Power Hour Lesson Summary for April 11, 2016 Recovered Faith Lesson Text: Luke 8:26-36 Background Scripture: Luke 8:26-39 Devotional Reading: Philippians 2:1-11 Luke 8:26-36 (NIV) 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 impure 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 Jesus 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 the pigs, 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. 34 When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, 35 and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 36 Those who had seen it told the people how the demon- possessed man had been cured. TODAY S LESSON AIMS Learning Facts: To know that there is nothing that comes against us that God cannot defeat. Biblical Principle: To gain confidence in Jesus power and take our spiritual and physical needs to Him. Daily Application: To pray daily for restoration.
INTRODUCTION So, Where s My Joy? As a child and into her high- school years, Karen had been a happy and relatively carefree person. Following college, she started a career with a company that placed high priority on speed and success. She managed well through her 20s and early 30s, but hit a roadblock after marrying and having her first child. She became depressed and conflicted after the baby came. Karen returned to work, but felt overwhelmed by the responsibilities of job and family. By the time she turned 40, Karen was experiencing bouts of depression on a regular basis. An underlying sense of guilt magnified these feelings. I m a Christian, she would tell her friends. I m supposed to be joyful in Christ. I don t know why I can t trust God and stop feeling so anxious. Sometimes when she felt particularly discouraged or helpless, she would challenge God in her prayers: So, where s my joy? About 18 percent of the U.S. adult population suffers from some form of anxiety- related disorder, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. For Christians, it seems that there should be an inverse correlation between these afflictions and one s level of faith, but often there is not. Today s lesson can help us get on the right track in that regard. LESSON BACKGROUND Time: A.D. 28 Place: region of Gadarenes (or Gerasenes) Most modern readers of the Bible are aware that the land of Israel was controlled by the Roman Empire during Jesus life. Israel was, however, on the extreme eastern edge of that empire, literally on the frontier of Rome s influence. Not far east of the Jordan River, one entered the Nabatean kingdom; this was where Paul fled for safety after becoming a Christian (see Galatians 1:17, where he refers to the region as Arabia ). The Romans did not finally seize control of Nabatean- held areas until A.D. 106. A bit farther north, an area known as the Decapolis (literally, ten cities ) was situated between the southeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee and a Nabatean- controlled area (compare Mark 5:20; 7:31). The Decapolis was an independent but unofficial league of city- states (See Set 17, Map#108, log in for map at http:///amember3/). These municipalities were not under Rome s control but were allies of the empire. This area is where today s lesson is situated. The heritage of the population of the Decapolis was very mixed: some inhabitants came from native Arabic people- groups; some were Greek and Roman colonists and business people; some had migrated from lands farther east (the old Persian and Babylonian empires); some were Jews who had moved to the eastern side of the lake. Despite the presence of the latter, Jesus had entered Gentile territory as we come to Luke 8:26. (Parallel accounts of today s encounter are found in Matthew 8:28-34 and Mark 5:1-16.)
