JESUS TRANSFORMS A DEMONIZED MAN

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As we proceed through chapter 8 of Luke we come to verse 26 where Jesus encounters the wild man from the land of the Gerasenes on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee.

They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demonized man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torture me!" For Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.

Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" "Legion," he replied, because many demons had gone into him. And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss. A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission. When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus' feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people how the demonized man had been cured. 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.

The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return home and tell how much God has done for you." So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.

We’ve looked at this story recently and it always speaks to me of transformation. There are four phases in genuine transformation that comes through Jesus:

FIRST—You have to be in real trouble. Maybe you aren’t as bad off as this man, but everyone of us has a desperation factor from time to time. Just last night we were discussing with some friends how amazing denial is within a family. Well, this man was not in denial about his alienation and there was no family member left to cover up for him. He was just too far gone.

SECOND—Jesus must intervene within your desperation.

THIRD—Just about everything is transformed from the inside out. In this case the demonized man was sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind. His insanity was turned into sanity. In his insanity he was repulsive; and now he is attractive.

FOURTH—Because of the demonized man’s story, his entire village heard the good news of Jesus. He couldn’t get enough of hanging out with Jesus and begged to be able to go on the road with Him. Jesus sent him right back to his people.

Now, note something here. This transformed man didn’t go to his people and condemn them. He didn’t go to them and try to straighten out their belief system. He simply and persuasively told all who would listen about what Jesus had done for him.

This must be our focus, too. We must be about sharing what Jesus has done on our behalf. It’s not the program; it’s the person of Jesus that matters most. Let me ask you something. What has Jesus done for you lately? Are you able to identify the Jesus factor in your life? Can you see yourself sharing this with another friend? Then think and pray about going back home and wait for the opportunities to do so. Remember, God sets up the appointments. All you have to do is SHOW UP.

JESUS CALMS THE STORM

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The next story in the life of Jesus doesn’t necessarily follow after the last. But here is a great scene in the training of His disciples.

One day Jesus said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side of the lake." So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!"

He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. "Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him."

What an illustration! NOTE the logical progression of this training session.

FIRST—Jesus gave the directions to cross over to the other side of the lake. It was Jesus’ idea. The disciples were not wandering off by themselves.

SECOND—Trouble showed up for the disciples, even though they were following Jesus’ directions. You don’t have to pray for nor look for problems. Problems will be provided.

THIRD—The trouble got worse before any assistance came. This is a normal occurrence. Sometimes like in surgery, you must hurt deeply in order to heal.

FOURTH—Jesus seemed to not care about their plight. Here He was sleeping. Don’t you feel like Jesus might be asleep or away from time to time. No, He’s still very attentive.

FIFTH—Jesus showed up at just the right time. The timing of God is the most amazing thing of all about this spiritual journey. I can think of so many times that Jesus was late from my viewpoint, but perfectly on time from His viewpoint. There are many times that I can look back and thank God for not doing it in my way. Did I say many? Most of the time.

SIXTH—When Jesus showed up, He rebuked the storm and it responded to His words. His presence with them was a sure guarantee that everything was going to be alright. Whenever He wants, He can speak the word and calm the situation.

SEVENTH—Jesus then rebukes the disciples by saying, “Where is your faith?” NOTE the disciples are still working on their faith. They aren’t there yet. They haven’t arrived. In this case Jesus is not saying where is your great faith, but simply where is your faith?

The primary principle to me is WHEN JESUS IS RIDING ALONG ON YOUR JOURNEY, YOU NEVER HAVE TO BE UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES BUT LIVING ABOVE THE CIRCUMSTANCES. Jesus will always get you through whatever comes upon you and He does it by lifting you up to a higher perspective to get the big picture. Even the greatest problems and trials look a lot smaller from that vantage point.

SO, where is YOUR faith? Your faith can be simply to continue on your spiritual journey with Jesus, believing that He will get you through whatever the storm may be and therefore no matter what, everything is going to be OK.

A LAMP ON A STAND

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The clear theme of the parable of the soils is hearing or being fully receptive to the Word of God, and it seems that this theme stretches from 8:1 where Jesus is traveling from village to village "proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God" to 8:21 where Jesus says that his true family are those who hear God's Word and do it (8:21).

In the first paragraph here (16-18) Jesus gives the illustration of a lamp: "No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.” If you are going to light a lamp, then you place it at the highest point in the room in order to shine the light as wide and far as possible. Jesus' statement is almost funny—and he probably smiled when he said it. If you're going to light a lamp, you do it for illumination, not to hide or conceal it. If that were your purpose, you wouldn't light it at all.

Jesus then gives the purpose for using the lamp properly: “For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.”

In the previous paragraph Jesus tells His disciples that He is revealing to them the secrets of the kingdom. The light of revelation, the previously unknown mystery, has been lit by the coming of Jesus and His proclamation of the good news of the kingdom. Jesus then lit up the disciples by giving them the secrets of the kingdom. Now, it is time for these secrets to be made known everywhere THROUGH THEM. The "lamp" revealing the good news of the kingdom has now been lit, and must not be extinguished until the mission is complete.

Jesus continues: “Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Those who have will be given more; as for those who do not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them."

NOTE, because you have been given the secrets of the kingdom to reveal these secrets to the world for them to hear, you must be careful how you listen. Again, this entire chapter is about hearing—being the good soil that is receptive to the seed of the kingdom knowledge. Then Jesus inserts a warning that those who are listening intently so that they have receptive hearts will be given more understanding of the kingdom and those who are not listening well will lose what understanding they have.

