The authority and
power of Jesus Son of God
Luke 8:26-39
Key verse 8:8:28-29a
Years ago, I had a chance to watch the movie the Mummy. In
the movie, a man encountered with a very scary mummy. In great fear, he cast
spells with all kinds of religious symbols to overcome the mummy. He first
picked up the cross and asked the Lord to protect and watch over him. But it
did not work. Then, in greater fear he cast a different spell from another
religion and then another. But nothing worked. Then, the mummy ridiculed him,
saying, “The languages of the slaves, I may have use for you.” This was an
interesting part because this scene reflects how modern people think about
religions, particularly Christianity. They think that religions have little
power to overcome demons. Some people wear the cross necklace not because they
believe in Jesus but because they use it as an amulet to prevent bad luck. This
is also true with some Christians. They are like the man in the movie Mummy,
who had the cross with him but never believed the power of Jesus over demons and
so became a slave to fear and evil force. Such people may be religious but
never victorious. Are you Christians who talk a lot about God but are powerless
and thus are losing the battle with sin and demonic force?
Today’s passage is about a demon-possessed man. Here we can
see the man suffering under the power of demons. Jesus saves him in a dramatic
way. What does this incident teach us about Jesus and his work? How can we win
the victory over demons? I pray that God may help us see our spiritual reality
and live a victorious life.
Jesus has authority
and power over demons
Jesus and his disciples crossed the lake. On the way they
met a storm. The disciples panicked but Jesus calmed down the storm by his
word. This incident showed that he had the power and authority over the nature.
Then they safely reached the other side of the lake the region of Gerasenes,
which was a Gentile area. As soon as Jesus stepped out on land, he met a
certain man from the town. Who was he?
26 They sailed to the region of the
Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee.27 When
Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed 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.
He was a demon-possessed man. He lived in the tombs, not
wearing clothes. Image the man with his hairs unkempt, his body covered with
scars and blood all over the places, and his red eyes. He was so grotesque and
scary. According to verse 29, many times the impure spirit seized him and the
people had to bind him with chains and shackles and placed him under guard in
order to keep him from the demon’s control. But it was of no use. He was so
strong that he broke the chains and was driven by the demon into the
wilderness, which was regarded as the place where demons lived. As we can see here,
the man was totally controlled and driven by the demon. The demon inside him
was so strong that no one could check him or help him. The man probably brought
a lot of troubles to the people around there but no one could overcome the
demon inside him.
We wonder how come he was possessed by a demon and lived
such a terrible life. We don’t know how he was possessed by the demon. However,
demons come in usually when we can’t control ourselves in sin. Anyway, what we
know is that the man was possessed by the demon and his life was totally
destroyed by it. It must have been painful to his family and burdensome to the
people around. But they were helpless with the demon in him.
Years ago, I was introduced to a young man for Bible study.
He used to attend University of Maryland, but for some reason he suffered from
a mental problem. I went to College Park Metro station to pick him up because
he was coming from his hospital in Washington DC. I did not notice anything
wrong with him until we studied the Bible. While studying, all of sudden he
screamed and fell on the floor for a while. Then he got up as if nothing had
happened. And he did that several times more. So, I asked what was wrong with
him. He said he often suffered from flashback. When flashback seized him, he
was overcome by fear. I simply thought that he had a mental problem. That night
his mom came to pick him up. But she looked very nervous. Other than that, he was
an ordinary man. He also had desire for the word of God. Days later, I got a
call from him and then he began to say something to me so fast in anger. I
could not understand what he was saying, but soon I realized that he was
cursing me. I did not know why, but his voice was not his. I realized that he
was demon-possessed. I was really sorry about him. **
Some of you may be unfamiliar to demons or demon-possessed
people. However, the Bible clearly tells us about demons and they are real. Probably,
demons are fallen angels and Satan works behind them. (Rev 12:9; 12:4; Jude 6) Their purpose is to
destroy people and go to hell together. We should be very conscious of demons
because they are real and try to control and destroy us even Christians through
our sins.
28 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!” 29 For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit
to come out of the man.
When Jesus stepped ashore, this demon-possessed man saw him.
Then, he screamed and shouted and then he fell at Jesus’ feet. It was because
Jesus had already commanded the demon to come out of the man. As soon as the man
recognized Jesus and heard his word, he struggled in pain and shouted, “What
have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? You know
that you are torturing me. Leave me alone!”
The man begged Jesus not to torture him. But actually the
demon spoke through the man. The demon tried not to come out of the man. It
knew it had to come out of the man because Jesus said so, but somehow it
resisted and was unwilling to come out.