Meeting a Demon- Possessed Man: Luke 8:26-29 1. Who met Jesus and His disciples when they arrived on land? (Luke 8:26-27) When Jesus and His disciples reached the other side of the lake, they landed their boat in an area called the Gerasenes (v. 26). The actual name of the region remains debated, with some Greek manuscripts reading either Gadarenes, Gergesenes, or Gerasenes. Disembarking from the boat, Jesus experiences a strange welcome as He is confronted by a demonized man. Only Luke s account notes that this man s condition has existed for a long time. Apparently, there had been a time when the man was in control of himself, a time when he was not yet afflicted by devils. We presume he had lived a normal life in that earlier period, just like anyone else, with his family in the nearby village. But things changed somewhere along the line, although none of the Gospel accounts tells us how the man came to be in the sad state we see him in here. We simply do not know. Rather than addressing any of that, Luke moves us right to his current status: the man neither wore clothes nor dwelt in a house (Luke 8:27). Instead, he inhabited the tombs, perhaps making the cemetery a dangerous place for other local residents to visit. What are some ways your church can take Christ to marginalized people in your community? 2. What was the man s reaction when he saw Jesus? (Luke 8:28-29) What the disciples think as they observe the crazed man is not recorded. But whatever their level of anxiety, it certainly does not match the level of distress exhibited by the demons that indwell the man! Here as elsewhere, the cause of their distress is quite interesting: the demons are well aware of Jesus power; consequently, they fear what He may do to them. Jesus received a similar reaction in the exorcism of Luke 4:34. Through their host, the unclean spirits implored Jesus not to torment them (Luke 8:28). Matthew 8:29 adds before the appointed time. Their question appears to show that Satan and his demonic cohorts were aware that at the end of the age, they would face God s judgment. The demons oppressing their host (both physically and mentally) hoped to escape premature judgment at the hands of the Son. In the present encounter, Jesus had begun to order the unclean spirits to leave the man (Luke 8:29). Often, his tormentors would take control of him and so overpower him that he would break the shackles others placed on his hands and feet. And once freed from these restraints, the demons would force their host to uninhabited places. Mark 5:4-5 adds that no one could subdue the demon possessed man, even as he wandered crying among the graveyards and through the hills and cutting himself with stones. What should we do when we witness or experience resistance to the gospel?
Identifying the Demons: Luke 8:30 3. What was the significance of Jesus asking the demons to identify themselves? (Luke 8:30) Next, Jesus asked the unclean spirits to identify themselves. Through their host they said, Legion (Luke 8:30). Jesus, of course, doesn t really have to ask What is your name? because He already knows everything about the many devils that beset the man. Jesus question however, forces the devils to disclose that there are in fact many spirits indwelling the troubled man. Legion is the designation of a Roman military unit of up to 5,400 men. As the Roman legions had taken control of the land of Israel and oppressed its inhabitants, so also the devils have assumed total control over this helpless individual. Whether there are literally 5,400 devils or figuratively just lots and lots of them indwelling the man ultimately doesn t matter because they now meet their match. Targeting a Herd of Pigs/Restoring a Demon- Possessed Man: Luke 8:31-33 4. What did the demons fear and request? (Luke 8:31-32) Luke 8:31 reveals that the demons implored Jesus not to command them to depart into the Abyss. The term the Abyss or the deep is translated the same way in Romans 10:7; Revelation 9:1, 2, 11; 11:7; 17:8; 20:1, 3. Luke 8:32 states that in the present encounter, a herd of pigs was feeding on a nearby hillside. So, suggesting an alternate course, the demons pleaded with Jesus to allow them to enter these animals. The presence of a herd of many pigs is a further indication that Jesus and the disciples are in Gentile territory since pigs are unclean animals to Jews (Leviticus 11:7; Deuteronomy 14:8). So Jesus grants the demons request. They realize that they cannot challenge Jesus authority and power, so they bargain for the best possible outcome. Doubtless the demons would prefer to seek out one or more new human victims, but Jesus would never allow it. Their pitiful request to enter the unclean animals to become a legion of lowly pigs shows how utterly powerless they are in Jesus presence. Despite the impressive level of control over the man that the demons have exhibited, the showdown ends quickly. The fact that Jesus does not here or elsewhere send demons directly to the deep is consistent with His current mission not of meting out judgment (John 12:47) but of calling people to repent and warning of what will happen if they do not (see Matthew 13:24-30; Luke 13:1-8). How do you draw strength from the fact that Jesus is greater than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4)? 5. What happened after the Jesus commanded the demons? (Luke 8:33) Then, after the demons left their host, they took up residence in the pigs (v. 33). The new home of the demons turns out to be quite temporary. They seem unable to control their new hosts: the herd immediately stampedes down a steep place into the lake and drowns, forcing the demons to flee to
