Iliff and Saltillo United Methodist Church
June 2, 2002
“Fears that Keep Us From His Presence”
or “Deviled Ham”
Luke 8:26-39
Text: “Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them because they were overcome with fear. So He got into the boat and left.”
INTRODUCTION: Jesus did many miracles when He lived on earth. One of those miracles involved the deliverance of a demon-possessed man who had been living among the tombs for a long time. He was so out of control that he could no longer be around people, he couldn’t live in a house or wear clothes. The people had tried to subdue him with chains, but he broke the chains. He was such a threat to people that they couldn’t even be out on the roads at night. He was so controlled by demon power that he was a danger to anyone who came near him.
Today’s scripture is found in three of the four gospels with slight variations. Just before this event takes place the disciples were about scared to death by a storm on the lake. As if this weren’t enough for one day, they witness the sight of this demon possessed man immediately confronting Jesus when they arrived in the region of Gerasenes across the lake from Galilee. Maybe they were thinking that they could all gang up on him if Jesus needed help.
This was pagan territory and these people were Gentiles who were not familiar with the miracles and power of Jesus. We know this because no self-respecting Jew would keep a herd of 2000 pigs. Pigs were considered unclean animals and Jews don’t eat pigs, keep pigs or have anything to do with pigs. In a largely Gentile area it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary. What his disciples saw that day was that not only can Jesus calm the wild waves of the sea but also he can even calm a wild, out-of-control demon possessed person. At any rate, this story of “deviled ham” caused so much fear that Jesus was asked to leave the region. Verse 37 says, “then all the people of the region asked Jesus to leave them because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.”
You would have thought that the people would have been happy to see this uncontrollable person restored to his right mind, dressed and no threat to anyone, but they weren’t.
1. The Reaction of the Different People:
(a.) The demon possessed man: The demon possessed man was the first to stand in the presence of Jesus. He shrieked and fell to the ground before Jesus--but not to worship Him though. This reminds me of Philippians 2:10 “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” They (the demons) addressed Him as “Son of the Most High God.” The Message Bible says, “What business do you have messing with me? You’re Jesus Son of the Most High God but don’t give me a hard time.” Jesus had started to order them out of the man. They didn’t want to worship Him but they recognized His power and they dreaded it. They had three main fears:
1. They didn’t want Jesus to torment them before the time. Matthew 8:29 “Have you come to torture us before the appointed time?”
2. Mark’s gospel account said they didn’t want to be sent out of the area. (Mark 5:10) Demons usually were thought to have certain territorial areas and this region was one of them.
3. And they didn’t want to be sent to the Abyss where they could no longer do their destructive work. In scripture the abyss was the abode of demons, a place of confinement or punishment. (See Rev. 9:1 and Rev. 20:1-3). Luke 8:31
The demon possessed man was so controlled that when Jesus asked him his name they answered for him and said, “LEGION,” which in scripture represented a unit of Roman Soldiers or 6000 indicating tremendous power.
They begged him to let them go into the swine. The reason for this was that at least they would have a body to operate in and to continue their destructive work. Jesus said, “GO.”
(b.) The swineherders: Usually several owners had pigs in a herd, rather than just one owner. When the swineherders saw 2000 pigs rushing over the cliff to their destruction once the demons entered into them, they were scared to death and ran to town to tell everyone what had happened. Maybe it was to incense the people against Jesus. In ancient thought the water or sea was a form of the Abyss so actually it appears that the demons met one of their fears where they couldn’t continue to do their destructive work. The pigs were no longer alive so they didn’t have a body to operate out of. They were confined to a lake which represented the abyss. I think they , in fact, realized all their fears.
(c.) The townspeople: The townspeople came out to check things out and they were so alarmed and frightened over the presence of Jesus that they BEGGED him to leave. Maybe they were afraid he would cast out THEIR DEMONS. There is no indication that they went up to the man and asked what had happened to him. No one spoke to him with tears of Joy. No one lifted their hands in thanksgiving. Why didn’t the people rejoice? They were terrified to be in the presence of one with power to be able to perform such a miracle. If the mighty force could destroy a whole herd of pigs might not this power strike again with even more serious consequences? They viewed the cure as what caused the catastrophe and requested Jesus, a dangerous person, to leave. They would rather have had the man as he was--dangerous, destructive and uncontrollable rather than healed and clothed and a constructive member of society. They knew how to manage the problem before. It was an undesirable situation but a KNOWN one. They feared the UNKNOWN. People could cope with the KNOWN even though it was not to their liking. What would Jesus do NEXT???
(d.) The man in his right mind: It was a holy moment for this man. When he was in his right mind once again, he was not only clothed but sitting at the feet of Jesus. He begged to go with Jesus. But Jesus said, “No, you go back to your family and tell them “how much God has done for you” (Luke 8:39). Jesus is saying, “Bloom where you are Planted.” And the man did. He “went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him” (verse 40). What is interesting here is that his testimony was effective. Mark’s gospel records that sometime afterward in chapter 7:37. “People in this same region were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said.
2. How Do we React to the Presence of Jesus?: Many of us respond the same way to Jesus when He does an out-of the ordinary act among us. We are fearful because we have never personally experienced this before. We fear the unknown even if it is a display of His goodness to us. The people in Gerasenes could not benefit from Jesus’ presence because of their fears. Have you feared Jesus because of what He might require of you? Have you feared that He might ask of you something you are not prepared to give?
