cities). You can imagine how many people gave their lives to Jesus due to this one man’s testimony of His encounter with Christ. This is why many demons were all in him – to ensure he can’t come back to his senses.
Conclusion
It’s been an interesting discussion here. I don’t know what captured your attention but for me, as Jesus heals a demon possessed man, he didn’t spare the someone else’s business investment of pigs. However, Jesus idea is not hurt or offend anyone but to save the many people from suffering.
By saving delivering one man, Jesus in His fore knowledge (Isaiah 45:10) was thinking about the multitude of people in Decapolis that would be reached by this great Evangelist.
What is troubling you today such that you are losing hop TV e? What is hindering you destiny from thriving? Probably you need to call on Jesus, the Master and will come to your rescue and your life will take a different turn just as this man.
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