Our story from Luke this week might seem
out of place in our discussions of kingship and sovereignty over the last few
weeks. After all, Jesus is engaged in
spiritual warfare in the story rather than instructing His people how to live
economically, politically, and whatever other ways we might like to
consider. Yet the story speaks directly
to one of the big problems of kingship.
It will, of course, take me a moment to get us to the point where we can
see how the passage speaks to us at Advent in the 21st Century, but
God-willing and inspired, I shall!
Why does this story come now in Luke’s
narrative? Those of us who have studied
Luke’s Gospel understand that this is the fifth exorcism in his Gospel. There are, however, some significant differences
that make the story worthy of our consideration today. (1) This is the first exorcism that occurs
outside the boundaries of Israel. To us,
nearly all of us Gentiles, such an idea is barely worthy of notice. To 1st Century Palestine Jews
hoping to encounter the Messiah, such a story would be unimaginable. The Messiah was coming for God’s chosen
people, Israel. Anything that the
Messiah would do would be for the benefit of Israel, or so they thought. We all know that Jesus came first for the
Jews, but then we also know that the Jews were meant to be a blessing to the
world. Jesus is simply fulfilling God’s
plan for the Jews, right? Exorcising
demons is a theological and supernatural act.
Jesus, we might say, has come to free the Gentiles from the minions of
the enemy as much as He has the Jews, His chosen people.
(2)
This exorcism is the first multiple-possession in Scriptures. In Roman terms, a legion meant somewhere
north of 5000 soldiers, once one considered all the scouts, messengers, and
auxiliary troops. Is it possible that
the demons who confront Jesus in this story were claiming to be more than 5000
strong? It certainly is possible. Given the time and the emphasis on the legions,
I think it wrong to dismiss the idea.
What is important, though, is Jesus’ ability to deal with multiple
demons as easily as He can with one, as in the other encounters. Most of us would be terrified were a single
demon to confront us. Jesus is
confronted by multiple, perhaps more than 5000, and is nonplussed. In fact, in the power dynamics of this
encounter, it is the demons who are terrified.
The demon-possessed man falls prostrate before Jesus. The demons beg Jesus not to torment
them. The demons beg Jesus not to order
them into the Abyss.
It is a curious word, is it not,
“order”? Such is Jesus’ power over the
demons that, were He to order them into the Abyss, they would have to obey His
command. Those of us who have seen
movies or heard account of exorcisms understand that it is a battle for us to
cast one out in Jesus’ Name. But here,
multiple demons beg Jesus not to order them, such is His command over them.
(3)
This account of Jesus’ encounter with Legion is important because it
dwells on the responses of those who hear or see or are affected by Jesus’
miracle. The exorcised man is dressed,
of sound mind, and sitting at the feet of Jesus at the end of the story. In fact, the man asks Jesus for permission to
follow Him and is denied! Contrast that
with the crazed, chain-breaking supernatural strength, and hanging out in the
tombs at the beginning of the story. The
townsfolk have a different response, do they not? They want Jesus to leave. Clearly, they are afraid of His power, so
they ask. But they do not want Him in
the village for any longer than is absolutely necessary! Ah, we are all like Augustine, are we
not? “Lord save me, just not today!”
(4)
The exorcism of Legion comes within the overarching story of Jesus
demonstrating His power and authority over nature, the supernatural, disease,
and even death. We might say in modern
language that Jesus is proving who He is.
Who else but God’s Anointed can calm the weather, cast out multiple demons,
heal the sick, and raise the dead? Who
else, indeed!
(5)
Finally, the story is unique because it is the only miracle in Luke in
which other creatures besides humans are involved. I know there has been a great deal written
and taught about the presence of the pigs over the centuries. Some have suggested that the pigs represent
the apostate life of the people of Gerasene.
Since they were not Jews, however, it would be hard to consider them
apostate. Others have suggested that the
pigs, grazing in the area of tombs, simply illustrate the uncleanliness of the
human heart. Perhaps that is part of
it. I think the more likely rason for
their presence is that they demonstrate to us, in graphic detail, the chaos and
destruction inflicted upon humanity by God’s enemy and his minions. We in the modern western world scoff at the
idea demons and their influence. But
Luke’s narrative serves as an important reminder that, although the demons are
unseen, they are dangerous and life-taking.
So, what does all this have to do with the
idea of kingship? How does this story
fit in with God’s idea of His Anointed ruling for our benefit? In many ways, the answers are obvious. We live on this side in history of the Empty
Tomb, so we know that Jesus is who He said He was. He is the Son of God, the Messiah. All authority belongs to Him. That claim, of course, is not just
salvific. It is a claim that transcends
politics, that transcends, economics, that transcends philosophy, that
transcends individuality, and transcends even our sins which served to separate
us from full communion with God. We
might like to think that God is happy when we give Him 90 minutes on a Sunday,
as if we important people are doing Him a favor by giving up some of our time
to worship Him, but is that all that our salvation is worth? Were our lives really only worth 90 minutes
of our time each week? Of course not,
our lives are everything to us, and that is precisely what we are expected to
offer Him in thanksgiving for what He has done for us!