ILLUSTRATION: I used to think that if I were totally committed to the Lord that He would make me go to Africa and be a missionary and I would have to carry around a 40 lb. Bible.
I am not sure how we come up with some of these ideas, but they can be powerful enough to keep us from His presence. These subconscious or conscious fears keep us from going to a deeper level with Him and experiencing better things in our life.
How do you identify with the people in this scripture? How do you identify with the demon possessed man? The swineherders? The townspeople? The disciples?
Do you sometimes feel driven? Do you sometimes resist people who are trying to help you? Do you often place your values in the wrong things and in the wrong places? Have you ever just wanted Jesus to get out of your life and leave you alone even if it meant hurting yourself with your self destructive habits and way of life?
The people feared that Jesus’ coming meant a change for not only the demoniac but also a change for them--a change they did not want and did not feel they needed. Change is upsetting for all of us. We all fear the unknown. They wanted things just as they were and Jesus was threatening the status quo. The thought of the kind of changes which Jesus would bring was tormenting to the people of this region. They wanted Jesus to go because he was getting close to home--getting close to where they lived.
Does the presence of Jesus come too close to where you live that it identifies your need for change? Is he showing your need to live a different lifes from what you are living and you just don’t want that? I think it does. That’s why we resist. The spotlight shines on our apathy, our wrong priorities and wrong values. Our careless way of serving him and our take it or leave it way of life. And we say, “Just go. Jesus leave me alone!”
Why are we like this? Scripture in II Corinthians 4:4 says that “the God of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God.” Satan comes to “steal, kill, and destroy.”
3. What Can We Do?: I think the answer lies in getting to know Jesus so well that you are not afraid of Him. The disciples in the storm on the way over said, “Who is this who even the wind and the waves obey Him?” We have a fearfulness of His power the same as the disciples. The disciples didn’t understand and most of the time we don’t either. The pagans didn’t understand until much later--after the man had spread the good news of what had happened to him. When he shared the goodness of God to him, others began to understand. We must see his goodness in our lives and get to know him in such a way that we are not seized with an unholy fear of Him. The demons recognized who He was but they didn’t have any intention of worshipping Him. They were bent on continuing their evil and destructiveness. The owners of the pigs were concerned mainly about their financial loss as could be expected, but they couldn’t see beyond that to the value of a human soul.
Our answer to an unholy fear of the presence of Jesus begins to leave as we take steps to allow Him entrance into our lives. We might not understand how He works or much of anything about how He makes changes in our life. But Psalm 119:130 says, “the entrance of thy words giveth light and it giveth understanding...” As we allow him to make little changes in our life, we will find his light chipping away at the darkness that causes us to come under fear and bondage. We won’t be so worried about the various forms of “deviled ham” in our life. We will begin to see that we are different people and that in the process He has not harmed us by His presence or made our life more miserable. But rather that he has restored us.
CONCLUSION:
STORY: Fred Craddock tells of a young woman in a small Kansas town who had a job cleaning the old hotel. There were not many customers anymore and she is the only cleaning person there. Part of her pay is that she gets a room in almost the attic of the old place. She comes down every morning with a bucket and a mop, an old dress and old shoes and begins to clean. The hotel has a beautiful entry with a marble floor, a nice chandelier, and fine woodwork. Every day, she scrubs and polishes them all. Every night she goes up to that little room with her mop, her bucket, in the same old dress and same old shoes. In the morning she gets up and puts the same thing on and gets that old bucket and comes downstairs to clean. Same old same old. Sometimes her boss yells at her, “Hurry up! Go clean Room 33. What’s wrong with you?” Sometimes when she is down on her hands and knees cleaning the marble floor people yell in the front door and make fun of her.”
One day as she is in the lobby cleaning, a man walks in and says, “Pardon me, Miss but I’m a stranger in town and I’m looking for 420 Oak Street. Could you help me.” She just stares at him. No one has been courteous to her for a long time. He continues, “I hate to interrupt you. My, this place is beautiful. It just shines! I know your boss must be proud of your work. Do you do this all by yourself?” She just stands there with her mouth open. He goes on to say, “My, that chandelier! Crystal. How do you keep it so sparkling clean? This really is marvelous work you are doing here.” She just continues to look at him. She can’t believe anyone is talking to her this way.
That night as she went up to the little room with her mop and bucket and old dress and old shoes, she goes over to the mirror and looks at herself. She pulls the rag off her head and shakes her hair and says, “I think I’ll do my hair tonight.” She goes over to a cardboard closet and says, “I think I’ll wear this outfit tomorrow. I think I’ll wear some different shoes. She picks up a bottle of perfume and says, “I think I’ll wear this tomorrow.” (Craddock)
What has happened to her? I think in the light of the gospel lesson, we might say that she had been one who had been living among the tombs and now she has been healed. She has been changed. She is a different person. We all long to be healed like that. We want to share in encounters such as this and remember what we are really worth in the eyes of God. These experiences yield truth, and scripture says, “You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.”(John 8:34)
What can we do about fears that keep us from His presence? We get to know Jesus a little bit better day by day. We allow Him entrance into our life little by little. We realize that “God is not out to get us” but that He is there to give us “life and that more abundantly.” What could be bad about that?
Shall we pray:
