Luke 8:26-39
The demon speaking: What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? (Luke 8:28b) We often presume that Jesus has moved into Gentile territory, into the region of the Decapolis on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Today this verse “proves” it to me, that Jesus is dealing with Gentiles. The demon referred to Jesus as the Son of the Most High God. Most Gentile religions worshipped a pantheon of gods, only one of which would be the Most High God – Zeus for the Greeks, Jupiter for the Romans. So the demon(s) in this Gentile saw that Jesus had power over all the other gods of this Gerasene region. Small item.
I always try to put myself into the story as one of the disciples or one of the bystanders. Today I was watching the city-folk as they were binding this demon-possessed man with chains and shackles and setting a guard on him. Then I saw him break away from his restraints and overpower the guards and take off for the desert. How scary this must have been! And yet, this man was someone’s son or brother or husband or father. I would think the townspeople would have been more thrilled to see their friend delivered and would have embraced Jesus, yet their collective response was to ask Jesus to leave, for they were seized with great fear. (v. 37b) To me, a strange response…!
As I watched this whole event unfold from my location nearby, I was naturally struck by Jesus’ power – doing what the townspeople could never do for this man. But I was also struck by Jesus’ love for this man – and by the man returning Jesus’ love in kind, …sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind… (v. 35b) But Jesus then sent him back to his home with instructions to proclaim his good news. But would the townspeople accept this “new” man or would their “great fear” leave them bound? I wonder whatever happened to him…
See also: April 25 / Luke 8:26-39
I also thought that the response of the gentiles to Jesus’ freeing the man from the demons was very curious. They were seized with great fear and asked Jesus to leave. I think that they believed that Jesus was the Son of the Most High God, just as the possessed man had said. But they also knew that there were other demons who were perhaps even more powerful. They probably wanted Jesus to leave because they were afraid of a battle in their own back yard where they might have to pick one side or the other.
The discussion that John and Bruce had yesterday about Trust, I think, is very applicable here. The gentiles believed in Jesus, but did they fully trust (enough to bet on a winner between Jesus and potentially more powerful demons)? I think not.
Just like most of us, who tell ourselves that we fully trust God (thy will be done – which I also think is a recognition of trust). BUT, then we fear the result and start “taking the wheel back to drive the car ourselves” and regain control of our own lives. Not much different from these gentiles – I can relate.
Without a revelation of God’s character and His love for us, trust in Him is (I think) impossible — or at the very least, highly improbable. And without trust, fear of Him is entirely appropriate. In fact, “terror” is probably a better descriptor of what one should feel in His presence if trust is absent. Fortunately, even in fear there is hope, because the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. (Proverbs 9:10)
I was still thinking about the man, and Jesus sending him out to give his witness about his healing. Perhaps, assuming this man was a gentile, there wasn’t the danger of having people declare Him the Messiah and trying to crown Him as king way before His time. Jesus is very attuned to God’s perfect time and place. Wish I could learn to keep focused on God and His ways, trusting that He has it all under control. Yep, guys, it’s a big trust issue!
The gentiles who witnessed this dispossession knew Jesus to be a Jew. Perhaps some of their fear and distrust was also from an innate fear and distrust of the Jews, and here was a Jew with extraordinary power. Perhaps they felt their Pagan origins to be under immediate threat from this man. Maybe this threat further explains their fear and distrust, and their wish that he leave them. “Don’t upset our apple-cart”, so to speak.