Let's go ahead and open our Bibles to Luke chapter 8. I want to pick up at verse 26. Luke chapter 8, verse 26. I'm going to go ahead and pick up where we left off last week. Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. And when he stepped out on the land, there met him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time, and he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house, but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High? I beg you, do not torment me. For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles, and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness. Jesus asked him, saying, What is your name? And he said, Legion, because many demons had entered him. And they begged him that he would not command them to go out into the abyss. Let's stop right there for a minute. So after the calming of the storm, Jesus and his disciples arrived where he was headed in the first place, which is to the region of the Gadarenes, or you might have a slightly different translation on that word. But we're in this region on the far side of Galilee, really opposite the region diagonally from where most of Jesus' ministry has been occurring in Galilee. It's in a region known as the Decapolis, which means ten cities. Using all the details in Luke and other Gospels, probably they're in a region known as Kirsa. And this is a region that's part of what had been the tribe of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh that chose not to take their inheritance on the western side of the Jordan River, if you remember your Old Testament, Joshua in particular. You remember Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh chose not to enter over into the Promised Land. So the region we're in here is part of that area, and by the time of Jesus' day, it is a heavily Gentile-influenced region. And that's kind of evident by the livestock being raised, as we'll notice, with the pigs, which is definitely not a clean animal. And so that's where they are. Now, Luke describes an immediate confrontation here, right? It's like as soon as Jesus is stepping off the boat, this guy comes running down. yelling at Jesus and you can imagine this is a disturbing sight right this is a man he has no clothes on right there that's that's off-putting and and he's running and he's yelling at Jesus and Luke tells us this poor man has been distressed by demons for a long time And, of course, he's feeling the full weight of the harassment of this demonic activity. Think about it. They've driven him out of his home. He doesn't live in the city. He doesn't live in a house. They've left him exposed to the elements. out there among the tombs. He doesn't have any clothes on. I mean, his only shelter is here among the dead bodies, the tombs. It's a place of death. It's a place of decay. And if he's a Jew, and it seems that he is, very likely, he's in an unclean place. It's just a train wreck as far as his life goes. Mark's account in Mark chapter 5, 5 tells us that he also harmed himself very frequently. And so it's a very pitiful situation when you think about it. And it's a dramatic testimony of the results of Satan's work and really the ultimate end of sin, isn't it? Right? This is a sad situation. His nakedness reminds us simultaneously of the shame he bears, right? Because since the fall, we carry shame. That's why we cover ourselves. And he's running around naked before, not just before God, but before other people. Anybody out there is going to see him like that. And we're reminded of the demonic rebellion in the way it works, right? You know, this is how Satan works. It refuses to acknowledge the shame while at the same time shaming us. Satan loves to put us in places where we're pitifully shamed, but at the same time, you know, it's that demonic doctrine that tells us, oh, don't feel any shame. That's kind of the culture we live in today, right? We sear our conscience over and flaunt a sinful lifestyle and try to tell ourselves it's okay to run around naked or whatever godless thing we find ourselves doing. That's a defiant and seared conscience, right? But at the same time, Satan is thrilled to expose a person to ridicule. Right? He's like that bad kid you might have gone to school with. I hope you weren't that bad kid who was always goading you to do something and then he turns around and guilt you because you did it. Right? He's the first one to point out to somebody else what you've done. Or he's the guy that likes to put you into a really compromising situation and then show everybody. Of course, nowadays, it's somebody that does it and then posts it on the internet. or TikTok or one of those things. You know, they're the ones goading you into a place of ridicule and then they heap it on. That's Satan's mode, right? He doesn't care about you, right? All he does is hate God. And because you're made in God's image, he hates you too. But you know what? He's happy to come alongside and act like he's your buddy to put you in a place where you find yourself just the object of ridicule and indignity. I'm thinking about Acts 19.16. Remember the demon-possessed man there? And it says, the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, these exorcists that are trying to invoke Paul's name and all. They're not believers. And it says, he leapt on them, overpowering them and prevailed against them so that they fled out of the house naked and