Luke 8:26-39
26 So they arrived in the region of the Gerasenes, Other manuscripts read Gadarenes; still others read Gergesenes; also in 8:37. See Matt 8:28; Mark 5:1.
">* across the lake from Galilee. 27 As Jesus was climbing out of the boat, a man who was possessed by demons came out to meet him. For a long time he had been homeless and naked, living in a cemetery outside the town.28 As soon as he saw Jesus, he shrieked and fell down in front of him. Then he screamed, “Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Please, I beg you, don’t torture me!” 29 For Jesus had already commanded the evil Greek unclean.
">* spirit to come out of him. This spirit had often taken control of the man. Even when he was placed under guard and put in chains and shackles, he simply broke them and rushed out into the wilderness, completely under the demon’s power.30 Jesus demanded, “What is your name?”
“Legion,” he replied, for he was filled with many demons. 31 The demons kept begging Jesus not to send them into the bottomless pit. Or the abyss, or the underworld.
">*32 There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby, and the demons begged him to let them enter into the pigs.
So Jesus gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned.
34 When the herdsmen saw it, they fled to the nearby town and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran. 35 People rushed out to see what had happened. A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been freed from the demons. He was sitting at Jesus’ feet, fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid. 36 Then those who had seen what happened told the others how the demon-possessed man had been healed. 37 And all the people in the region of the Gerasenes begged Jesus to go away and leave them alone, for a great wave of fear swept over them.
So Jesus returned to the boat and left, crossing back to the other side of the lake. 38 The man who had been freed from the demons begged to go with him. But Jesus sent him home, saying, 39 “No, go back to your family, and tell them everything God has done for you.” So he went all through the town proclaiming the great things Jesus had done for him.
Legion was his name or at least that is the name the demons gave him. We never learn his given name but we do learn a lot about him in Luke 8 because his story is nothing short of incredible. It’s the kind of story you’d expect to see in a Hollywood Horror movie! Legion was a homeless man, who had been living in the cemetery completely cut off from his community. Legion had lost himself and his identity to evil. Evil controlled his actions, when folks would try to restrain him, he would ‘simply’ break free and run to the wilderness. Evil apparently even controlled his common sense because he didn’t clothe himself.
But this day would be different in Legions tortured life, today grace would overpower evil and Legion would be healed. Jesus arrived on the shore of Gerasenes, where Legion lived. As Jesus was climbing out of the boat Legion came out to meet him, unclothed, wild and shrieking loudly. What a scene that must have been, a man locked in a struggle coming out to meet with Jesus and the struggle was within himself. The struggle was between the man God created him to be and the evil that was now in control of him. The Demons inside where screaming at Jesus, yet the man inside of him, whose desire it was to meet with Jesus, was propelling him forward, towards the shore. Somehow, as if by instinct, this man was finally able to overpower the evil living inside of him.
Can you see it in your mind’s eye: The physical battle, the emotional struggle, the spiritual torturous walk towards the one and only one who could provide healing and hope for a restored and transformed life. Evil has no power over Jesus, even the many demons within Legion knew this. They knew they the battle for this man’s soul was over when he decided to make his way, no matter the cost, to the Savior.
Our lives may not be as lost to evil as Legions, but the raw honest truth is we all have areas of our lives where we allow evil to control instead of Jesus! As I type, areas of my own life are popping into my mind and I can feel that internal struggle starting…’bring it to Jesus’….’no, no, I'm just fine the way I am’.
Jesus longs for us to come to Him and seek healing from those evils that control us. He doesn’t want us to allow it to get so out-of-control that we are living scared, tortured lives apart from community.
What area of your life do you need to bring to Jesus and beg him to drive out the evil and take control?
How have you gotten away from the kind of life-giving community that helps us stay connected to God? What's your first step to getting back in community?
Pray: Father, help us to flee temptation and deliver us from evil. Give us the strength to run from the temptations that, little by little, allow evil to move in and please deliver us from the sin, and struggles that are the result of the times when we lose the battle with evil. Deliver us from lives that are out of your control! Your power is the power we desire to claim forever and ever. Amen!
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