Series Introduction: 

We are continuing our sermon series, “Who Do You Say That I Am?” where we are focusing on how different people encountered Jesus and answered this question for themselves. So far we have looked at Peter the fisherman, Zacchaeus the tax collector, the rich young ruler, Nicodemus the Pharisee, a Samaritan woman that Jesus met at the well, and a paralyzed man unable to walk.  This week we will be looking at an encounter Jesus had with a man who was possessed by an evil spirit. This was a man who couldn’t have been further from God, and yet even he was not beyond the loving reach of our Savior. 

Scripture Reading: 

• Luke 8:26-39
• 1 Peter 3:15

Opening Prayer:

Father God, we thank you for another day in which we can gather together as a church family and worship you. We thank you for your mercy and your amazing grace, that can save even the most vile wretch, and transform them into a Son of God. I pray that as we enter into this time of preaching, that you would give me words to speak. I pray that you would open up hearts and minds to receive your word. May all that is said and done be for your glory. Amen.

Introduction:

In his book Screwtape Letters, author C.S. Lewis writes:: 

“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist and magician with the same delight.”

C.S. Lewis, Screwtape Letters

Another way to say this is that it is equally foolish to disbelieve in demons as it is to become demon obsessed, attributing everything from headaches to lightning strikes as the work of demonic powers in the word. You may be familiar with the old phrase “The Devil made me do it!” or “He’s got a devil in him!” I don’t want to cast any doubt that there are demonic forces in the world, but in my experience most people don’t need any help from a demon to live a lifestyle that delights in sin.  

Occasionally the Bible gives us a glimpse into the world of angels and demons, and Luke 8 is one of those examples, but the most important thing to focus on is not the demoniac, but Christ and his power to end the work of the demons and to restore those who have suffered under their influence.  

The Son of God and the Soul of Man 

Our account in Luke’s gospel occurs right in the middle of a series of amazing miracles that are meant to reveal, and leave no doubt, as to who Jesus is. Just before Jesus encounters the demoniac, he is shown calming a storm while sailing across a great lake, demonstrating that Jesus has the authority to command nature itself, and it obeys. Immediately following this account, Jesus will heal a woman with a long lasting and seemingly incurable condition, and raise a young girl from the dead, showing that he has authority over disease and even death itself. In this account, however, we see Jesus extending authority beyond the realm of nature, or even of life and death, to the realm of things unseen far beyond human understanding.  

Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs.

Luke 8:26-27, ESV

Your translation may say the man was “demon-possessed” but the Greek makes it clear that this man had demons (plural) who were tormenting him. Just the short description we are given reveals that this man was an extreme case. 

The man had lost control of his life for a long period of time. These demons had robbed the man of any sense of shame or decency, giving into a perverse and filthy way of living. They alienated this man from whatever friends or family he had, a common tactic that Satan and his servant’s still use today to keep people away from the help they need. This poor man had been under the sway of demons for so long that he had all but lost his identity, becoming a shell of a man without any self-control. At least that was his life until the moment Jesus arrived on shore. 

I have unfortunately known people who fall into similar patterns as this demoniac, though their demons often take the forms of addictions that quickly take control of their lives. Before long they too seem to transform into different people entirely, often doing harm to not only themselves, but others as well. Like the demoniac in verse 29, they hate to be restricted and resist anything that would supposedly hinder their freedom – not realizing that their addiction is the real prison all along. Their existence becomes painful, isolating, and full of misery. Worst of all, many people lose hope of ever escaping their addictions just as this man probably believed that he would never truly be able to break free from his own demons. 

It is easy to see the end result of possession and wonder how people ever let themselves get to this point, but we forget that the way Satan works is often subtle. When he lead the first man and woman to sin, he did so by enticing them with a forbidden fruit that seemed both harmless and good to their eyes. In his second letter to the church in Corinth, Paul warns the church about false teachers by reminding them that “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” and that his servants often “disguise themselves as servants of righteousness” (2 Corinthians 11:14). 