It’s all about hearing—having ears to hear. In the parable of the sower there were 6 uses of the word “hear” or “hearing”. James, the brother of Jesus, wrote “Don’t be hearers of the word only who delude themselves, but be doers of the word.” What he means by “hearing” properly is to act upon what you hear. Practice what you hear from Jesus.

Now Jesus' mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you." He replied, "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice."

Hearing God's word and putting it into practice is the message that must be indelibly tattooed upon our minds. So, here Jesus makes a clear, yet difficult comparison regarding His mother and brothers who have shown up to visit Him. He says, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.” Jesus is talking Kingdom talk. He isn’t anti mother and brothers, but is demonstrating that in the kingdom your real family members are those who hear God’s word and practice it.

I return to Jesus’ earlier words, “Be careful how you listen”, because Jesus will give much more to those who have ears to hear. Are you listening?

THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER

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In chapter 8 verse 4 we come to a familiar scene where Jesus introduces the parable of the sower:
While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown." When he said this, he called out, "Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear."


His disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, "'though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.'

"This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.

FIRST-UNRECEPTIVE SOIL—Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.

SECOND-INSINCERE SOIL—Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.

THIRD-DISTRACTED SOIL—The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.

FOURTH-GOOD SOIL—PRODUCTIVE—But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

1—Jesus is the sower of the seed. In Matthew’s version of this teaching (Matt. 13:37) Jesus says that the Son of Man is the sower. When Jesus was physically on the earth, His words were pitched out to those who listened to Him. Today, Jesus is still sowing the seed as we introduce the person of Jesus to others through our lives and through our own stories.

2—The seed is the word of God. What the word of God meant to Jesus was the “Good News of the kingdom of God.” This is what His primary message was as He taught throughout the villages and synagogues. Therefore, the word of God is the active presence of God in us in the form of a seed.

3—This word of the kingdom of God has tremendous spiritual power within us to be productive—to be fruitful. It was able to produce

4—Its effect on you is determined by your response to it. It’s all a matter of responsiveness. NOTE that you are not responsible to bring forth the fruit, but the power of the seed will produce the fruit if planted in the good soil.

In the past few years I’ve come to realize that these soils are dynamic in our lives. I have been each of these soils at one time or another. So, I must concern myself with having ears to hear the word in order to be receptive as good soil. This also answers what I see with people who all of a sudden “get it”, yet they have been around this sowing for years.

Now, here is what blows my mind about this teaching. Jesus is saying that if you have ears to hear, are receptive to the Good News of the kingdom, be sincere about it with a single-minded focus, then you will be very fruitful. He uses 30, 60 and 100 fold in fruitfulness. Fruitfulness is basically the spiritual growth and maturity in your own life and the effects of your life on others around you. He begins with 30 fold. To be 30 fold is three times that of a normal crop. So, this means that the lowest level of fruitfulness will be outstanding. Then, He goes on to say you may enjoy multiples of that, even to the point of 60 and 100 fold. That’s incredible—beyond belief!

So, which soil are you right now? Since you are reading or listening to this daily instruction, I’m going to eliminate that one for you. That leaves, the insincere, the distracted and the good soil. So, where are you when you measure your receptivity to the seed Jesus is sowing in your life right now?

A FIELD TRIP WITH JESUS

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As we open up chapter 8 of Luke we come to an interesting inside look at how Jesus traveled and who went with Him. After the notable dinner party at Simon’s home the night before, Jesus set out on a field trip. Let’s look at it:

After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

There are three observations I want to make here:
FIRST—Those who went with Jesus on this field trip. They went from one village to another with a fairly large group. First of all, the twelve were with Him. This is certainly what you would expect. The others who went along are interesting.

There was Mary Magdalene. She was from the little village of Magdala on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Magdala was known for its dried fish industry and rabbis of that time were quite critical of the immorality of its inhabitants. Mary was a troubled woman, demonized by seven demons that harassed her. Jesus was instrumental in freeing her from these demonic pests.

She was either a widow or a single woman and must have been from a wealthy family. She traveled with His party throughout Galilee, and was with Him in Jerusalem at His crucifixion and resurrection. She was one of those who followed Jesus because her life had been so remarkably changed by His healing power.

Then there were other interesting women, the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household, Susanna and many others.

SECOND—The message Jesus and the group were proclaiming.
Specifically, Jesus was, as was His custom, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom of God. As we will continue to see, the kingdom is one of Jesus’ primary themes He wanted to make clear to those who were interested.

THIRD—NOTE the role of these women. They were the financial underwriters for the trip. What’s interesting is that women were key to the financing of the early church of Jesus. Usually they were successful businesswomen who had a heart for investing in Jesus’ ministry.

This story speaks to me as to what I continually see Jesus doing. Where we have a tendency to put an emphasis on all of our differences, Jesus unites people from several ends of society—a woman troubled with demons, a woman married to an execute in Herod’s court and Susanna and many others, not to mention the twelve who were made up of a political zealot, several fishermen and a tax collector.

Here’s the principle you will note everywhere you go: JESUS UNITES AND EVERYONE ELSE DIVIDES. Jesus is so irresistible that He resonates with people from every culture. I’ve had more fun lately interacting with Catholics, Jews, Moslems, Buddhists, non-Christians, agnostics and atheists just in the past few weeks. Our conversation has nothing to do with religion, but has everything to do with a relationship with Jesus. No one is threatened by Jesus. Why? Because Jesus unites and everyone else divides.

Jesus is still leading field trips today. I urge you to join one with Jesus and His friends.