unknown quarters. Mark 5:13 sets the number of pigs at about two thousand, so that may indicate that at least that many demons are present if we assume at least one demon inhabits each pig. When was a time you saw God s power at work in a way you did not expect? How do you apply that lesson? It is understandable for readers to wonder why the unclean spirits would ask permission to go into the swine, why Jesus why Jesus would give His permission, and why the demons would bring about the death of so many animals. In response, again, it is helpful to remember that to Jews, pigs were ritually unclean animals (see Lev. 11:7; Deut. 14:8). But the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee was populated by Gentiles, who routinely kept pigs and sold them in their marketplaces. Moreover, Jesus may have determined that the loss of so many animals was less egregious than a human being who was created in God s image (see Gen. 1:26-27; 9:6; 1 Cor. 11:7; James 3:9) to continue experiencing torment. Finally, through this sobering outcome, Jesus could have sought to demonstrate to the bystanders the devastating, destructive reality of the unseen demons. Reacting to the Miracle: Luke 8:34-36 6. What was the reaction of the herdsmen tending the pigs? (Luke 8:34-36) The pigs caretakers saw what had taken place. In turn, they hurried off to the nearby city and its environs, where they related what Jesus had done (Luke 8:34). Upon hearing the news, the inhabitants went to the spot where the incident had occurred. They verified that the entire herd had drowned. Furthermore, when they reached Jesus, they discovered that the man who had been afflicted by so many demons was now freed from them. Whereas before he acted in a violent, deranged way, now he was rational, behaving sensibly, and sitting at Jesus feet! (v. 35). One would expect the people of that region to have honored Jesus because of the changes in the former demonic. Instead, the locals are afraid. The result is that all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them (Luke 8:37, not in today s text). The crowd sees both good and harm side by side in the case at hand: the cure of a man and the financial loss of a herd. In asking Jesus to leave, they reveal what concerns them more. In response, Jesus did as they asked He got into the boat and left. At first, the cured man implored Jesus to let him depart with the Savior (v. 38). But He declined the man s request. Instead, Jesus told the healed man to return to his home and tell people what God had done for him. This the grateful man did. He even traveled throughout the region to let others know how Jesus had set him free from his former life of anguish under the control of so many demons (v. 39). As people living in the Decapolis heard the man s testimony, they marveled at how Jesus transformed his life (Mark 5:20). POINTS TO PONDER In the episode involving the demon- possessed man, physical needs mirrored deeper spiritual needs. Every person needs the deliverance and forgiveness only Jesus can provide. Those who have never placed saving faith in Him as the only sacrifice sufficient to satisfy the righteous demands of God are as
helpless as the man Jesus encountered in the region of the Gerasenes. People who don t know Jesus need to be rescued from the terrible effects of sin. People can provide what amounts to little more than an adhesive bandage for our physical and psychological afflictions. As physicians, they can try to treat our physical ailments sometimes successfully for a while, sometimes not. As counselors, they can try to treat our psychological problems again, sometimes successfully for a while, and sometimes not. But none of them can deal with any of our problems completely and permanently. They simply do not have that kind of healing power. Only Jesus does, for He is the healing God. CONCLUSION On the Other Side of the Tunnel With Jesus Christ all things are possible! The demoniac in today s lesson had lived in a dark tunnel for a long time; through Christ, he finally came out into the light. Yet his calling was not to forget his past. Instead, Jesus sent him back to testify to the people who had seen his struggles, proclaiming God s power and mercy in rescuing him (Luke 8:39). Jesus calls us to do the same. PRAYER Heavenly Father, please continue to grant us deliverance from the evil that would torment us! Help us also to bear the burdens of others so that they too may be shining examples of Your Son s deliverance. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. THOUGHT TO REMEMBER Nothing can come against us that God cannot defeat! ANTICIPATING THE NEXT LESSON Next week s lesson is Tested Faith, where we learn to rejoice with God in the salvation of the lost. Study Luke 15:11-32.