Saturday, February 2, 2013

Luke 8:26-39

v. 27 Jesus was met be a demon possessed man.  This man had been living in the tombs, he was an outcast. 
v. 28 When the man saw Jesus he cried out and fell to Jesus' feet.  The man said to Jesus "I beg you, don't torture me."  Torture to a demon must be love and compassion.
v. 29 The people in the town had put the man in chains, they probably feared him.  He kept breaking free and the demons made him go to solitary places.  The devil wants you to think that you are all alone and wants to get you away from anyone that could be of help.  When you feel like you are alone then it's easier for him to work. 
v. 30-31 Jesus asked what the man's name is and he said his name was Legion because many demons had gone into him.  Names were very important back then.  Now we name children what we think sounds good.  They had meaning behind each name.  A legion was a unit of 3,000-6,000 men in the Roman army.  The demons begged Jesus not to order them to go into the Abyss.  The Abyss is mentioned in Revelation 9:1 & 20:1-9.  The demons knew about the Abyss and did not want to go there.  Why did Jesus not send them there when He had the power?  I think that He knew what His mission was and it did not include banishing demons at that moment to the Abyss.  God's timing is impossible for us to understand. 
v. 32-33 The demons begged Jesus to put them into a herd of pigs and He did.  When that happened the pigs rushed over a steep bank and went into the lake and drowned. 
v. 35-39 The man was now at Jesus' feet, dressed and in his right mind.  The people were afraid to see such a massive change in this man that they were scared of what Jesus could do.  The man begged Jesus to go with Him but Jesus told him to "Return home and tell how much God has done for you."  Those people knew how the man was before Jesus came so they were amazed at his transformation. 

The worse off we are and the more profound transformation the more likely we are to affect other people so they see that it is not us but God that made the changes.

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