30 Jesus asked him, “What is
your name?” “Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him.
Seeing the demon trying to disguise himself and not come out
of the man, Jesus asked his name. In ancient time, if a man asked someone
else’s name, it meant he had authority over the other person. By asking his
name, Jesus subdued the demon by his authority as the Son of God and exposed
the demon inside the man. By doing so, Jesus also helped the man to identify
himself. The demon could not but answer Jesus’ question and was detached from
the man. His name was Legion, which referred to a division of the Roman army,
numbering about 6,000 infantry. Surprisingly, not one but a large number of
demons lived in the man! In this way, Jesus exposed and separated the demons from
the man. Now the demons were completely subdued and disarmed. Though they were
many, they could not overcome Jesus’ power and authority. They had to obey
Jesus’ word. They could not but come out of the man because that was the order
of the Son of the Most High God!
31 And they begged Jesus repeatedly
not to order them to go into the Abyss. 31 And they
begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss. 32 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.
Now they, not he, begged Jesus. They acted apart from him
since their identity was revealed and had to obey Jesus’ command. But they were
afraid of where they had to go. The demons knew that their destiny was the
Abyss, which is the destination for Satan and demons for their eternal judgment.
(cf. Matt 25:41; 2 Pet 2:4; Rev 20:3) These demons tried not to go there but tried
to stay in the region. By the way, the region was a Gentile area, where Roman
troops were stationed and all kinds of sins prevailed. That was a good place
for the demons to live. So, the demons begged Jesus to let them go into the
pigs that were fed there on the hillside so that they did not have to leave the
region. And Jesus gave the permission.
We don’t know why Jesus allowed them to go into the pigs
rather than sending them to the Abyss. Probably, God’s time for them did not
come yet. But one thing that was sure was that the demons could not move
anywhere without Jesus’ permission.
33 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.
At that time the pigs were enjoying food in peace. “Oink,
oink.” But when the demons went into them, the pigs went crazy and began to scream. “Oink~%$#@, OINK~%@#!”
They bumped with one another and totally went out of control. Then they became
suicidal and stampeded down the hills into the lake. According to Mark 5:13,
there were about 2,000 pigs. Can you imagine that such a large number of pigs
rushed all together down the steep bank? Definitely, this was not a natural phenomenon?
Have you ever heard any pig commit a suicide? But here 2,000 pigs committed
suicides because they were driven by the demons. What a shock!
As such, Jesus drove out the demons from the man in a
dramatic way. All this manifests Jesus’ authority and power over demons. In
chapter 4, Jesus also drove out a demon by his word. But this time Jesus dealt
with the multitude of demons in a different level of situation. However, even a
large number of demons could not overcome Jesus’ power and authority. They had
to obey Jesus’ command. Jesus controls demons no matter how they are. He has
all authority and power in heaven and on earth (Matt 28:18). Demons cannot stand
against him because he is the Son of the Most High God!
Recently I have stumbled on to so many demoniac websites,
such as Church of Satan, Joy of Satan, and Brotherhood of Satan, not to mention
of all kinds of cult websites. They all encourage violence, suicide, murder,
drugs, sex, and pagan practices. Those websites are really gross and disgusting
even to see but more people, including some famous Hollywood celebrities, are the
members, worshiping Satan and demons. Demons are rampant everywhere in USA - in
school, at work, in Internet, and anywhere we live. Even worse, people take such
things as norm.
But we should not think that demons work for certain people only
like mentally ill people. Actually, demons attack all of us everyday. Demons prompt
us to hate each other and unleash our anger and frustration to one another.
They encourage people to smoke pot, drink alcohols, watch pornos, and hurt others.
But they discourage us from going to church and distract us from the word of
God. Demons try to make us depressed, violent, rebellious, lustful, proud,
greedy, jealous, and suicidal so that we may destroy ourselves and become
losers.
How can we make demons go away from us? How can we overcome
their power? How can we help those who suffer from demons and their influence? It
is only possible by the power of Jesus! When his word is declared and where his
name is proclaimed, demons cannot overcome us as we can see in today’s passage.
In Acts 16:18, one girl who had a spirit bothered Paul so much. Then, he called
out the name of Jesus, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out
of her” and then the spirit left the girl immediately.
One man suffered from nightmares everyday. A snake chased
him in his dream and he had to run away. He screamed and sweated every night.
Though he was a smart and able man who graduated from a most prestigious
university, he was unable to solve this problem. Then he began to study the
Bible. While studying Genesis 3, he realized that the snake in his dream was
Satan. He came to believe in Jesus and called the name of Jesus. Then,
miraculously he no longer saw the snake that had chased him and tortured him
for a long time. Since then, he could sleep in peace.
