Jesus is stronger than the supernatural (Luke 8:26–39)

I. Introduction

1. Prayers

2. Catch-

Review

Where are we in Luke?

Jesus is using his miracles mostly in nothern galille to show who he is

The ESV study bible gives the following helpful outline

IV. The Ministry of Jesus in Galilee (4:16–9:50)[1]

F. Jesus, Lord of natue, demons, disease, and death (8:22–56)

1. Jesus calms a storm (8:22–25)

2. Jesus heals a demon-possessed man (8:26–39)

3. Jesus heals a woman and Jairus’s daughter (8:40–56)

G. Jesus and the Twelve (9:1–50)

You can see we are in the section where Jesus is doing lots of miracles in this section to show that He must be heard and followed

Last time They crossed the great storm as Jesus slept

The expert fisherman who spent their lives on this lake were terrified with Giant waves

But when Jesus awoke, he commanded the waves and their was calm

What was their response? Why?

They were afraid because the one inside the boat was a lot more powerful than this thing they had no power over

So they ask an important question:

Luke 8:25 ESV

25 He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”

Now, Luke answers that a bit for us

Jesus Shows Not all who Fear Follow

1. The confrontation with Jesus (26-31)

i. Explanation

The conflicted characters (26-27)

Jesus and the apostles finished sailing across

They had that amazing moment but continued

They arrived a the country of the Ger-A-scenes

You will not believe the drama from this one verse

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all have variant readings of Gerasenes, Gadarenes, and Gergesenes

So we struggle with the location, some thinking is it more north on map

So we have two locations it could be… and this only matters if we really consider this historical… no one cares where Beowulf happened because its not real

I read how skeptics like to have fun with this:

Luke Context

as one commentator somewhat sarcastically states, “The stampede of the pigs from Gerasa to the Lake would have made them the most energetic herd in history!” In the heyday of theological liberalism it was also objected that Jesus could not have been so superstitious as to believe in demons, so that the account could not be historical on that basis.

They find this city and it is Gadara is 6 miles away and separated by the deep gorge of the Yarmuk

Why does it actually matter that the bible is historical?

But there is no contradiction because Gadara was a city within the district of Gerasa. Gerasa was the leading city of the Decapolis.

And they had a separate harbor still connected with the city

Look at verse 27… where had the man been living? Not in the city

So him meeting Jesus far from the main city makes total sense, right?

So, verse 27… Jesus steps out and meets the man somewhere along here:

The demoniac man

We’ve talked a bunch about demons so far, so you can go back to listen to those

But they meet a man who had demons… plural

Mary also had multiple demons possessing her

Luke 8:2 “and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,”

He’s in a rough spot

No clothes, no home

ANd he lived among tombs that were caves like these near Jericho

They didn’t dig holes in the ground, but holes in the cave to put bodies, let them decompose and then put their bones away until another person could go there

The question arises, was there one man or two because

Matthew 8:28 ESV

28 And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way.

Now, look at back in your bible at verse 27

Does Luke say Jesus met one man? Why does that matter?

Luke and mark focus only on the one person, but only ones talks in Matthew, so they just don’t tell that guys story

The submission required (28-31)

verse 29 tells us that jesus had commanded the spirit to come out

As soon as Jesus saw the man he commanded the demon out

Jesus was constantly freeing people from the destruction these demons brought

People tried to guard this man but he would just break the cuffs like these Egytpians ones

Chains were common in the first century and while not what we have today, no normal person is breaking out of them.

he recognizes Jesus right away, calling him son of the most high

We’ve seen this already

Luke 4:34- “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”

And remember, Demons have great theology

James 2:19 “19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!”

And they also have great evangelism… they’re telling everyone who Jesus is

He is literally answering the question the disciples just asked

This is the son of God, this is the represenative of God

I read somewhere that you’ll know your a christian if you’re sharing the gospel with people… and we should… but even demons do thatFrom the very beginning they are begging Jesus to not go to the abyss

He prays to Jesus, begging him to avoid judgment

He asks not be to sent to hell

Abyss in used in verse 31

It is the same word used in Revelation for the bottomless pit

The Abyss is a prison for fallen angels that halts them from having any access to or influence on the earth.

In Revelation 9, demon-like creatures are released from the Abyss to inflict damage on the people of the earth (Rev. 9:1–2). It is their release from the Abyss that allows these creatures to harm people, since they cannot touch people on the earth while in the Abyss

In rev 20, SAtan is released from the abyss after 1000 years to control the nations and bring them against God

So, what can a demon not do in the abyss? Why would one not want to go there?

They have no power over people

Matthew 8:29 adds “before the appointed time” and indicates that what the demons feared was that Jesus would enact the torture of 8:31 immediately rather than on the final day of judgment

Jesus asks him his name… but does he mention it again?

Jesus has not asked the name of any other demon

2. The command of Jesus (32-33)

i. Explanation

Next to them are a large group of pigs

What did Israelites think about Pigs?

