Reponses to Power - Luke 8:26-39

Just prior to the miracle story in Luke 8, Jesus had taken the disciples on a nerve-wrenching journey. They had been on the Capernaum-side of the Sea of Galilee. Although they could have walked around the top of the sea, he guided them to the more direct route that crossed the sea, a sea that is still notorious for violent storms. Jesus was sleeping in the boat when a storm broke out. The disciples were afraid. Jesus got up, calmed the storm and the disciples were terrified. Who can calm the forces of nature?! Their friend and teacher?! Yes, and this was a demonstration that he was far more than that. He was the Master of the Elements. To be near such power must have been terrifying. But why did they not flee when they got to the shore? Why did they stay with him? Everyone has different responses to power—as we shall see.

It is important to get some geographical and cultural history on what happened to them next. In the Gospel of Luke, this is the first miracle in a Gentile-dominated area. The area is called the Gerasenes in Luke’s Gospel and by other names in the other Gospels. It has also been called the Decapolis (the Ten Cities), an area dominated by the military and economic prowess of the Roman Empire. Everywhere anyone went there were Roman soldiers, Roman symbols, pagan temples and tax collectors. Jews were allowed to have their own places of worship, work and lifestyle, as long as they did not cause any problems for the Roman government. One of the lifestyle choices for Jews came right out of the Mosaic Law in Leviticus 11. This codex of laws included prohibitions against eating particular kinds of meat—including pigs. These laws, as many commentators cite, were not necessarily in place to be just health guidelines. Thomas E. Phillips in the Illustrated Bible Life (2018 The Foundry Publishing), described this as a way to seal their identity as a people of God and to help them “avoid the dangers of confused identity.” Phillips gives us this picture.

Greeks and Romans loved pork as much as Jews despised it. The Greeks routinely offered pigs in sacrifice to their gods (the Greek god of war, Mars, required pig sacrifices). The Roman legions were largely sustained by pork and red wine (pork fed them and red wine warded off typhus). The legions ate vast amounts of pork, which offered tremendous advantages for an army on the move. Pigs could eat nearly anything (except grass); they could be allowed to forage on their own much of the time, even feeding on battlefield corpses. Pigs required no special care like sheering or milking. One sow could produce a litter of 12 piglets twice per year, piglets that could be slaughtered in a few months. Pigs were so important to the Roman legions that the 10th legion, the legion that destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70, placed the boar on its battle flag.

The presence of pigs for these Jewish disciples was not the only problem they had. In a pagan arena Satan has free play with the souls and lives of people. If they are not aware of this (Ephesians 6:11-12, 2 Corinthians 2:11) and then also participate in pagan god celebrations, rituals and sacrifices, an individual can be taken over and become demon possessed. This is a very real matter today and back in Jesus day. It is nothing to be trifled with. Luke and the other Gospel writers do not shy away from this. Those who followed Jesus, whether believers or not, knew this to be a very real and troubling matter. How a person becomes possessed by demons is the subject of many books and discussions. One way or the other, it happens. Robert K. Harris, O.F.M. in The New Jeromes Biblical Commentary (1990) treats this subject with great acuity, showing that when it happens the possessed person is drawn away from society and isolated. It’s really the work of Satan to divide and conquer—and if that is one individual at a time or a large number, he is mightily pleased. John Milton in Paradise Lost, a fictional view of the initial battle between Satan and God, describes the destructive work of the fallen ones as being driven by one thing—the destruction of God himself. And if they have to do this by abusing God’s creation, then so be it. Luke brings us to one of the most extreme examples of this.

Read Luke 8:26-31.

Even the demons knew who Jesus was! What a testimony to the disciples who had just been terrified of his power over the sea! Now they were faced with the reality that this Jesus, standing next to them, also had power over the demonic world. The demons not only acknowledged the place of the Abyss (see Revelation 9:1) as the tormenting home of Satan and his legions, but also that Jesus Christ has power it. In both their terror of the Abyss and their terror over the One who could cast them there, they tried to strike a deal. They began to negotiate with the Most High God.

Jesus had none of it. He was very clear on his work in this situation. Perhaps that is why he had the disciples cross the dangerous sea for the more direct route to this tormented man. One of God’s precious children needed to be free. This man, whom the Scriptures say God knew before he was even born (Psalm 139:15-16), had been ripped from his community, from his livelihood, from the basic elements of human living—no shelter or clothing or friends or even identity. And he needed to be free from the spiritual violence done in and against him.

