Jesus Heals a Man With a Demon
July 25, 2021
Commentary
In the last half of this chapter Jesus demonstrates His power over three areas of life:
- Demons – (vv. 26-39)
- Death – (vv. 40-42;49-56)
- Disease – (vv. 43-48)
A demon possessed man met Jesus when He landed at Gadara on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee (vv. 26-29). We find that it is possible for more than one demon to indwell in a human being because it says a"legion” of demons dwelt within this poor man (v.30). The word “legion” as used here stood for a large number. At the request of the demons Jesus gave permission for them to enter a herd of swine. Immediately the swine ran into the sea and were drowned (vv. 32-33).
Why didn’t Jesus just destroy these demons, or send them to the abyss? Because the time for such a thing had not yet come. He healed many people of the destructive effects of demon possession, but He did not destroy the demons. The same question could be asked today as to why Jesus doesn’t stop all the evil in the world? His time has not yet come, but it will come. A man had been freed from the devil’s power, but the people thought only about the livestock (vv. 34-38). Jesus now urged the man to return to his family and tell them what God has done (v. 39).
Application
Satan does not care how much Biblical truth I know just as long as I do not live it. Truth that is only in my head is purely academic and never will get into my heart until it is practiced.
Luke 8:26– 39 (NET)
Illustration: Astrology is Booming and being Computerized (Luke 8:26)
An upsurge in astrological interest is unmistakable evidence of moral and social decay. Occultism rises ominously in times of world turmoil, religious apostasy, and moral decline. Carroll Righter is perhaps the best known and most successful of United States astrologers. Dubbed “the dean of America’s public astrologers,” he is one of about 10,000 full-time and 175,000 part-time practitioners in the U.S. alone. Astrology is booming and like almost everything else it is being computerized. A company called Time Pattern Research Institute, Incorporated, has programmed a computer to turn out a 10,000 word horoscope reading in two minutes. It set an earlier goal of 10,000 capacity in a month, with plans for continued expansion. (Merrill Unger, Demons in the World Today).