When God Does A Work

Picture the scene with me that day as Jesus and the disciples arrived. As Jesus and the disciples arrive, they see before them a very small beach with cliffs immediately beyond the beach. In the cliffs, there are caves and tombs for burial. The shadows from those cliffs stretch out across the beach, reaching almost to the water’s edge.

Suddenly, even as the disciples pull the boat onto the shore, a man comes running from the edge of the cliffs toward Jesus.

On the plateau above the cliffs, a pig herder calls to his buddy, “Hey Joe, come look at this.” As his companion joins him, they watch the scene unfolding below, together. They both know the man who lives among the tombs and the caves. They have seen him many times before. People have tried to help him, but now he seems beyond hope. He has killed. He has left his family and his home. He tears off his clothes so he goes around with barely anything on. He cuts himself with rocks. He is out of his mind.

My friends, that is why Jesus crossed the lake, because this man had a need. In the first sermon Jesus ever preached, He said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” Jesus came on a life-saving, hurt-healing, life-changing mission.

My friends, all around us are people just like this man. All around us are people with hurts they can’t handle, people with pain they can’t stop, people with lives out of control.

Many of them have tried everything the world has to offer to find release, with no success. For you see, Jesus is the only true answer. Jesus says, Come unto Me all ye who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

The man threw himself at Jesus’ feet and said, “What do you have to do with us? The man was filled with demons and they were scared Jesus was going to cast them into the abyss. Jesus said, “What is your name?” The demons in the man answered, “Legion,” because there were many demons in the man. Jesus told them to come out and they asked if they could go into the pigs on the hill side. Jesus told them could.

In no time, the demons left the man, and went into the pigs. The pigs decided it was better to die than to live with demons in them, so they ran off the cliff into the lake and were drowned.

The men in charge of looking after the pigs couldn’t believe what they saw. They couldn’t believe what had just happened, so they ran to town to report what had happened.

All the people in the town came down to the lake to see what had happened.

Imagine the scene that greeted them when they arrived. There sitting at Jesus’ feet was the man Jesus had helped. Before, he was out of his mind. Now, we was calm and under control. Before, he was nearly naked. Now, he was clothed. Before, he was troubled; now he had peace. In the lake behind him, forming a background for the scene, there were nearly 2000 pigs, bobbing up and down with every wave.