Jesus and the Demoniacs

5 They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.[a] 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”

9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13 He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

14 Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened.15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. 17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.

18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis[b] how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed. (Mark 5)

33In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34“Go away! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”35“Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.

36All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” 37And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.

 41Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah. (Luke 4)

Thoughts: These are two unusual passages.  In both of them, a person who we would say was mentally ill confronted Jesus. The first when he got off the boat and the other while he was in the synagogue worshiping in his adopted home town of Capernaum.  This also often happened to Jesus' followers- like Peter and Paul.  The demoniacs seem to be attracted to the good.  It seems that evil is attracted to good in some ways in order to destroy, distract, or discourage the work of the Lord.   In both cases Jesus healed the sick person.  In ancient days everything was spiritual.  In over-reaction to that, in our day nothing has a spiritual root or influence.  I believe evil spirits are real as surely as I believe the Holy Spirit is real.
     In the second case- and echoed by many cases according to Luke 4:41, the demons testified to Jesus being the Son or Holy One of God.  It is amazing that these spiritual beings would testify to his identity while many others were not.  The other part of this is that the people didn't know how to handle these mentally ill people.  One group had put them in chains and left them in an isolated place of death (the cemetery) where they would just fizzle out their lives.  When the demoniac (there may have been two of them there according to Luke) was healed, the people got angry at Jesus.  He had told the demons to go into the pigs.  This was their income and investment, and they were mad about losing the money more than they were about healing the person.  Money is a gift not a god.  People are always more important than money.  If we have money, it should be used- not to hoard- but to help.   Truth is, as Jesus' followers, we are called to love the mentally ill, mentally hurting, and those overwhelmed by evil.  Paul says, "Do not be overwhelmed by evil, but overwhelm evil with good."  Loving those mentally ill is a challenge but also a responsibility. 

Prayer: Lord, help me to be merciful to those who need mercy.  Give me a heart to help those who are crushed by the circumstances of life or even worse evil influences or spirits. 

Rejection at Nazareth

14Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

16He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free,

19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”^f

20Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

22All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

23Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’ ”

24“Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27And there were many in Israel with leprosy^g in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”

28All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.  (Luke 4)

Thoughts: So sadly, the people of Nazareth refused to hear the good news.  Perhaps they were blinded by the fact that Jesus grew up before their eyes.  Perhaps they were furious because Jesus knew he was getting a cold shoulder reception from his hometown.  The people did not just passively not listen.  They actively were angry at Jesus and tried to drive him out.
     There are today people who do not want to listen to Jesus because he rubs him the wrong way.  But they go a step forward and actively oppose Jesus and Christians.  Some however, actively oppose Jesus.  Last year was the most violent year against Christians in history (according to Open Doors).   To think that his own people would be so against Christ who came to simply heal and help is amazing.  The cross was a tragic act of history, and the martyrdom of Christians today follows in that same vein.  The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.  Christ was not destroyed by his rejection in Nazareth, but his rejection let him spread good news to Capernaum and Galilee.  

Prayer: Lord, help me to have listening ears.  Help me to always be willing to face my cross and to stand with those who are facing the cross of persecution.  

The Devil Didn't Listen

1Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2where for forty days he was tempted^a by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

3The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

4Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’^b ”

5The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7If you worship me, it will all be yours.”

8Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’^c ”

9The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here.10For it is written:

“ ‘He will command his angels concerning you

to guard you carefully;

11they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’^d ”

12Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’^e ”

13When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

Thoughts: It is interesting that Jesus' weapon against the devil was the Bible itself (from Deuteronomy).  The Living Word quoted the written word as a powerful weapon.  He did this as an example for us.  No doubt Jesus told this story to his disciples as no one else was around to witness it.  The devil did not argue with the quotations.  But stopped each temptation when confronted with the written word of God.
     The devil does not obey or heed the Word.  But the devil did listen, stop the temptation, and in effect flee from Jesus because of the written word quoted.
     The temptations here had to do with 1) Not believing God would provide physically; 2) Not trusting that God alone should be worshiped; 3) Trying to prove/test God.  

Prayer: Lord, give me grace to know your Word well enough to quote it and use it as Jesus did.
Help me to resist the devil that he may flee from me.  Help me to stand up against evil and temptation when I see it.  

2-13-15- Jesus first sermon

16He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free,

19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”^f

20Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Lk. 4)

Thoughts: Jesus read the scroll.  He saw the scriptures spoke of him.  He believed God was fulfiling scripture right before their eyes.   It was his custom to go to the synagogue.  But it was not his custom to claim that he was the Messiah- the fulfillment of scripture and dreams.  For stating this truth they tried to kill him.  Jesus could have avoided the whole issue by not making any claim.  But Jesus knew he had to start making the claim if he was to fulfill his purpose.  The scripture was not dead to him, but alive.  It is also alive to us in a different way.  The truth needs to be told.  Scripture needs to be clarified and preached- which is what Christ did.  

Prayer: Let me speak your word honestly and for a greater good.  

12-8-13 The People of Nazareth

54 Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. 55 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56 Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”57 And they took offense at him.

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.”

58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith. (Mt. 13:54-58)

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee. (Luke 1:26)

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. (Luke 2:4)

16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read

23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”

24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 

28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way. (Luke 4:16-30)

46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” said Philip. (John 1:46)

Thoughts: Nazareth had a bad reputation according to Nathanael.  We do not know exactly why.  We could guess that it was a part of Galilee which was primarily of the Gentiles.  Maybe it was a small hilly town and was seen as a backwoods kind of place to the urbanites of Judea.  But perhaps the Jews of Nazareth believed that nothing good, and no one important could arise from their ranks.  In some ways, Jesus' parents excursion to Bethlehem and having the baby there is a confirmation that he was not fully "from" Nazareth.*  Perhaps the Lord knew the hearts of the people of Nazareth not to accept his message as Messiah, so Jesus was born elsewhere and considered Capernaum his base town instead of Nazareth.  Matthew tells us that the people of Nazareth lacked faith so not many miracles were done there.
    We may also assume from the thoughts above that the people of Nazareth rejected Mary's message that an angel appeared to her and told her she would conceive as a virgin.  Probably they gossiped about Mary and Joseph behind their back.  Certainly, there seemed to be derision in the way Matthew 13 recorded their words about "the carpenter's son."  They called Jesus the carpenter's son and would squeeze the extraordinary back into the box of the ordinary. So the people of Nazareth missed Christmas in many ways.  They missed the birth of their most famous son.  They missed the miracles of his coming.  They lacked faith.  Our great danger is that we not believe that God can do anything with us except for the mundane and ordinary.  God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.  

Prayer: Lord, I believe in your birth.  I believe in your ability to do more than what I see.  Help my unbelief.  

Well at Nazareth where tradition says the angel spoke to Mary

Mt. of Precipice in Nazareth where they tried to throw Jesus over.   





*There are those who say that Jesus was not born in Bethlehem or in Nazareth.  But the earliest of witnesses, and the eyewitnesses themselves point to Jesus' being born in Bethlehem.  Very strong tradition states that Luke got his information from both the Apostles who had spoken to Jesus and Mary, Jesus' mother.