James the brother of Jesus, warned his readers of this demonic pattern of temptation when he wrote: 

 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

James 1:14-15, ESV

First the enemy lures us in, he makes sin seem harmless and enjoyable and if we do not look away we become enticed by our own desires. This pattern inevitably results in sin, and sin inevitably leads to death. 

Sin is never satisfied. It will always take you further than you want to go, it will keep you longer than you want to stay, and it will harm you more than you would have ever imagined. And if we are do not quickly turn from sin and seek forgiveness and restoration through Christ, we will begin to grow numb to sin’s presence in our life. We will lose our ability or desire to fight, and in the process we will lose ourselves. 

Because this is our 250th anniversary as a church body (Dover Baptist Church was established in 1773), I have tried to read through some of our old church histories. In my readings I came across an interesting figure by the name of [Name Omitted]. Now if your name repeatedly comes up in church documents that usually means you were either a saint, or you were a headache. Sadly it seems that [Name Omitted] was the later, though not always. [Name Omitted] was a member of our church in good standing for many years way back in the 1850’s and 1860’s, and one time he even served as the church clerk. Unfortunately [Name Omitted] was also a wild man who was repeatedly brought under church discipline for fighting, drunkenness, and for peddling liquor on the sabbath. Sometimes business meetings would be called regarding church discipline of [Name Omitted], and he would refuse to show up. He was excommunicated on multiple occasions, but would eventually come back repentant, only to be excommunicated again. In one meeting in the 1860’s a resolution was passed by our church body almost entirely in response to [Name Omitted]’s behavior: 

“Whereas intemperance has been and now is the most fruitful source of evil and crime and misery in the world – making the rich poor, the poor miserable, the once kind and affectionate husband and father and friend a brute, the once happy and confiding wife and mother a poor and heartbroken and wretched being, making worse than orphans children whose parents still exist, destroying soul, body and estate, peopleing the world with the inhabitants of earth, therefore, 

Resolved

That any member of this church who will persist in manufacturing, selling, or in the habitual use of intoxicating drinks as a beverage should be considered as walking disorderly, exerting a demoralizing and beneful influence on society, as bringing a reproach upon the cause of Christ and ought not to be retained in the fellowship of this church.”

The motion passed, and the record of that meeting ended with this line, 

“So far above reports the longest and stormiest meeting held by the members of the Church.”

Now I don’t bring all of this up to say that we should be teetotalers. Alcohol may not even be a temptation for you, the problem is anything that Satan uses to control you. It might be drugs or alcohol, but it could be any number of things. Some people are totally enslaved to what other people think of them, others are slaves to money or the pursuit of wealth. For some it may be pleasure or worldly comfort. Whatever it may be, if it controls your life it will always lead you to darker places than you ever imagined it would. 

The point I am trying to make is that the one who should be controlling your life is God, and anyone or anything else that is pulling the strings is an idol, a false god, who is working against your good. When we talk about freedom, we often mean the freedom to do anything we want to do whenever we want to do it, but that is not real freedom. Real, Biblical freedom is to belong to God, to live as God created you to live, and not to be enslaved by any lesser thing. Paul’s talks about this very idea in his letter to the church in Galatia. Here are just a few passages I pulled from Galatians 5, so you can see this in the text yourself: 

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery

Galatians 5:1, ESV

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Galatians 5:13-24, ESV

Again, true freedom is not a selfish pursuit of desire, but a selfless freedom that comes when we fully surrender ourselves to God and allow Him to guide us and lead us. Consistently the scriptures show us that when someone or something tries to take the place of God, it never ends well for them. 

The Demons Cast Out

These demons had laid a claim on this man’s life, and were delighting at the opportunity to destroy him from the inside out. Why would demons waste their time on us lowly mortals? The answer is that they cannot harm the one they truly hate, and because they cannot hurt God they will delight in destroying the things He loves most. 

Notice, the demons reaction to Jesus when he shows up on the scene: 

“When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, ‘What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!’  For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.) Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss.

