The Fear that Rejects Jesus

Luke 8:26-39

Opening

What would cause you to tell Jesus to leave? You might say, “there is nothing that would ever cause me to do such a thing.” Are you sure about that? What if Jesus caused you to lose your job, your savings, your lifestyle, your health? Most people are good with Jesus if things stay pretty much the same. But when Jesus starts changing things and when He starts adjusting the status quo, we start to get nervous. We start to wonder if having Jesus around is such a good idea. But Jesus didn’t come to leave us as He found us. He came to cleanse us from evil. 

You see most people claim to be trusting Jesus with their eternity, but they struggle to trust Jesus with today and tomorrow. In truth, we have only two options for eternity, but we have a lot of options for today and tomorrow. There are a lot of lifestyles to choose from. There are a lot of things we want to hold onto. We can get pretty territorial over areas of our lives when Jesus shows up where we didn’t expect Him. 

Let me ask you again. What would cause you to tell Jesus to leave? Or, what is causing you to keep Him away from your life or from certain parts of your life?

Today, I want to talk to you about “The Fear that Rejects Jesus” from Luke 8:26-39.

Context

Jesus has led His followers into a storm that scared them to death. They didn’t go to Jesus in faith but in fear. They didn’t come to Him confident He could save them from such a vicious storm. They came to Jesus saying they were perishing. 

Jesus asks, “where is your faith?” He knew they had some level of faith. They had learned to trust Him to be able to do some things. They had witnessed Jesus raising a widow’s son from the dead. But they had not had their own lives threatened. They were familiar with the power of the weather on the Sea of Galilee. The fishermen among them were very familiar with the weather. They felt helpless and doomed.

Fear drove them to Jesus in desperation rather than in faith and trust. Jesus demonstrated His power in calming the storm. His followers learned they could trust Him to save their lives. They learned they could apply their faith in the most dangerous situations. 

After they came through the storm they landed in Gentile territory across the lake from their home. 

Luke 8:26–27 (ESV) 

26Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 

27When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs.

It seems they landed where Jesus had intended them to land. It’s interesting that the storm happened on the way to Jesus’ intended destination. This will happen again in the passage we will cover next week as Jesus heals a woman on His way to save a little girl. We need to always be aware of what God is doing while we are on the way to somewhere important.

Luke tells us that Jesus is immediately confronted by a man whose life is dominated by evil spirits. He has multiple demons. He lives isolated from others wearing no clothes and among the tombs outside the city. He is associated with death.

Luke 8:28–29 (ESV) 

28When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” 

29For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.)

Demons, evil spirits, recognize Jesus. They recognize His power over them. It’s so important for us to understand that recognizing Jesus or knowing about Jesus is not the same as being saved by Jesus. Sometimes people will say things like, “I’ve always known Jesus”. My question is, “are you living a life that is submitted to Jesus?” or do you just know about Jesus?

Luke provides a description of how the demons dominated the life of this man. He had to be guarded and restrained but even the restraints couldn’t hold Him. The demons terrorized him and others through him. He was a constant reminder of the nature and the effects of evil.

The demons fear Jesus. They know He has the power to do whatever He wants with them. They see themselves under His authority. They cry out as Jesus is commanding them to leave the man. They are trying to negotiate with Jesus. 

Luke 8:30–31 (ESV) 

30Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 

31And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss.

A Roman legion consisted of thousands of soldiers, maybe as many as 6000. It’s overwhelming to think that one man could have thousands of demons occupying his existence. The human capacity for evil is staggering. This helps understand the human capacity to be filled with the Holy Spirit who is far more powerful than thousands of evil spirits.

The demons were begging Jesus not to send them to the abyss, at least not yet. They know their ultimate fate. Matthew describes what they are talking about.

Matthew 25:41 (ESV) 

41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

The devil and his demons are always limited. They are defeated and awaiting their punishment and eternal state. One day, their activity will cease as they are permanently dealt with. They are hoping to delay this as long as possible.

Luke 8:32–33 (ESV) 

32Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 

33Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.

Pigs are unclean for Jews to touch, tend, or eat. This reminds us that Jesus is operating in Gentile territory. He has come here intentionally to demonstrate His power over evil for the sake of the local population and for the sake of the disciples.

Mark 5:13 tells us there were 2000 pigs in the herd. Today, an adult pig raised for meat production cost just under $1000. That would put the value of the herd at close to $2 million. The herd likely had various ages of animals and pigs were much smaller in those says, so the value of the herd was likely several hundred thousand dollars. The loss to the owners was huge.