wounded, right? He exposed them. This is kind of part and parcel of Satan's work. It's a sad state of this demoniac that he's running around completely exposed to the world, exposed to ridicule, exposed to the elements. And yet it's so much the culture of our own day. You know, this man can't be helped or controlled. You know, it tells us that people had tried to bring him under control. They tried to put him in shackles and everything was broken. Nobody could deal with this man's problem. Nobody could help him. And it's a distressing situation, isn't it, when we think about it? I mean, just stop for a second and think about this man's situation. Now, first off, don't read me wrong. Don't take this wrong. I'm not suggesting that everybody you find muttering to themselves out on the streets today is demon-possessed, although I don't discount that there are some. So I'm not saying no, there aren't any. But I'll tell you what, there's people that are in deep bondage to the results of sin. There's a lot of people out there that aren't being helped. And in many cases, and we live in a culture that I think is facing, because we live in a godless culture, is really facing the hard questions and the realities of we don't know how to help. They don't, right? You listen to our politicians, you listen to people. They don't know how to help the situation that we see is growing all around us, right? People hurting, people in really off-putting kind of lives, right? There's an affront to it, let's be honest. We see certain things, and it's not clean, right? Just like this man, these people aren't living in cleanliness. We see the rise in Hep A and all of these diseases that are plaguing just our city. I'm sure many people that are listening from other places, you may be experiencing some of this too, but that's a reality. It is very distressing, right? Because I don't think anybody likes to see somebody hurting, somebody not in their right mind, somebody under the throes of an addiction or of a brokenness that is not being helped. And so, it's concerning. I mean, clearly, the people where this man lived, they had a concern for him. They've tried in the past to help. Just as we look around and we say, we want to help. There needs to be help. And yet, from a purely human standpoint we realize there seem to be some situations in life that's we can we just we've got to call them hopeless it just doesn't seem to be a way to help and this is this man's situation this man is played with the demonic and again I'm please don't don't send me hate mail or something I'm not suggesting that all of the things I've just described that we're dealing with with the culture are people that are demon-possessed. I'm not saying that. But you know what? Sin brings a lot of things, whether you're demon-possessed or not. And we see the hurt. And we're reminded in the scripture that the end of sin is always an escalating degradation I know, a little bit of mixed adjectives there, but a decline, an increasing decline. into perplexity for those around, and that we certainly see that in our culture today. And so this man is in a place, I think whether, even though we don't deal with demonic possessions on a regular basis today, I think when we read this, at least as I read, I'm thinking, you know, this doesn't seem so far removed from the world in which we live, does it? And I'm thinking about all of the weight that that must have carried. And I can imagine what the apostles are thinking. Oh, great. We just went through the storm. We got to safety on the shore and now we're accosted by this guy. He's demon possessed. He's apparently got great strength. So there's some fear, no doubt. And Jesus addresses the man. And we discover here that he's not just tormented by a single demon. And we've seen in other places in scripture that that in itself is more than somebody can deal with. But he's under the control of an entire host of demons. And when Jesus asks his name, he says, we are legion, for we are many. You have to excuse me because my, I've still got a little bit of, a little bit of the COVID stuff lingering, but I'll be, the Lord will get us through this. It's okay. Now, the When he says legion, he's not necessarily, I don't think we're, I agree with most commentators, we're not necessarily meant to take that literally as a force of at least 6,000, because that, in the Roman army that was, it was associated with that particular number. It's probably figurative, and for a couple of reasons, but you know what, if you disagree, that's okay, we're good, we can be friends. But it is a large number, a large number. And the choice of name, I think, is more telling than just trying to fixate yourself on the number. Because when he says legion, I mean, what's that conjuring up for a Jew? Is a vision of an army of occupation. an army that is cruel, an army that has brought destruction, right? We're not talking about a legion of protecting angels like Jesus refers to in Matthew 26, 53 when he says, I can call down more than 12 legions of angels to deal with the issues here. No, what we're confronted with here is Satan's army of terror and death, not just a single entity but an army of them. That more than one demon would at times occupy and enslave a person is clear from other passages. We have that in Luke chapter 11 verse 26. You might remember that one. An unclean spirit goes out of a man. He goes through dry places