Sermon: Healing of the Demoniac

Date Preached: Sunday June 24th 2007

Bible Reference: Luke Chapter 8, verses 26-39

We don’t know why Jesus did a lot of the things that he did. Why he went to the Land of the Gerasenes – the area to the east of Galilee, where for the most part the land rises steeply from close to the lake. What we do know is this was largely Gentile territory – although many Jews would’ve lived there as well. As we’ve seen before with the widow of Nain, Jesus chooses to take a detour – to cross over the lake – this time to foreign soil. Perhaps he wanted to escape the pressure of travelling round under the hostile gaze of Herod Antipas – or to avoid the pressing crowds - but if so, there was no peace to be found here. On arrival -immediately Jesus is on the scene - this violent, naked guy – possessed, it seems, by a multitude of spirits, - jumps out and confronts him – quite a frightening scene if you try and imagine it – and he’s filling the air with his screaming and yelling. It’s such a disturbing situation that I’m sure got the disciples wanting to get straight back into the boat and head for more familiar territory again. But – once again – Jesus has other ideas. Isn’t it encouraging for us with all our issues that he never takes the easy option – that he’s always prepared to deal with us in whatever mess we’re in.

And isn’t it amazing how he always remains calm before whatever human storm confronts him – in fact in just the same way he did before the physical storm – the wind and waves on the lake which Luke relates just before this incident in his Gospel account. Jesus deals with this situation too with the same quiet authority that he stilled the storm. I don’t know about you, but things in life can seem really stormy at times.

Then there’s a bizarre scene with the pigs – another sign of being in foreign territory – Jews didn’t eat or keep pigs. This has sometimes been seen as picture language for what many Jews wanted to do with the hated foreigners - the Romans: they wanted to drive them back into the sea. It was the dream of several revolutionary leaders in the first century. But Luke’s focus in telling the story is on the man himself, and – as always – on Jesus.

For Luke, what happened to this man isn’t just the remarkable healing of severe psychological disturbance – something like a manic-depressive psychosis; it is full and complete salvation.

The salvation that God promised long ago, back as far as Abraham – back as far as his provision for Adam and Eve in the Garden after they’d messed up - salvation has now actually appeared in Jesus – and in palpable, flesh and blood form. The good news that God’s kingdom has come has started reaching many Jews in Israel – and to this Gentile writer, doctor Luke, the great news is that it’s already beginning to spread further a field to those outside the Jewish people.

And then the real point of the story comes at the close. The man, quite understandably, wants to be allowed to stay with Jesus. Not only is he now utterly devoted to him because of the astonishing rescue that’s happened in his experience – he’s not so sure it’ll be easy back in his home territory, where everyone would have known about the tragedy of his life. It’s probably the same in any community where change like this takes place - there’ll always be those who are reluctant to believe it (what you going to church? reading your bible?).  This man is one to whom Jesus says “Go home and tell them what God has done for you” – and he goes off and tells then what Jesus has done (did you get the significance of that for our thinking about who Jesus is claiming to be?

Luke isn’t offering them any worked out doctrine or formula for understanding how ‘God was in Christ’ – at least not yet. At the moment it is simply something people discover in their experience. As Tom Wright says: “what Jesus does, God does”. Or to put it the other way round, if you want to tell people what God has done, tell them about Jesus. What communicates more than anything in a world where people are suspicious of arguments about God and faith is your own story of what Jesus has done in your life – rather than trying to convince them through arguing the toss. The best brains in two thousand years of Christianity have struggled to find adequate words to explain how all this can be; but it is a truth known to all who have experienced the presence of Jesus in their lives – all who’ve experienced him changing and shaping their attitudes and priorities, forgiving and healing their deep needs – dealing with disturbance and bringing peace. This isn’t theoretical – it’s too deep and meaningful for that – life-changing stuff if you let it. This is about the discovery of God’s rescuing power in the person and work of Jesus.

And this is a Place of Rest. I love Luke 8 verse35
Then people came out to see what happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. No wonder – miracles happen when we come to Jesus just as we are disturbed and in a mess – with all our demons  - and let him quietly deal with them. Let’s find a little time now to respond to God. (o often when we feel something going on in church – that perhaps we feel God speaking to us and asking us to receive his love, we quickly move onto the next thing.)