Read Luke 8:32-37.

The disciples had been terrified of the power of Jesus over the sea. They stayed with him. The demons had been terrified of the One who had made the Abyss and the reality of his great power over them. They left him. The people, whose lifestyle and income had indeed been impinged upon—but who were more terrified of the someone with this kind of power—begged him to leave. The Roman military had to be fed! Standing in front of the people of that region was the Answer to all of their troubles, but they refused to see it. They wanted nothing to do with that kind of terrifying power. It seems that they were so focused on the power in the negative that they completely missed the power in the positive. In the middle of all of this and sitting at the feet of Jesus was the man who had be driven away from them. They had shunned him because of his wild behavior. They had kept their families away from him because he was so violent. They had isolated him, stopped reaching out to him, stopped caring for him, stopped praying for him. But Jesus went directly to him and delivered him. And the man was grateful.

Read Luke 8:38-39.

In one of the most beautiful renderings of freedom, Luke shows us the power of love. This was not just Jesus’ love of the man—which indeed was great—but it was love for the whole region of people. The man was to be returned to community, radically extracted from isolation, to tell others of what Christ could do for them. The man’s longing to be with Jesus, demonstrated by him begging to stay with him, was transformed into one of the great missionary movements in the Decapolis. 

How many more found freedom from fear through Jesus Christ because of his testimony? How many more found true and lasting community because they accepted Christ as their Savior?  How many descendants of those people initially transformed lived and worked with and testified to soldiers, tax collectors, pagan priests and worshipers for decades to come? The truest response to the power of Jesus Christ is to not be afraid anymore—to not be afraid of isolation, economic downturn, demon possession, or even of him.

M.R. Hyde

Copyright 2019    

Healing and Deliverance

When reading the Gospels we come across numerous accounts of Jesus healing and delivering people of demons.  It is intriguing to look at all of the different types of healing and deliverance provided by our Lord.  It is also intriguing to look at the people who were healed and delivered.  Did they want healing or deliverance?  Who brought them to Jesus? Did he go to them?  Did he deliver them because they asked?

When we do a survey of these cases of healing and deliverance, we see all of these circumstances and more. Some cry out or run to Jesus. Some are brought by their friends. Some simply intercede on behalf of their children or loved ones. Some get a direct touch from Jesus, while others get up from the sickbed healed from a distance. Some are fully followers of Jesus. Others have only an inkling of who he really is. Some, as in the case of Legion (Matthew 8:28-34, Mark 5:1-20 and Luke 8:26-39), seem to be drug by demons to the feet of Jesus. And then there was the time that the disciples could not accomplish deliverance and Jesus said, "This kind can come out only by prayer." (Mark 29:9) 

It is a real temptation for us to try to come up with a particular formula for all healing and deliverance or to create systems of prayers and practices to address the different needs for healing and deliverance. But just as there are many different kinds of possessions and a multitude of diseases, so there are different approaches and different means to healing and freedom through Christ Jesus.

But there is one thing that is for certain.  Among the multitudes of these kinds of troubles there is only one source of healing and freedom and that is Jesus Christ himself.  Certainly our prayers and faith have been invited by God to be a part of the picture, but it is the Name and the Word of Jesus Christ that brings true and lasting healing as well as complete and secure deliverance.  He is the source of all knowledge for the doctors and researchers around the globe.  His is the precision that guides the surgeon’s hand.  His is the strength given to the prayer warriors when it seems deliverance is impossible.  He is the power that speaks a word directly to the wicked powers that prey on his beloved. 

The Holy Spirit can guide us moment-by-moment for the unique or particular means of healing and deliverance as we participate in Christ’s work around the world.  Believing that it is God’s desire to free all humanity, we can trust his work, be open to our part in that work and pray, pray, pray.

Copyright M.R. Hyde 2015

The Lad with the Fish John 6:1-13, 25-35

Let’s call his name Joshua.  And let’s think of him as an old, old man.  Joshua was an old man with a great memory for detail.  He loved to tell and retell memories that were important to him.  Everyone who knew Joshua enjoyed his stories, because not only was he quite old with many, many different stories, but he was gifted a story-teller, too.  So, anytime Joshua cleared his throat and said, “Did I ever tell you about the time . . . “, everyone would lean in to listen.