Some might wonder why Jesus agreed to send the demons into the pigs. Imagine the sight of a herd of 2000 pigs suddenly charging down a hillside and into the sea. The shear number of demons that exit the man and enter the pigs graphically illustrates the power of Jesus over evil. The point Luke is making by including this story in this narrative is that evil is far worse than we can see on the surface and that Jesus can simply command it to relocate and will one day destroy it.

Luke 8:34–35 (ESV) 

34When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 

35Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.

When Jesus chases away evil, the difference is unmistakable and a little scary. This out-of-control character who could not be restrained by chains and had to be guarded is now normal. He is sitting at the feet of Jesus as one learning from a teacher. 

Luke 8:36–37 (ESV) 

36And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. 

37Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned.

Why would they be afraid of the one who has power over evil?

Fear moved them to reject Jesus. Whereas the disciples awoke Jesus in the midst of the storm out of fear for their lives. The people of this region rejected Jesus having witnessed His power.

Why were they afraid? 

Two terrifying things was to be front and center in their minds. The fury of 2000 pigs going into the sea was something that had never seen before and no doubt left them terrified. What else could this man do to their community?

Also, the economic loss was frightening. Herdsman know to plan for loses to the herd due to disease and predators. But losing the entire herd in one day was not something they would ever expect. This Jesus was a threat that shook them to their financial core.

Still, there was likely at least one other reason they fear Jesus enough to tell Him to leave. Jesus came to deal with evil and gentiles were rife with evil. People are used to the evil they know. Now Jesus has freed this man from demons. What else would He do? Would He deal with other forms of evil? Would He deal with their own evil? And what about those demons that drowned all those pigs? People like the status quo and fear change.

Luke 8:38–39 (ESV) 

38The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 

39“Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

He wants to follow Jesus. He wants to be a learner, a disciple. He knows how bad it is to be dominated by evil. He knows how sane it is to learn from Jesus. He knows how crazy life is without Him.

It’s interesting that Jesus gives him a different assignment. Most of the time, Jesus tells those He heals not to tell anyone. That’s because when He is operating in Jewish territory where Jesus is careful to manage His popularity. He doesn’t want the people to try to make Him a political king and bring down the wrath of Rome on Him before he has done everything He came to do.

However, He is operating in a Gentile area. He wants them to know about Him. In fact, Jesus is laying the groundwork for His followers to bring the good news to this region after His death and resurrection. 

Those whose lives have truly been rescued from evil Jesus always want to tell others.

Application

Jesus didn’t come to leave us as He found us. As Henry Blackaby wrote in Experiencing God, 

“You can’t stay where you are and go with God.” 

Henry Blackaby

Experiencing God

Jesus came to cleanse us from evil. Are you letting Jesus deal with the evil in you?

You may be thinking, “I’m way better than I used to be. Does Jesus really want to get at all the evil in my life? I’m not sure I am ready for that.” When you wall off any part of your life from Jesus you are rejecting Him. When you reject Jesus in any area of your life, you are saying no to Jesus and yes to same force that filled and dominated one man’s life and drove 2000 pigs off a cliff. You are giving control of your life to an entity you cannot limit or control.

This is why you are struggling to gain traction in your spiritual life. 

Stop being controlled by the fear that rejects Jesus

·      Don’t fear change. His future is better than yours.

·      Don’t fear loss. He already owns it all.

·      Don’t fear the removal of evil from your life. Getting rid of evil is always a good thing.

Jesus came to deal with evil. Let Him. Trust Jesus with eternity and today and tomorrow.

Risk everything for Jesus because He gave everything for you.

Grant Jesus access to every part of you

·      Your money

·      Your time

·      Your relationships

·      Your career

·      Your thought life

·      The sin you justify

There is a price to pay for telling Jesus to leave. 

You miss out on the wonderful and amazing life He has planned for you. You are left with the life you can build for yourself.

It’s a really good thing that Jesus has the desire and power to deal with evil in your life.

Do you feel that’s a good thing?

Or are you afraid of giving Him access?

Are you asking Him to leave?

Close

Jesus came to deal with evil on your life. Let Him. Trust Jesus with eternity and today and tomorrow.

Stop being afraid of what Jesus might do.

Get in on what Jesus is doing.

Grant Jesus access to every part of you