Drowned

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

DROWNED

Luke 8:26-33

26 They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes,

which is across the lake from Galilee. 27 When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torture me!" 29 For Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places. 30 Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" "Legion," he replied, because many demons had gone into him. 31 And they begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss. 32 A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into them, and he gave them permission. 33 When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

NIV

It seems clear we are once again seeing the power of Jesus over all things, especially over evil spirits. We just saw him command the wind and the waves, the physical and the now we are seeing him command demons, the spiritual. Why we are told that he spoke with them, asking their name, is a little strange other than for the purpose of letting us know this man was possessed by many demons. Are we to believe that the spiritual demons which possessed this man actually died with the pigs as they drown? If the spirit world is the spirit world including the demons, there would be no death for them until the last judgment when Satan, the beast, the false prophet and all those who have the mark of the beast, which certainly would include all the demons are thrown into the lake of burning sulfur. So if these demons did not die, then what is the life lesson for us? Could these many demons represent our many sins before we met Jesus? Could it also carry a meaning that even with the many sins within us, there is that awareness of who Jesus actually is? Could we secretly not want to be tortured by Jesus for our sin, but rather would just want him to cast them away, which in fact he does do. Jesus casts our sin, in fact, he takes our sin, and actually he already took our sin to the cross. But could this narrative sort of give us that picture of his authority over the sin in our life? The temptations, the sins that vex us so, that causes us to do crazy things, to act undignified, breaking the chains of restraint, being out of control could very well be seen as the demons of our life. Jesus has the authority over those demon, and he has, if we are willing, the authority over the demons in our life. We just need to ask him to command them to go elsewhere, and he will do it. Perhaps the point of his asking their name could imply we need to know the name of our demons, that is we should not ignore some, or try to rename or justify any sin, but to be open and frank with Jesus, giving him all their names, admitting the name of every demon, every sin. All of them, the legion left the man and went into the pigs and so it is with our sins, no matter the number or the severity of them. They are in fact drown, but not in the sea, but rather in the blood of Jesus. Our sin has been drowned.