37 lines
1.9 KiB
Markdown
37 lines
1.9 KiB
Markdown
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title = "Luke 8:26–39"
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date = "2022-11-25"
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### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Lk8.26-39)
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After the storm, Jesus and the disciples arrive safely in the country of the
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Gerasenes (or Gadarenes; different texts say different towns, and they're both
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near enough to be plausible). They are met by a demon-possessed man who has
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been greatly tormented. The demons know who Jesus is and are afraid of Him and
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ask Him not to torment them. As an alternative, they offer to go into a nearby
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herd of pigs. Jesus agrees, and the legion of demons drive the pigs mad so that
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they rush into the lake and drown. This understandably freaks the pigherds out,
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and they go tell everyone around what happened. The people come to see what has
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happened and seeing the ex-demoniac acting like a normal, healthy person
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frightens them too. They ask Jesus to leave the area, so He does. But before He
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can leave, the man asks to go with Him, but Jesus sends him back to his home,
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this time telling him to share freely what God has done for him.
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We learn from this story that demons know who Jesus is, and that He has power
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and authority over them. They call Him "Son of the Most High God" (_v. 28_) and
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beg Him not to send them to the abyss (_v. 31_). We also learn that mental
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illness can be caused or exacerbated by demons, which is not to say all mental
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illness necessarily is.
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Jesus's ministry was focused on teaching His own countrymen, the Jews, so it is
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a little strange that He went to this Gentile area in the first place. (Jews
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wouldn't keep pigs, after all.) But He doesn't ignore Gentiles completely when
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He encounters them, maintaining the idea that God's plan of salvation includes
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all people. (See God's covenant with Abraham, Peter's dream, and all of Paul's
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letter to the Romans.)
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* * *
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Give us compassion for those in hard circumstances, and help us care for them
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as You would.
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