seeking rest and finding none. He says, I will return to my house from which I came. And when he comes, he finds it swept, put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself. And they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that man is worse than the first. So the scripture definitely teaches that a person could be inhabited by not just one, but multiple demons. But here we have this dramatic confrontation, right? Because it is a legion, this multitude of demons and Jesus. all by himself, because let me tell you, the apostles are doing nothing. They're really not helping out. They're helping out about as much as they helped out on the boat, okay? So this is Jesus by himself standing firmly in control of not just one demon, not just a few demons, But what's pictured here is a whole host of the demonic spiritual realm is confronting Jesus there on the shore. I think it's Edwards writes that the portrayal, when he was talking about breaking the chains and everything, is showing the spirit's strength and showing that he's a powerful foe that the people can't control. We've already talked about that. Now keep in mind too that most of the Roman army, the occupying forces for the region of Judea, were kept in the Decapolis. So when the demonic spokesperson for the group says, we're legion, I mean, he is speaking something that is a very painful reminder to any Jew of the Roman domination. Because this Ligio, it's the largest single military unit of a Roman army. And what the demon's saying, it's like the best analogy of the demoniac's oppression of this man is the way Palestine, Judea, has been subjugated by Rome. And this is the confrontation here. Jesus, the Messiah, who, guess what? Most people were hoping Messiah is going to set them free from the Roman subjugation. But Jesus has come for a very different thing, hasn't he? Jesus has come to set them free from a different legion, from a different problem. And he demonstrates that here. as he confronts this host of demons that are inside this man. He's gonna expel him with absolute authority, as we'll see. Now, before we move on in the reading, I guess it would be hard to miss that the demon gives the answer to kind of the question that the apostles left themselves with after the incident with the storm. Remember, they're wondering, who is this man that's among us? Well, guess what? The demons know exactly who he is, right? They're very quick to say, What have we to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? There's absolutely no question in their mind who Jesus is. They know exactly who He is. Yet they don't worship Him. But they aren't above begging. And we see that. They know that they're, right now, face to face with the one to whom final judgment has been committed. They know that. The people around may not know it, but they know it. And by the power of Jesus' own word, they've already been arrested from controlling the man in question, right? It tells us they've already realized that the next step is we're out. And they're begging, don't torment us, right? And so let's pick up there at verse 31. They begged him that he would not command them to go out into the abyss. They're really, when it comes down to it, they're really just interested in themselves. They've had some fun, but hey, I know one thing, we don't want to be sent to the abyss. We don't want to be tormented. We're not ready for that. So if we could do something else. Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. And Mark tells us about 2,000. And that's why it may not be 6,000 demons, but whatever. There's a lot. It's a multitude. In the thousands, no doubt. So they begged him that he would permit them to enter them, and he permitted them. Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned. Now when those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it to the city and in the country. Then they went out to see what had happened and came to Jesus and found the man whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. and they were afraid. They also who had seen it told them by what means he had been demon-possessed was healed. Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear, and he got into the boat and returned. Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged him that he might be with him. But Jesus sent him away saying, return to your own house and tell what great things God has done for you. And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him. Well, the demons, ultimately, they just care about themselves, right? They want a little more time. Don't send us into the abyss. Don't cast us out of this all together. We know that's inevitable, right? They know. Romans, Revelation 12, rather, tells us that Satan knows he's on a short leash. It tells him he's got great wrath and he knows that he has a short time. They don't love God, right? Let's make that clear. They know Him, but they don't love Him. They believe in Him, and their knowledge is perfectly orthodox, right? They know the truth about God better than you and I, for the most part, do. I mean, they know exactly who He is. But it does nothing for them eternally. It just brings their condemnation. They simply tremble before His presence, for they know that ultimately they're not able to defeat His will. and yet they do not repent. And so James says, you know what, you believe in God, well good for you. The demons