Luke 8:28-29a

The demons recognize Jesus right away as the Son of the Most High God, but they do not attempt to harm him because they know they are powerless in his presence. Even though they admit they are “legion” (a Roman legion numbered in the hundreds or thousands) the Son of God is infinitely greater than them. Instead of putting up a fight, the demons beg to be spared punishment for their crimes against this man. 

We are told toward the end of the book of Revelation that a day will come when:

“The devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Revelation 20:10, ESV

Perhaps the demons feared that Christ’s presence meant that the day of judgment had finally come and they would be cast into eternal torment for their dark deeds. There are somethings worth noting about this demonic statement. First, the demons knew and believed that Jesus was who he said he was. Second, the demons wanted to be spared punishment, but that was not the same thing as repentance. 

What this tells me is that a person can believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and have a fear of judgment day, but still be an enemy of God. What is missing is repentance, a desire to follow Jesus, a desire to change, and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. This is one reason why I don’t often try to scare people into salvation. I want you to know about hell and the consequences of sin, but I don’t want you to feel like I can just believe the right thing in my head, get dipped in the water, to get my “get out of hell free card” and then continue to live my life as I please. It doesn’t work like that. 

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

James 2:19, ESV

James 2:19, ESV

These demons were not about to change their ways. The weren’t about to join the side of angels. No, they just wanted to delay the inevitable. I pray that our faith this day is not in a simple acknowledgement of truth, but in an inner life change and a sincere desire for a relationship with God. 

As we read, Jesus does not cast the demons out into the abyss, but he does cast them into a herd of pigs. Today we still think of pigs as an unclean animal, but in the time of Jesus they were not seen as just physically unclean, but also ceremonially and religiously unclean. Scholars have different opinions on the meaning of the pigs’ presence here, but it is safe to say that the destruction of those pigs was a foreshadowing and a reminder of the fate of those who stay too long in their sin and darkness. 

Freed to Be A Witness

This dramatic and miraculous event, caused quite a stir in the region. First it frightened the herdsmen who saw thousands of swine suddenly decided to drown themselves all at once. Then those who came to witness what had occurred found themselves frightened by Jesus himself. They had known the terror of the demoniac, and anyone who could cast out so many demons must be a dangerously powerful person to keep around. Sometimes I forget that some of the things Jesus did would have been scary to witness. It scared the people so badly that they asked Jesus to leave them, which he did, but before he departs we see one last interaction with the formerly demon-possessed man. 

The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

Luke 8:38-39, ESV

Just a few things I love about these closing verses. The healed man wanted to leave everything behind and follow Jesus, which is a testimony to his genuine faith. Notice, however, that Jesus has a different calling for this man’s life. Rather than journeying with Jesus to neighboring towns and cities, Jesus calls this man to stay in his own town and to bear witness to what God has done for him. 

What I love about this is that the man was called to be a witness to those who knew him at his worst and his lowest point. Human wisdom might say that this man would be better off starting over in a new place, but Jesus says that his service to God would come by living his new life in the presence of those who saw his old life, all the while giving credit to God for the transformation he experienced. 

This is the beauty of the gospel. Our shame and our guilt no longer control us, in fact we can point to our past as a testimony to the goodness of God who rescued us from the sin and sorrows that once bound us. Some of us may even disqualify ourselves from being a witness, thinking that no one who knows the person I used to be will listen to the things I have to say about Jesus. What we fail to realize is that our sinful past does not disqualify us. If anything it is evidence of God’s power at work in our lives! Like this transformed man, let us testify to our God who saves! 

Closing Prayer: 

Father God we thank you for your grace and mercy that sets us free from the powers of sin and death. As your word says, let us always be ready to give an answer to the hope that we have in you. If anyone here today finds themselves still bound in patterns of sin, addiction, or shame; I pray that this would be the day you set them free. And for those who have been set free, I pray that you would send us and use us so that our lives might be a testimony to your goodness and grace. We ask all these things and more in your Son’s holy and precious name, Amen.