The last half of Luke 8 gives us two incredible stories of Jesus combating the forces allied against humanity - the hosts of darkness under the control of Satan, and darkness itself: death. Just before this episode, Luke records for us Jesus’ control over the elements as He calmed the wind storm that threatened to scuttle the disciples’ boat. Now we see Jesus commands much more than just the weather, but all the powers of the universe and we’ll see that what He calls us to do is drop our fear over what is allied against us and trust Him no matter what!
Verses 26 - 39 The Legion of Demons
Verse 25 - the area of the Gerasenes (or Gaderenes) was probably southeast of the Sea of Galilee. It was populated by gentiles - including what was known as the Decapolis or Ten Cities - which did not belong to any country but were self ruled. That is, by the way, why we find a herd of pigs there. Pigs were unclean to the Jews. Luke shows Jesus continued efforts to reach out to the gentiles, though His primary mission was to the Jews first.
Verse 27 - notice that although the man was driven out of town and lived alone among the tombs - avoiding human contact - when Jesus arrives the man is waiting for him on the shore. I wonder if the demons weren’t going on the offensive to scare Jesus away from their territory. We know from Daniel that demons do claim geographic regions. Matthew tells us there were two men - apparently only one did the talking.
Verse 28 - But even if that was the demon’s original intent - when it (or they) saw Jesus they realized it was not battling but begging that they needed to do. Sometimes it isn’t until we really experience the real presence of God that we understand the real power of God in our lives. The demons basically said to Jesus "we have nothing in common." They were not bowing down in worship, but in unwilling submission. And just because a person uses God-language or even quotes from the Bible doesn’t mean they speak the truth or are saved.
James 2:19-20 Even the demons believe - and shudder! ESV
What is demon possession? We don’t know exactly, but we do know that it is possible. I do not believe it is possible for a Christian to be possessed, but certainly influenced and even oppressed ("Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world" 1 John 4:4). Demons are able to control human bodies and make them do and say things they would not normally do - what a horrible existence!
Verses 29 - 30 Notice that the demon didn’t come out right away - that’s somehow because they could get away unless Jesus actually knew their name. A "legion" was the largest segment of a Roman army - between 3 and 6,000 men.
Verse 31 - Jesus had the power to send these filthy creatures to the Abyss - or Abuso in Greek. This is a place of torment where certain demons are kept until they are released during the Great Tribulation (Revelation 9 - Bottomless Pit).
Verses 32 - 33 They knew Jesus was going to throw them out but they wanted to strike a deal. Apparently demons can also possess animals. It was only by Jesus’ permission. The animals (Mark says 2,000) I’m sure panicked and ran down and killed themselves. They were intent on torment and that’s what they did to the pigs. And that is always Satan’s end game in our lives too: torment. Not pleasure or peace or security or happiness - though he promises all of those.
Verses 34 - 37 Two pieces of undeniable evidence are placed before the people of the region - the man they knew as out of control was now totally normal, and the herd of pigs that had been normal was now dead - and all this came under the direct control of this man Jesus. Their reaction was fear over the power of Jesus and perhaps anger at the loss of profit from the pigs. What is your reaction to the power of Jesus in someone’s life or when you read it in the gospels? Do you want to repel Him out of fear? Jesus complied with their wish and never returned. Don’t make that mistake in your life.
Verses 38 - 39 What a totally different reaction. The people want to never see Jesus again; this man never wants to leave Jesus’ side. Isn’t that the reaction of someone who has been saved by His grace? But Jesus wants him to go and be a witness, just like He tells us to go and be a witness of what He has done for us. Jesus doesn’t ask us to all be PhD’s in Theology or Apologetics - He just wants us to go back home and live our lives and share what He has done. And so he did.
Verses 40 - 56 Raising Jairus’s Daughter
Verse 40 - He probably came back to Capernaum. Notice the different welcome he gets than the crowd across the Sea.
