Luke 8:30-39

Luke 8:30-39 Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. And they begged him 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 them, 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 demon-possessed 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.

In today's passage, we have a wonderful story of deliverance. Jesus delivers the demoniac from the many evil spirits that inhabited his soul. These evil spirits were so destructive that even a herd of pigs could not abide their presence: 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. This story confirms that evil spirits come to destroy, but Jesus comes to give LIFE. Jesus comes to dispel darkness and confusion. He comes to bring light to every man. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness. (John 1:4-5) Jesus brings peace to the disquieted soul. His presence allows the distraught soul to sit down, to stop struggling, to listen to the voice of the eternal one.

Jesus alone brings order and purpose out of chaos. They found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind. This formerly demon-possessed man found himself with a purpose for living. On his deliverance day, he met someone to serve, to follow. The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him. But Jesus sent him back to his village to tell his salvation story. So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him. As Christ's ambassador, he proclaimed to those villagers that he met the man who can set people free from their afflictions: he met the Messiah.

As the former demon-possessed man, are we free from the spirits of confusion and destruction? Are we able to sit at Jesus' feet and hear his voice? Are our minds at peace? The demons in Legion were tumultuous, destructive. They were constantly on the move, pushing Legion further and further from reality: his purpose for living. They drove him into solitary places. Sadly, Legion was harassed day and night by these spirits. Are we also harassed or are we able to wake up in the middle of the night and know that Jesus is there? Are we able to put our feet on the floor in the morning and know that Jesus is there? Do we know that He is always with us, that He has come to bring peace to us? Are peace of mind and security in God's plans our reality?

Jesus comes to drive out all the harassing spirits of confusion, destruction, and death. He comes to give us a purpose, a direction in our lives. He comes to make our lives active, profitable, and worthwhile. Jesus turned the demoniac into his servant, his ambassador. He will turn our lives from spiritual poverty to abundance as his servants and ambassadors. He, who is life itself, who is the light of men, will turn our disheveled lives into hundred-fold lives. As Lord of our lives Jesus satisfies our souls. We stop searching, wandering, looking for other people to make us happy, seeking the pleasures of this world to calm us. He fulfills every desire. For sure, Jesus crosses the lake of eternity, steps on the shores of our finite lives, and delivers us from the spirits of destruction and death, making our lives worth living. Let us live abundantly in him today!