One college girl was so distressed that she was about to
kill herself. That day when she thought it was her last day on earth, she happened
to meet a stranger on campus and heard about God briefly. But such a short
meeting gave her hope and encouragement to live in Jesus. She went to the
church and could live a new life in Jesus.
Some people were healed in Jesus’ name from lustful desire,
alcohol, drug addiction and sinful habits. Some others were saved from hatred, anger,
bitterness, inferior complex, and suicidal thought, which had been impossible
for them to overcome. Jesus saved all of them. Jesus has power and authority over
demons and any evil forces. Amen!
How can we live with his power then? Through his word and
prayer! The word of God keeps us away from sins. The word of God helps us to
pray and empowers us to overcome demons and their influence. Demons are
helpless with those who read the Bible and hold to it. The word of God is the
sword of the Sprit. (Eph 6:17) Where the word of God is taught and where the
name of Jesus is proclaimed, the Holy Spirit comes to us and help us. Then, demons
cannot defeat us and we can live a powerful and victorious life. Let’s live a
victorious life by holding on to the word of God.
Jesus comes to save
people from Satan and wants us to preach this good news
At that time when the demons killed the pigs, those tending
the pigs saw all this and were shocked. They ran off and reported this in the
town and countryside. “A stranger cured the demons-possessed man. And all our pigs
died!” How did the people react?
35 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.
Hearing this, they came out in hurry and then found the
demon-possessed man sitting at Jesus’ feet. He was now dressed in his right
mind. He was completely cured. How could this happen? They tried to subdue the
man with chains and shackles in vain. How come this stranger could subdue the
demon? They were awed by Jesus’ power. Then their awe turned to fear when the
witnesses told them what happened to the 2,000 pigs. There was no single pig
alive there, but only dead pigs floating in the water, which terrified them to
death. It was a great damage made by the demons. They were worried that their
pig business could be ruined. In fact, they provided Roman soldiers with pigs. They
were concerned about their business rather than the great thing Jesus did for
the man. So they asked Jesus to leave them. Jesus could not do anything further
for them.
However, the man who was healed from the demons begged to go
with Jesus. Only he appreciated Jesus’ power and grace. But Jesus did not allow
him to follow him. Why?
38 The man from whom the demons had
gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “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.
Jesus wanted him to tell his family and neighbors how much
God had done for him. So, the man went away and spread all over town how much
Jesus had done for him. In this way, Jesus preached the gospel to the gentiles.
Though the people rejected Jesus, he did not give up on them.
Interestingly here, Jesus told the man to tell how much God
had done for him, that Jesus saved him from the demons. This is the work of God
and this is why he came to the world. Heb 2:14-15 read,
14 Since the children have flesh and
blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who
holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in
slavery by their fear of death.
Jesus came to defeat the power of Satan and save people who
are under his power. The word “cured” in verse 36 actually means “saved.” Jesus
did not just heal the man of mental illness but saved him from the power of
Satan. In other words, the work of God is to save people from Satan through his
son Jesus.
Jesus wanted the man to preach this good news to the region –
“God has come to save people from their bondage to demons through his son
Jesus.” This is God’s grace for all men. We believers have received this grace.
We have Jesus, the Son of the Most High God. He has saved us from the power of
Satan. Now Jesus wants us to preach this to the world as he told to the man who
was once possessed by the demon.
The world is pagan like the region of Gerasenes where our
family members, our friends, and our neighbors live under the control of Satan
and demons. Jesus commands us to go there and testify about what God has done
for sinners through Jesus.
University of Maryland is filled with humanism in the name
of diversity, freedom, and human right. However, there are so many students who
are driven by demons. Let’s proclaim the name of Jesus to them. May God have
mercy on them and save them from the power of demons.
In conclusion, today we have learned that Jesus has power over
demons and came to save people from them. Our struggle is against the powers of this dark world and against
the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12) Satan and demons are strong and real. But our
Lord Jesus is the Son of God and they are under his power and authority. Do not just cast spells powerlessly like the
man in movie the Mummy but believe Jesus’ power. Command demons to go away in
the name of Jesus. “Get away from me, Satan! I command you in the name of
Jesus.” Whenever the demons of lust, frustration, dark thought, doubt, pride
come to you, call for the power and authority of Jesus the Son of God.
I pray
that you and I may be victorious over Satan by the power of Jesus. This
semester we may study the word of God more diligently and memorize it so that
we can overcome the power of demons and become victorious. Amen!
By David Yun
By David Yun
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