August 5, 2010
HEY, HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR ME?
Luke 8:26-39
Neal Holford
Central Truth
Virtually none of us have had demons cast out of us into pigs, but Jesus has caused an amazing transformation in each believer's life, sometimes radically changing us before the eyes of those who know us and purposing us to tell them and others what He has done for us.
Key Verse | Luke 8:39
"Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you." So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him. (Luke 8:39)
Luke 8:26-39
Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon
26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, 1 8:26 Some manuscripts Gadarenes; others Gergesenes; also verse 37 which is opposite Galilee. 27 When Jesus 2 8:27 Greek he; also verses 38, 42 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. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” 29 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.) 30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. 32 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.
34 When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 36 And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed 3 8:36 Greek daimonizomai (demonized); elsewhere rendered oppressed by demons man had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “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.
Dive Deeper | Luke 8:26-39
In Luke 8 Jesus demonstrates awesome power and ultimate authority. A possessed man living naked among the tombs is radically transformed into a sane, clothed man sitting at the feet of Jesus. Demons, one or more, answering to the name "Legion" are ordered by Jesus into a herd of pigs that then rushes down a steep bank into the water and drowns.
My wife, Ann, and I have seen radical transformation at the hands of Jesus in many ways in our lives. Perhaps most visibly, we experienced it in our daughter whose life was dynamically changed almost right before our eyes. All of us as believers have been changed by Jesus, maybe not as publicly or with such outward visibility as this man of the Gerasenes or our daughter, but radically changed nonetheless. We have been given power by the death and resurrection of Jesus through the Holy Spirit to put our sin nature to death and become more like Christ.
Sometimes, I treat Ann or my kids poorly, or I'm a poor witness with my friends or at work. I don't look too good to those around me. Yet, God has forgiven me through Jesus. I'm often like the now demon-free man of the Gerasenes. He wants to stay within Jesus' protection. When I am convicted of my sin and see the mess I have made of things, a big part of me wants to go off somewhere new, where only Jesus knows who I am, and start fresh with no baggage.
I imagine we all want to do that at some time. Yet, Jesus tells this man to return home and tell others how much God has done for him. Jesus wants us to go right back to the same places where we made the messes before—to our spouses, families, friends, and workplaces to proclaim what He has done for us. He wants us to risk being vulnerable and being thought of as a hypocrite and tell the same people that we live and work among who we are—sinners redeemed because of who He is.
Discussion Questions
1. What has God done for you in the last month that you could share with someone?
2. Do you tell people at your work or your school about what God has done for you, or does something cause you not to do this?
3. Do you really believe that God has radically changed you and continues to work in you?
FAMILY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. How did the people who saw the man healed feel? What did they tell Jesus to do?
2. Why do you think people are afraid of Jesus?
3. Are you willing to let Jesus and His truth free you from a sin that “controls” you?