“Did I ever tell you about the time I was a little boy at a great banquet?  No?  Well, back when I was quite young, probably not more ten or eleven, I went out by the sea.  There were a great many people there from all over the region—tall, short, young, old, rich, poor, crippled, and healthy.

“The day was a beautiful day.  The sun was bright in the late afternoon sky.  You had to squint your eyes when you looked at the sea because a million little sunbursts were exploding across the surface of the deep, blue-green water.  It felt like they were bouncing off of the surface and right into my eyes.

“I remember the sea breeze racing over my skin and ducking into my clothes as if it was looking for a place to hide.  Birds coasted over and dove into the water, scooping up late afternoon insects or top-dwelling fish.

“As the afternoon went on I started feeling a bit hungry.  I was glad that my mother packed me a meal.  She was nearby and was constantly looking at something over the shoulders of other people in front of us.  I couldn’t really see much of anything.  All I really saw were the bellies and backs of the adults all around me.  Occasionally I would catch the eye of other children being squeezed in the sea of legs, walking sticks and backpacks.  Every once in a while a dog would run through yapping and yipping.  That was kind of fun, and sometimes a bit scary if they were coming right at me.  But all I had to do was reach for my mother’s or father’s hand and I felt secure again.

“I remember at one point I started getting tired and told my Mom that I was hungry.  She told me to wait just a bit more, because we were getting closer.  ‘Closer to what?’ I asked.  ‘Just hang on to me and you will see’.

“A moment or two later there was an opening in the crowd.  I could see that there was a group of men standing together and everyone wanted to touch one man in particular.  Then I heard a strange conversation that was started by the man everyone was looking at, (John 6:5b-7)"Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?"  Then another man answered him, "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!"  I told you there were lots of people there.

 “It was at the point my mother remembered my whining for dinner and she quickly handed me my meal.  I eagerly opened it, but then all of the sudden I heard one of the men say, "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"

“I can tell you for certain that my little stomach was not any too happy to give up my meal—for what it was worth.  But there was something about the urgency of the moment.  So, I handed it—napkin and all—to the men.

“I can still remember the surprise of those around us. I can still see some of the smiles on the faces of the adults as they looked down at me.  And I can still remember my mother leaning down suddenly with a warm hug, whispering in my ear.  ‘That’s Jesus! You just gave your lunch to Jesus.  I am so proud of you.’

“I had heard the name of Jesus in my parent’s conversations.  I remembered hearing that He was a good man, who helped people everywhere He went.  But it wasn’t until this particular day that I really saw what that meant.

“You see, there were thousands of people out by the sea that day.  It was only as I grew a bit older that I truly comprehended why everyone wanted to be near this man named Jesus.  They had come from far and wide, some of them forgetting to even bring food, some of them having run out of food as they followed Him that day.  So really it wasn’t just me that was hungry—we all were.  And Jesus wanted us to be fed.

“Then I heard Jesus say, “Have the people sit down.” (6:10a). I remember reading about it later and it was written this way: There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. (6:10b-13) 

“I don’t think that I can rightly tell you how He did it—the fish and the bread just did not stop coming.  I know three things from that day 1) I gave Him my lunch, 2) He gave thanks to God and 3) then we all had lunch!

 “The writer put it this way: When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. (6:12-13)

“I don’t care what anyone says, that was a banquet!  Everyone around me, my mother, and everyone we walked by on the way home—not one of them complained of being hungry.

 “From that day forward I thanked God just the way Jesus did for my food.  But something else happened that day. I began to want to follow Jesus myself.  Not because my mother wanted me to, but because I wanted to go.  Every opportunity I got I wanted to thank Him for that feast and all the ones to come.”

______________________________

The Apostle John remembered this story that we find in the Gospels.  He remembered the little boy.  And later in chapter 6 of the Gospel of John we see that he remembered something else.  Jesus took their recent experience of actual bread to teach them a profound truth about who He is. 

Read John 6:26-33.

Today we can acknowledge the Bread from heaven.  It is Jesus Christ who has given us life—real life.  He’s given us far more than homes to live in, food on the table, emotional healing, restored relationships.  He’s given us far more than cars and work and money and courage to endure and strength to carry on.  He’s given us above all we can ask and imagine—and that is salvation from sin and into spiritual peace now and eternal peace forever.

Take some time right now to give thanks for all the Jesus Christ has given you.

Amen

Copyright M.R. Hyde 2014