35 Then they
went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from
whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in
his right mind. And they were afraid.
Luke 8:26-39 reminds us that everything changes when Jesus
shows up! I hope you noticed something else that is very special about Jesus in
this passage. Remember Jesus and His disciples were ministering in the region
of Galilee to great multitudes. Great and marvelous things were taking place.
The Gospel of the Kingdom was being proclaimed in all the cities and villages
of that region. Demons were being cast out. Great numbers of people were being
healed and delivered from their bondage.
Why would you leave this place, and ministry of such great success
and go somewhere else? But apparently Jesus, always doing the will of His
Father, thought it was necessary! There were two demon possessed men on the
other side that needed deliverance. First, I see the love of the Father and the
compassion of Jesus in caring enough about those “on the other side”, to go
into a stormy sea to reach out and bring hope and salvation to the people in a
remote desolate place!
As far as we can tell, according to the three accounts of
this story in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus only ministered to two men in a
very brief period of time, and almost immediately afterwards left to go back
over the sea to Capernaum. Wow! Jesus took the time out of His busy schedule to
go help and deliver two people from their bondage. To me this proves that Jesus
cares about everyone, no matter who they are and where they are!
We should also learn from this that the success of our
present ministry is not what brings the most glory to God, but what does please
and glorify Him the most, is that we are in such an intimate relationship with
our heavenly Father that we are willing to obey Him and go anywhere and to
anyone that He sends us to! We are willing and obedient to step out of our comfort
zone, and face the demonic storms of temptation, tribulation, and persecution
to help that one person!
If we are not careful, we are so impressed and awed by the
success of the mega-churches and ministries, that we forget what really pleases
the Father! Large crowds never impressed Jesus! Our success with God does not
depend on the results or extent of our ministry, but on our obedience to Jesus
every day in the little things! Read John 15 carefully and you will find our
main task is simply “to abide in Christ” then the fruit that is produced
through this union and communion with Him and our heavenly Father will glory
Him (John 15:7-8).
After Jesus commanded the “unclean spirit” to come out of
the man, He permitted the demons to enter a herd of swine. This agitated them
so much that they chose to drown in the sea rather than to have demons in them.
When the keepers of the swine told the town people what had happened, they ran
out to see for themselves and “found the man out of who the demon had departed,
sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind!”
What a powerful testimony! He was sitting and resting in
Jesus. He found what he had been looking for all his life. No more cutting
himself, terrorizing the community, living in tombs, wandering in the
wilderness! He was clothed, and finally, he was in his right mind! That is what
happens when Jesus comes into our lives! We are a new creation in Christ Jesus
(2 Corinthians 5:17).
Today, I believe that there is “someone” waiting in the
darkness for you to bring Jesus to them! I can assure you, there is no greater
experience in all the world than to be used by God in saving and rescuing a
lost soul!