We may not like to admit it, but each one
of us is like the man possessed in Gerasene.
Most of us are slaves to our appetites and cravings. Our addictions might even be socially
acceptable like gluttony or alcoholism, but they are there. They plague us. What’s worse, misery likes company. Often, so long as those appetites are
acceptable, our friends, our colleagues, our neighbors, and even our family
will try to console us with the statements “it’s not so bad” or “everybody does
it.” We know it is wrong, yet those around
us will often try hard not to make us feel bad about those wrong things we are
doing. Think I am wrong? What are society’s teachings about drugs or
alcohol now? What are society’s teaching
on casual sex now? What is society’s
teaching on marriage and divorce? What
is society’s teaching about any law that we break? Truth and moral uprightness have become a
major casualty of the currents winds and passions of society. If you have a sin that seems unacceptable today,
just work the press and social media to demonstrate that you are normal. And, here’s where we ought to feel most
uncomfortable, how is the Church much different from the society it is called
to serve or to invite? Ouch is right.
What happens in the story is indicative, I
think, of society when the collective encounters the Risen Christ. There are many lessons in this pericope, but
watch the crowd. The demoniac has been
relegated to the tombs. At times he has
been chained there. Society has shunted
him off to the side, unable to help him.
Jesus comes along and cures the demoniac. How should the community respond? Presumably, since he lived in that area, he
had family and friends. Should not they
be overjoyed at his cure? Should they
not give thanks that he seems of right mind, that he is clothed, and that is
studying at the feet of a rabbi, in this case THE Rabbi? This itinerant teacher just commanded a
legion of demons to leave, and they did!
Talk about a cause for celebration!
Yet the crowds, the community, responds in fear. When told of the story of the healing, the
people of the surrounding country were seized with great fear. They asked the Healer, the King, to
leave. Can you imagine?
Of course we can imagine! The modern world responds in much the same
way to the power and authority of God.
Ever been asked what you think God would think about a behavior, an
activity, or an idea? What happened when
you shared that idea? More likely than
not, there was scoffing and marginalizing.
Ever stick your nose into someone else’s business uninvited with what
you think is good biblical advice? How
did that go over? Again and again we see
the reminder from John 1 played out into the world. He came into His own, yet His people did not
know Him. Humanity loves the darkness
far more than the Light!
It is a fearful thing to ponder the
authority and power of Jesus. If Jesus
is who He says He is, He is the singular focal point of the cosmos. He is the singular focal point of history. He is the singular focal point of
authority. Of wisdom. Of love.
If He is who He says He is, that means we are doing a lot of things
wrong. How many of us put Him first in
our lives? How many of us love our
neighbors as ourselves? How many of us
live a life to encourage others into a right relationship with God through Jesus
Christ? All the time? And if we fail at the “important” big Two
commandments, how many more times do we fail at the little things He teaches? What happens when we fail kings? It is no wonder many are terrified at His
claim and power and authority.
Of course, if Jesus is who He says He is,
He is also the Good Shepherd. He is the
ruler who lays down His life for His sheep.
He has come to save, not condemn.
He came not to terrify, but to call.
But that saving act on His part requires an assent on ours. We yield to His authority. We call Him Lord. We make a conscious decision to do our best
to follow Him. In baptismal language, we
die to self so that we can live to glorify Him in our lives. And so begins a King and subject relationship
unlike any in the rest of the world. His
disciples make seemingly strange claims like “In serving Him is perfect
freedom.” But His disciples understand
that He wants what is best for us. And,
unlike even good kings, who may try their best, Jesus knows what we need. Best of all, nothing can separate us from
Him, once we have chosen Him.
Our King can send us to the edges of the
world, into spiritual or physical battles, into common or uncommon ministries
around us, and we can go confident that we will share in His glory for all
eternity. Such is His authority that
even death itself, just like a horde of demons, must bow to His commands. That authority, that power, just as the power
and authority to cast aside a legion of demons, gives people pause. That kind of power and that kind of authority
is terrifying because it reminds us how strong the One wielding it is and how
impotent we truly are. And make no
mistake. One day, all will stand before
Jesus. Either they will have acknowledged
Him as King and will be admitted into the kingdom He has prepared for us, or
they will have refused “to bend the knee”and be cast out like the demons. I do not think it much of a surprise that the
villagers respond to the presence of Jesus much like that of the demons. Both know His power and authority; neither
are willing to yield.
Brothers and sisters, we live in an age
that thinks kings are all like George Martin’s humanity on Game of Thrones or
even worse. Part of our message, though,
is that there are kings and then there is the King. The King came to save, not condemn. The King came to show us the path to the
Father. The King died and lived and
ascended that you and I and all who call upon His name might also live
forever. More amazingly, the King came
and worked healing in your life, my life, and the lives of all who gather to
worship Him, that we might be made fit ambassadors for Him, heralds of His
Gospel, and proclaimers of His release.
Put much shorter, you and I and all who claim Christ as Lord and King
are like the demoniac of Gerasene, now finally free, in right mind, at the foot
of the Teacher, and equipped to proclaim His transformative work in us to those
whom we know and meet in our own lives!
Peace,
Brian†
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