The text this morning is from the Gospel according to Luke, the eighth chapter:
Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. When Jesus 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. 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.” 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.) Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. 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. 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. When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 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. And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. 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. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “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.Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
It’s amazing to me how the demons of this world know more about Christ than most of the world does. The world refuses to recognize Him, His authority, His position. But the demons, those who rebelled against Him in the beginning, those who forsook their place in heaven that they might serve in hell, they see this Jesus and they know He is divine; they know He is the Son of the Most High God. They know who He is. They know what He can do.
Demons are interesting beings. Now, let me preface this with some words: do not look too deeply into the demonic if you don’t want the demon’s attention. They know who’s interested and they pay attention to that. In reality, there are demons all around us. They are everywhere. They’re not omnipresent, as God is, but they are so great in number that it would be foolish to think they’re not around you all of the time. We don’t know how many demons there are, but we know that a third of the angelic beings God created in the beginning sided with Lucifer, the most beautiful of the angels, against God Almighty, and were cast out of heaven to rule over the earth until it is remade.
This shouldn’t scare you, however. For, as many demons as there are, there are twice as many angels. Demons cannot possess you, as a Christian. There can be no evil spirit in that which the Holy Spirit inhabits. They can influence you, however, and they’re very good observers of human nature. They’ve had a lot of practice. So, when something like your pet sin comes up, you can bet they’ll be doing what they can to lead you into temptation so that you give in to it.
Who knows how these demons inhabited this man in the Gerasenes? It could have been because he lived such a debased life that he opened himself to it. It could have been that he was a worshipper of false gods and they came into him. It could have been they chose this unbeliever and just used him to affect everyone around him. Regardless, they came into him. They forced him to be naked, they forced him to live among the dead, they forced him to terrify the country. And he did. There were so many demons in him, in fact, doing this to him, that they called their own name Legion. A Roman Legion consisted of 6,826 men. Whether that’s the exact number of demons in him or not, the point is that’s a lot of demonic activity.
And with a word, Jesus casts them out. He has the authority to command what they do. If He tells a mound of dirt to turn into an ear of corn, it would. If He tells the demons to get out, they will. He created them. You ever thought about this? Like, why does my four-year old usually obey me? He doesn’t always, but he knows that he should. He even gets upset when he doesn’t and he knows punishment is coming. But why does he obey? Because I created him. My mom used to joke, and I’m sure yours did, too, I brought you into this world and I can take you out of it. That’s why we defer to them. They are our makers and they have authority. They can do to us what they wish.
For the demons, they’re looking their Creator in the eye and know they have to come out. They just don’t want to go to the pit of torment, the abyss. They don’t want to go to hell. It’s a horrible place, and, once you’re there, demon or human, there’s no escape. You’re there forever and eternity. So, they ask to be sent into the pigs and Jesus assents. Why pigs? And then why do they go and do a swine-dive off a cliff? We don’t know. It’s not given us to know. All we can say is that going into these unclean creatures and dying was far preferable than being sent to hell.
Then the man, now cleansed from the demons which had plagued him for so long went and sat at the feet of Jesus. Perhaps he was cleaning them, like the woman who bathed Him in perfume and washed His feet with her hair. Who knows. Whatever he was doing, he clearly had left his pagan religions behind and was now sitting at the feet of the Most High God to learn from Him. He wanted to go with Jesus, to be with Him always. Jesus, however, sent Him out to proclaim the Gospel.
Now, why, when I’ve told you not to pay too much attention to demonology, have I been talking so much about demons? It’s not to get you interested in them. It’s to show you that the Lord of all things is Lord over all things. He can do all things. He can perform all miracles. He can even cast the demons out of a man. He can talk to them, inquire of them, do what He needs to do to bring a new disciple into His midst. We need have no fear when this kind of Lord is with us. If we were ruled by the Lord of the Flies, then we would fear and tremble as the demons did. But, because we are in Christ and Christ is in us, He stands by our side and defends us.
The demons, yes, they’re all around us. They want us to forsake our Lord as they did and go into a world of sin, and the only thing waiting for us would be hell. But, don’t let that scare you. Not only the angels fight for you, but Christ as well. In fact, not just Christ and the angels, but even the Holy Spirit. Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the Paraclete. That’s a loan word from Greek that really just means the guy who stands next to you in court. The Paraclete is always with you, standing by you, defending you from the accusations of sin, death, and the devil.
Don’t fear the demons; trust in the one who raised Himself from the dead, and by His resurrection, welcomes you into everlasting life with Him. The man who was freed from the demons wanted to go and be with Jesus. What he didn’t realize is that Jesus would always be him, not just in some nice sentiment, but in the real, same, mystical way that Jesus is with you. He has joined Himself to you through Word and Sacrament, He has given you faith to believe, He has made you well from sin, death, and the devil, even all the demons who would love to have you, and He has promised to bring you through it all, just as He did the demoniac. He gave him his back life, and He has given you life forever in Him. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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