From 8a38bf2ddb8f6c7367538dc889d41b1a9ffd0adc Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Lyle Mantooth Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2022 12:04:09 -0500 Subject: [PATCH] Luke 8:22-25 --- content/bible_journal/luke_8:22-25.md | 49 ++++++++++++++++----------- 1 file changed, 29 insertions(+), 20 deletions(-) diff --git a/content/bible_journal/luke_8:22-25.md b/content/bible_journal/luke_8:22-25.md index 305bb85..127e917 100644 --- a/content/bible_journal/luke_8:22-25.md +++ b/content/bible_journal/luke_8:22-25.md @@ -1,28 +1,37 @@ +++ -title = "Luke 8:22–25" -date = "2022-11-24" +title = "Luke 8:26–39" +date = "2022-11-25" +++ -### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Lk8.22-25) +### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Lk8.26-39) -After a busy day of teaching and healing people, Jesus has His disciples sail -with Him across the lake of Galilee to go to a different region. On the way, He -falls asleep. However, on the way a windstorm comes up and threatens to sink -the boat. The disciples, four of whom were professional fishermen who worked on -this lake, realize they can't do anything to save themselves, so they wake up -Jesus. Once He is awake, He tells the wind to be quiet, and it does. +After the storm, Jesus and the disciples arrive safely in the country of the +Gerasenes (or Gadarenes; different texts say different towns, and they're both +near enough to be plausible). They are met by a demon-possessed man who has +been greatly tormented. The demons know who Jesus is and are afraid of Him and +ask Him not to torment them. As an alternative, they offer to go into a nearby +herd of pigs. Jesus agrees, and the legion of demons drive the pigs mad so that +they rush into the lake and drown. This understandably freaks the pigherds out, +and they go tell everyone around what happened. The people come to see what has +happened and seeing the ex-demoniac acting like a normal, healthy person +frightens them too. They ask Jesus to leave the area, so He does. But before He +can leave, the man asks to go with Him, but Jesus sends him back to his home, +this time telling him to share freely what God has done for him. -He then asks His disciples a pointed question, "Where is your faith?" In light -of that, they didn't seem to expect Him to surely rescue them from the danger. -They woke Him in desperation, as last resort after trying everything else they -could. To be fair to the disciples, despite being close to Jesus, they were -still in the dark about His purposes and true nature. They knew He was the -Messiah, but not exactly what that meant yet. They had seen Him perform -miracles, but those have nearly all been healings so it is fair to say that -doesn't necessarily mean they should have known He could control the weather as -well. But maybe now they are starting see what had been hidden from them. +We learn from this story that demons know who Jesus is, and that He has power +and authority over them. They call Him "Son of the Most High God" (_v. 28_) and +beg Him not to send them to the abyss (_v. 31_). We also learn that mental +illness can be caused or exacerbated by demons, which is not to say all mental +illness necessarily is. + +Jesus's ministry was focused on teaching His own countrymen, the Jews, so it is +a little strange that He went to this Gentile area in the first place. (Jews +wouldn't keep pigs, after all.) But He doesn't ignore Gentiles completely when +He encounters them, maintaining the idea that God's plan of salvation includes +all people. (See God's covenant with Abraham, Peter's dream, and all of Paul's +letter to the Romans.) * * * -Let us see You as You truly are, glorious and majestic and worthy of all -praise. +Give us compassion for those in hard circumstances, and help us care for them +as You would.