believe, but they, and they tremble. That's James 2.19. But rather than being cast into the abyss, the bottomless pit before their time, and you might compare that to Matthew 8.29, they request that they could be sent into this herd of swine, and that's again, Mark 5.13 tells us there's about 2,000 of these pigs running around, and there's many demons, so it seems like a perfect match. Again, like I said, the presence of pigs there reminds us of how Gentile-influenced this particular region is, because pigs are not clean animals. That's not okay for a Jew to eat. But the fact that we're actually keeping them tells us there's a lot of Gentiles there to be fed. You know what, the Romans are occupying, you know, they're keeping most of their occupying armies there, so there's a good market for pigs. And so there they are. Can we go into the pigs? And Jesus permits them. This is an interesting encounter, just this little piece, as it should remind you that even the demons and the demon realm is under the sovereign control of the Almighty God, right? They do not operate completely without permission. God doesn't instigate evil, he never does, but they can't just enter a person, anyone they want, because they feel like it. And you could read Job chapters one and two and you get some insights into this as well. God is almighty. God is the one in control here. And they do need certain permission to do things. And so they ask, you know what? Okay, you're casting us out. We don't want to go to the abyss. Not ready for the old torment. Even though it's coming. I know I can't stop it. But can we just delay? Can I go into the pigs? Can we all go into the pigs? And they do. And after that, what happens? They destroy the pigs. And you think to yourself, well, that was short-lived. Yeah, it was. There's really no logic there, is there? And that's a reminder, too. It's just a manifestation of the chaos and destruction that's ultimately wrought by demonic influence. I'm not suggesting Satan isn't a cunning and intelligent being. Don't take that the wrong way. But this really demonstrates for us the chaos that comes from sin and the demonic. It doesn't bring greater order. It doesn't bring order to your life. You might get a few things lined up, but the overhaul tenor of your life is not going to be less chaotic under demonic control and following the world. And really what we see play out with the pigs is just another reminders in keeping with the misery that was brought upon the man in this encounter. And you think about the life that he's been enduring. Think about the father who saw his own son who he brought to Jesus to have the demon cast out and says, you know what, the demon often tries to drown him and cast him into the fire. That's in Mark 9, 22. It's just, it's chaotic, it's hurtful, it's destructive. Well, the destruction of these swine gets the attention of the people that care for them, and they run into the city to tell possibly the owners, who knows. But tell you what, hurting somebody financially is a surefire way to get their attention. And suddenly, everybody's interested in what's going on out here in the tombs area, and Luke records that they come out from the city to see. And what do they see? Look at the dramatic change. He's in his right mind. And he's clothed. And he's sitting. It's a picture of peace and tranquility. It is the polar opposite of what his life had been before. He now has peace. He's clothed. Right? That shame's been taken away. He's got a covering. He's, as he says, he's in his right mind. This is just a beautiful picture, isn't it? And he's just there at Jesus' feet. Now, just like the disciples with the calming of the storm, these people come out and they see all of this and they freak out. They're afraid. Right? What's going on? I mean, this changed man. I mean, they no doubt knew about this guy. Probably one of those things you tell your kids and everybody else. You don't want to go out to the tombs. Well, yeah, I got to go from so-and-so to so-and-so. Oh, you better go with a friend, because you know what? That takes you by the tombs. Everybody, this is, and now all of a sudden, a transformation that just, it can't happen by chance. There's no human way to make it happen, and yet it's happened. How do you explain it? And so they're afraid. And the response, after hearing how it all came about, is not a particularly positive one, right? They tell Jesus, you can go now. They encourage him. Leave, leave us. We don't want you here. There's too much fear. And we talked about last week, you know, there is a right and reverent fear that's appropriate in the presence of God in his holy presence. But as we also noted that fear alone, and particularly, just like with the trembling of demons, that's not a safe place to be in just a place of a trembling fear. If it doesn't lead to humility, and worse repentance and worship, then it's really destructive. And these people, they don't beg for healing and forgiveness or any good thing that Jesus no doubt would impart to them, but they say, would you leave us alone? Henderson commented on this passage. He says, you know, what should they have said? He says they should have started by congratulating this man who's sitting at Jesus' feet and being excited about that. Then they should have brought their sick, their handicapped, and everybody else to be healed. Surely they had heard about Jesus and what he had