Verses 41-42 Jairus was not a priest, but an administrator. You could call him a superintendent. He would have been well respected in his community - and taking the chance of coming to Jesus risked his job, his reputation, and everything. But when it comes to the life of your child - you will go to extreme lengths and all those things you held so important suddenly aren’t. His only child - only 12 - was dying. Jesus responds - as He will always do for a legitimate need - but notice what happens:
Verses 43 - 44 - Jesus is stopped by another legitimate need. For all the years Jairus’ daughter was alive, this woman suffered from some sort of hemorrhaging. Medicine in those days was laughable at best, cruel at worst. Often it was the Pharisees who performed silly and sometimes difficult remedies. They used herbs and the like - but often resorted to trying to cast out demons as the cause of most illnesses. The best medicine of her day was of no use - so she too out of desperation clings to Jesus. Her bleeding by the way, kept her constantly in a state of ceremonial uncleanness - away from the synagogue and normal social relationships. It would have been unthinkable for a woman in this condition to reach out to a holy man. But she is at the end of her rope and will do anything to find healing.
Verses 45 - 48 Was Jesus unaware of who it was? Probably not - but He was totally dependent on the Holy Spirit and it is possible that the Spirit did not reveal it to Him at that time. More likely there are no anonymous healings with Jesus - He wants her to acknowledge publicly who it was as a sign and testimony for others. That’s also why it’s important for us not to hide the healing of our lives.
Verses 49 - 50 - Here comes one of the most crucial parts of the section. Jairus was probably getting very anxious to have Jesus come - seconds can count. Yet He stops to help this woman, and it was probably all Jairus could do not to say "can you please hurry up?" How often do we do that to the Lord - we think that our concerns are so time sensitive that if God doesn’t hurry up it will be too late. We should pray, but we leave both the answer and its timing to God.
Anyway - Jairus’ worst fears are realized - his daughter has died. They tell him not to bother asking The Teacher - it’s too late. And Jesus turns to him and makes this incredible statement: "Do not fear, only believe." The word "fear" here is "to be frightened by something." The words of Jairus’ friends struck the worst kind of fear into his heart - and Jesus is saying to disregard that fear - and instead "only believe." The idea is two fold - "believe" here comes from a word that means "to be persuaded." "Only" can mean either "merely" or "alone."
Jesus wants this man "merely" believe that Jesus can accomplish what He wants. It takes no power on Jairus’ part - Jesus isn’t asking Jairus to do anything himself. But he is asking him to trust Jesus alone.
How often do we look up to pray, then look around at our circumstances and let them crowd out our trust in God. We see our environment, we feel our fear, and we hear those around us telling us straight out that God cannot be trusted - that it is too late.
The good news is that Jairus listened to Jesus, looked at Him alone, then took action to continue walking with Him back home.
Verses 51 - 56 The house was not a place of faith but of mocking and mourning. In those days there were professional mourners who would arrive to lend their great wailing voices to the ambiance. The Jews took mourning very seriously. But it mocked a true realization of what death means, and what Jesus brings to it - that is, life. We like to avoid death whenever possible, or we cloak it in such ceremony (like big funerals and eulogies that quote Psalm 23, etc) that we don’t face the true meaning.
The girl was really dead - but Jesus really did raise her. Notice that because they eschewed faith, Jesus excluded them from seeing the miracle. That will happen to us as well - if you mock God answering prayer, you won’t find yourself seeing any.
I love too Jesus’ response. Here He gives life back to this little girl and a daughter back to her parents - and the first thing He says is "she’s probably hungry, why don’t you fix her a snack."
Conclusions
Are You Held Captive?
Maybe its time to bow instead of fight Jesus.
How desperate are you for healing?
Are you willing to lay aside pride and risk everything to come to Jesus?
What voices are you hearing when it comes to approaching and trusting Jesus?
The townspeople in the Decapolis said "there’s no use - no one can help you escape from your torment."
The physicians no doubt told the woman "there’s no cure for your disease, might as well give up."
The friends of Jairus told him "don’t bother asking Jesus for help - it’s too late."
Today you likely have those same voices screaming at you that God is not able to or not willing to help you. You may look around your environment and see nothing but hopelessness. All that may make your heart sick with fear - you are frightened for your present and terrified for your future.
So listen to the words of Jesus: don’t be afraid, only believe. Look into His eyes, and walk with Him. At that point it shouldn’t matter what happens, as long as you are with Him. And listen to the words of Paul the Apostle.:
Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think , according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. ESV
Let me add one more thing - if you do not know Jesus. Then you are not fearful enough of what awaits you. God will forever separate from himself everyone he does not know. And He can only know you if you put your hope and trust in Jesus Christ. He won’t abandon you - don’t be afraid, only believe!
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