Friday after the Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on November 5, 2021 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 8:27-39 (NKJV)
8:27 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. 28 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 God? I beg You, do not torment me!” 29 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.
30 Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?”
And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.
32 Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. 33 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.
34 When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36 They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed. 37 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.
38 Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “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.
Devotion
The Devil and all other unclean spirits are not interested in the truth. They seek to cause damage and confusion. The man who was possessed by demons was an extreme example of what Satan and demons can do to all people through sin. Evil forces would have us exposed and shameful in appearance. They would have us dwelling in places of death. They would have us scream accusations and indignant queries at God, insisting that He should just leave us alone. And they would sow scandal and fear among us.
However, as the possession of that particular man was an extreme example, Christ also used that occasion to teach a broader lesson to all who can hear and see through faith. We learn that demons certainly fear and despise Him. We learn that the abyss was certainly prepared for such unclean spirits, and it is a place to which none of them wants to go. They fear and resent the judgment that they know must come upon them. But we also learn that even though our Lord lets them move about and cause problems in the created world, He still has complete power and authority over them.
The demons were able to say confusing things and stir up some amount of chaos in those events, but ultimately the Savior used those events to make known the great things that He does among men, in that place and time, and for all who faithfully learn from the stories of the Gospel.
Prayer: O God, our Refuge and Strength, Who art the Author of all godliness: Be ready, we beseech Thee, to hear the devout prayers of Thy Church; and grant that those things which we ask faithfully, we may obtain effectually; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