done. They couldn't be entirely ignorant of Jesus and his power. I mean, shouldn't they have tried to prevail on Jesus, to stay a little while and impart blessing to body and soul, just like we see with the Samaritans in John 4.40? But they don't. Their reaction is just the total opposite of that. Jesus must leave, and the sooner, the better. You know, I was, as I was studying this passage, and I was thinking about it, this is just like the demonic response. You know, the demons ask an interesting, they said to Jesus, have you come to torment us? That tells you right off what they think of God, right? Now, the people of this city and the region don't ask that same question verbatim. They don't vocalize it that way. But they ultimately ask him to depart and really are demonstrating the same underlying attitude towards God in our life. You see, in our unregenerate state, and so for many of you that may, and you may take you way back in Mr. Peabody's Wayback Machine, but in your previous chapter of life, in your unregenerate state, and where people are unregenerate, we don't love God or His ways. And we actually consider them a torment, right? You might not, maybe not use that language, But that's how people think about God. They think about God's ways, and people want to be out from his gaze, out from his control. They don't want to be in the presence of the holy, and they don't want to be under the control of the holy. It's been pointed out, when Jesus is put on the cross and killed, it's not because he was bad, because he did evil things, He went around doing good, he was kind. He was killed because he's holy and he had to be done away with. Just as Jesus had described in his parable before when he said, they will not have this man rule over us. That's the unregenerate response to God. They don't understand or even imagine the joys of fellowship with God as their father. And you may be able to remember a time, you no doubt have people who maybe even talk to you about this way, and all they think of as Christians as people that can't, right? And just fill in the blank. Because God is for them just some kind of oppressive entity that torments people by taking away their freedom, their fun, their individuality, you name it. They do not perceive of God and fellowship with Him as being the most blessed state an individual could ever be in. That does not come to their mind. They see God as an impediment. They do not understand you talking about fellowship. They do not understand when we talk about the privilege of working alongside Him to accomplish His ends. That means nothing. That sounds like foolishness. They look at people that would go and spend their life as missionaries and live in poverty and danger and all of these things, and they say, why on earth would you do that to yourself? You know, sadly, some Christians look at their fellow Christians that do that and sometimes say that too. How can they miss the boat like that? See, the unregenerate man or woman wants autonomy. They want absolute control over their life without any accountability. It's not like me to use an example like this, but they want to... I've taught high school, right? So, they want to live life the way that they would want to play a game in what's called sandbox mode. It's the mode where you can just basically you don't have to follow all the rules. You can do you can build something exactly the way you want and there's nothing wrong with that with the game. I'm not suggesting but that's how they want to live life with no consequence exactly the way they want to do it. They want to build it just their way and they don't want the gaze of God upon them. They don't want to feel guilty and they don't want to have to explain themselves. And when somebody comes along and has been born again and been given a new heart that now loves the Lord, they don't understand that. Somebody that's suddenly gone from chaos to peace, from anger to joy, from shame to righteousness. You know, you'll hear people say things, it's a phase, it won't last. I mean, nobody, who would want it, you can't keep that up. Well, no, you know what, you can't. Not in human power, not by human means. That's why God has to do this work. Jesus had to cast out these demons. And Jesus has to send His Spirit, the Holy Spirit has to transform us and give us a new heart or this won't happen to us either. We do not love God by default, we hate Him. And praise be to God that He comes and He saves us. And He gives us a new heart that now looks at Him in a totally different way. And we now see the joy of just getting to be in his kingdom. We now see the blessing and marvel at how this eternal, almighty God condescends himself to use people like you and me to accomplish his ends. Let me tell you, folks, God could easily build his kingdom without your help or mine in some other way. Don't ask me what way that might be, because it doesn't matter. He has chosen not to. Like little kids working with dad in the yard or with... We have gotten given the privilege of that joyful fellowship You know, I don't know what your upbringing was like. Maybe you had that, maybe you didn't. You know what, we have a perfect father in heaven, so this is the reality for you, whether you experienced it as a kid or not. But I'll tell you, as a kid, you have a joy in working with your parent, at least I did. And you feel like you're a part of something, and looking