Leviticus 11:7 “7 And the pig, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you.”

Deuteronomy 14:8 “8 And the pig, because it parts the hoof but does not chew the cud, is unclean for you. Their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch.”

So, they could not eat bacon and would not have pigs

This is part of the Decapolis, or a group of 10 gentile cities across the Jordan

thus these gentiles would have pigs

jesus gives persmission (again he is in control) and they enter the pigs

Instantly, the pigs rush to their death

This angle shows how steep these hills were

The swine’s destruction proves that the demons truly left the man as does the description of the man’s condition in 8:35

ii. Illustration

1. David Powlison gives us a good thought here:

Thus Jesus' power encounters with hunger, sickness, death, and demonic suffering-are enacted parables. They gave an experience of heaven so that people might repent of their sins and believe in the Savior. Jesus used a mode suited to awaken faith so that he might bind the strong man and plunder the kingdom of sin. The fulfillment of the power-encounter mode will come when Christ returns to usher in the kingdom of heaven. This explains why there are no commands or instructions in Scripture for us to do exorcisms.

One might assume that Jesus would teach about how to do the command-control works he did, but not so. Every miracle teaches about who Jesus is, arouses faith, or provokes controversy. But when Jesus teaches, he teaches about the classic mode of the Christian life and spiritual warfare: repentance, faith, commitment to him, how to love, the use of the tongue, alertness, rec-onciliation, integrity, identifying false teachers, how to handle money, prayer, and so on.

Jesus says nothing about how to do power works. Nothing about demons of sin. Nothing about casting out demons from oneself as the way to solve personal problems and grow as a believer. Nothing about delivering new converts by something more deep hitting than repentance and faith.

iii. Application

So, let’s cross the bridge together again

What did the text meant to the biblical audience?

Was the original audience saying… wow, let’s try that too? What was their reaction?

They were in awe of this Jesus

Measure the width of the river

Are we Jesus the messiah? No… so we are to look

As we cross the principle bridge the we the issue is to be in awe of Jesus, not do what he says here

So we can see commands

James 4:7 “7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

1 Peter 5:8 “8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

Ephesians 6:11 “11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”

These are what we are to do

3. The response to Jesus (34-39)

i. There are two responses to jesus

The rejection of Jesus (34-37)

The herdsmen see this and flee to the city and countryside

Which again proves that this place wasn’t right next to the city as they have to go through both

The people come and they see this man

Luke Comments

Instead of being driven by the demon (8:29), he was “sitting” (8:35); instead of being without clothes (8:27), he was “dressed” (8:35); instead of being among the tombs (8:27), he was “at Jesus’ feet” (8:35; cf. 10:39 and Acts 22:3); and instead of being “chained hand and foot and kept under guard” (Luke 8:29), he was “in his right mind” (8:35). This, even more than the drowning of the swine, demonstrates that the demons had left him. The demons’ prisoner had been freed from their oppression (cf. 4:18).

So how do they feel and what do they do?

They ask him to get out of there

The great miracle fell on hard soil and bore no fruit

We are not told why, but what could be their motivation for rejecting Jesus?

They choose they do not want to hear Jesus, so he leaves

He goes back across to Capernaum

But there is one:

The ambassador of Jesus (38-39)

The saved man gos back to praying to jesus again

This time it in our ACTS model, it is a prayer of thanksgiving

Because of what Jesus had done, he wants to go with him

he wants to follow, be a disciple

Like

Ruth 1:16 ESV

16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.

But how does Jesus respond?

Jesus tells him to stay and tell others

He starts proclaming, which is the greek word kerusso, to hearld

He starts telling everyone in the city, walking down this road perhaps what God had done for him

This is like Psalm 66 we say

Psalm 66:16- Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul.

ii. Illustration

It is very easy for a christian to get excited at their salvation

A new christian who just got saved

A spiritual high moment of hearing a great sermon

or they see someone else

So their zeal gets big and they want to go preach the gospel in Africa or go to seminary or speak at the whitehouse

But perhaps the greatest advice is talk with your friends and family first

iii. Application

This man in the Bible who applied for Jesus’s school of discipleship almost immediately after being healed from demon possession? He was ready to follow Jesus anywhere and do anything for him.

Instead, the man was instructed to stay at home and tell his community how God had been merciful to him. In the midst of receiving a “no,” he was redirected to labor for the gospel right where he’d always been (see Mark 5:18–20).

Most of us should stay where we are and follow Jesus in all the radical ways of love demanded by our present position and relationships.1 But not everyone. For some—perhaps you (even as you read this)—following Jesus will mean a risky rupture in your vocation. [1]

[1]Piper, John. What Jesus Demands from the World. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2006.

Why Should we be content with a seemingly small mission from Jesus?

What unique opportunities do the man have?

What do we have?

Let’s Pray

V. End