back on it, you realize, you know what, I was just an impediment. My dad or my uncle, both of whom were real blessings in my life in this regard. We got to do regular adult stuff together. You look back and it's like, there's no doubt that I was just a hindrance in actually getting that done as quick as it could be because I'm not bringing anything to the table. What's a four, six, or eight, or nine-year-old bringing to the table that the grown-up doesn't have under control? No, they got it under control. They can do it. The blessing is all being poured out on you to get to be a part in fellowship. Do you realize that is what God has called us into? We have that privilege. You know, I think too often we think of fellowship and we're thinking, sitting around watching TV or gabbing together, and somehow how does that work with God? And then we, because we missed the boat. The fellowship with the Father is work. It's work in the kingdom. Because we're getting to do it with Him. Paul says we're co-laborers. And what an amazing privilege that is. Yeah, we're evading sin because we're holding on to our father's hand and he's keeping us on track and there's a work to be done and all of this and it's just, it's where we get our joy. As surely as a little child received, got that joy with their own parent. The world does not understand that, and we should understand that they don't, right? Trying to explain it is, I mean, you can go ahead and try to explain it, but until they're born again, they will not understand it. Until a person is born again, they look at God as an enemy, and they want him to leave. Well, this man has been set free. He's been born again. What a beautiful picture. And he begs Jesus, will you let me be with you? I want to be with you. And what may seem a little harsh initially, right? Jesus says, no. I got other plans for you. You're going to be my witness in this Gentile region that's actually hostile to the things of God. And isn't that an amazing kindness on God's part, right? This area that unilaterally rejects Jesus, says take a hike, get out of here, the good shepherd that he is, who has come to seek and save the lost, leaves them a witness. He leaves this man there with a job to do. He reaches out to these lost souls, even though he's no longer physically present there, he leaves them and he says, return to your own house, tell them what great things God has done for you. Jesus has his own desires for the man. And so he turns down his request. And sometimes that is the reality. Sometimes when the answer to a request is no, it's because God has other things on his mind. God has other plans for us. And Jesus' reply reveals something, obviously, about the mission that all believers have. That is, that some are going to travel with Jesus, as the apostles do and others do, and they're going to be away from their home, and others are going to remain where they are to testify of Him, right? Some are called to be missionaries, and they go all over the place. They kind of never, they don't have roots often. And then there's other people that are called and they're just planted somewhere and that's where they're to be. And sometimes that changes in a different season of life, right? Somebody that was one time a missionary becomes planted later or vice versa. But God is at work and he has different things, different callings. And this man is of that latter type. He's there to be a missionary at home. Not all believers are called to serve Jesus in the same way, right? And that's good news, right? There's so many different things that need to be done. And God's made us all so differently. And so he leaves a presence there in the city, even though he departs. And the guy does, of course, exactly what Jesus says. He doesn't actually just tell his immediate household, but the whole city, and actually Mark in Mark 5 20 tells us he proclaims the good news throughout the region of the Decapolis. And I just was struck here as we close this particular passage. It says he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him. And you may be saying, well, of course he did. Look what he did for him. Do you not look in the mirror and recognize what Jesus has done for you and for me? Folks, we were destined for hell. While we were still his enemies, Christ died for us. The Holy Spirit drew you to Himself. You weren't seeking after Him. And how often do we do what this man did? How often do we do that? I mean, I'm just convicted. Shouldn't it just be woven into our normal conversation? What the amazing things, what great things that Jesus has done for us. Can we even articulate it? Right? Do we think on it enough? Is it enough in the front part of our consciousness that we can give articulation to it if the opportunity comes up? Have we even given it enough consideration to where we actually have something to say? I think that's the real detriment of many Christians today. Not that they're not living with the Lord, but that nobody knows it. They never talk about it. I know we've been bullied into not talking about it, but you know what? Are we gonna succumb to the fear of men or are we gonna glorify God? Well, We're out of time, so I'm going to go ahead and close out the lesson for tonight. We'll go ahead and finish that in two weeks and then move on to the rest of the chapter. But again, next week, the Vacation Bible School, so things will be a little different.