The Man Who Lived in the Tombs

Jesus and His disciples sailed across the Sea of Galilee "to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee" (Luke 8:26). Galilee is located to the north and west of the Sea of Galilee, with Capernaum on the north shore. From the northwest shore they crossed the sea to the southeast shore, to the Hellenistic or Greek town of Gadara, which is about six miles southeast of the sea and east of the Jordan river. Gadara was a member of the Decapolis, a league of ten Greek cities.

"And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs" (v. 27). A strange man indeed! A man who was out of his right mind; and for good reason. He had long been taken over by many demons. He had no control over what he was doing.

"When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, 'What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!' For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness" (vv. 28-29). The man was controlled by demons and he had strength that was anything but human! Even heavy chains and shackles could not hold him.

"Jesus asked him, saying, 'What is your name?' And he said, 'Legion,' because many demons had entered him" (v. 30). This is not a name, as such. In Greek, the word "legion" means "many." It refers to a regimen of many soldiers gathered together in the Roman army.

The demons begged Jesus not to "command them to go out into the abyss" (v. 31). In Mark 5:10, they begged Jesus to "not send them out of the country." "Out of the country" (v. 10) or "into the abyss" (Luke 8:31) carries the thought of a permanent punishment. They would rather be cast into the many pigs feeding nearby.

"Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned" (vv. 32-33). Mark 5:13b adds that "there were about two thousand" swine. A legion can be up to as many as three thousand or more. Mark estimated about two thousand swine. That means this man was possessed by at least two thousand demons! No wonder he had no control.

The herdsmen ran and spread the word throughout the region of how Jesus had cast out these demons (Luke 8:34). "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" (v. 35).

"They were afraid!" Afraid of what? They were told how Jesus had healed this man (v. 36), but instead of rejoicing, they "asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned" (v. 37). They didn't understand in the least. That is why "they were seized with great fear" (v. 37b). We need not fear Jesus, but rather, we should embrace Him by faith and sit at His feet and learn from Him.

"Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, 'Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.' And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him" (vv. 38-39). Tell people about Jesus! Let them know what He means to you. Amen.

Stretch Out Your Hand

As was His habit, Jesus "went into their synagogue" (Matt. 12:9b). It was the Sabbath. Jesus was there to teach the people. While He was teaching, it was discovered that, among the congregation, "there was a man who had a withered hand" (v. 10a). The Pharisees were also present, but they had an ulterior motive. So they asked Jesus, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" (v. 10b). They wanted to find a way "that they might accuse Him" (v. 10c), so as to draw the people away from Him.

The Pharisees were jealous, you might say. They resented the crowds of people that followed Jesus. The fact that they all flocked to Jesus meant they did not follow the Pharisees. That didn't sit well with them and they wanted to discourage the people from following Jesus. They would tell any lie to draw the people away. Jesus saw right through their schemes.

Jesus turned and addressed the Pharisees directly. In answer to their question, He asked them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?" (v. 11). Then He added, "Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath" (v. 12).

See the difference? The Pharisees defined healing as work, while Jesus defined it simply as doing good. It may be against the law to do work on the Sabbath, but it was not against the law to do good on the Sabbath. We should follow the example of Jesus and do good, not only on the Sabbath, but every day of the week!

Then Jesus turned back to the man before Him and said, "Stretch out your hand" (v. 13a). And he was healed; his hand was fully restored: "And he stretched it out, and it was restored as full as the other"(v. 13b).

The Pharisees weren't happy: "Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him" (v. 14). The enemies of God will never give up; They will never quit persecuting God's faithful people. Do not give them the satisfaction of watching you walk away from Jesus. Follow Him faithfully every day without fail. Jesus has your back. He will take care of you. Amen.

Just Say the Word

Jesus had finished teaching His disciples, along with the crowds that followed Him everywhere, having given His sermon on mount. Then we are told in Luke 7:1, "Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum." Jesus was likely headed for Peter's home which served as headquarters for His Galilean ministry, as well as the place where He stayed when in Capernaum.

Upon entering the city, Jesus has an interesting encounter. We are simply told, "And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die" (v. 2). In the parallel passage in Matthew 8:6, the centurion clarifies the situation, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented."

The centurion, an officer in the Roman army that commands one hundred men, "when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant" (Luke 7:3). When the elders "came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving" (v. 4). They noted that this centurion "loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue" (v. 5).

"Jesus went with them" (v. 6a). As He began to approach the centurion's home, He came upon a second wave of messengers: "The centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, 'Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, "Go," and he goes; and to another, "Come," and he comes; and to my servant, "Do this," and he does it'" (vv. 6b-8).

As I have said before, Jesus recognizes great faith and He honors such faith. "When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, 'I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!'" (v. 9). The centurion, a Roman officer, sent word through his friends to Jesus, telling Him simply, "Say the word!" (v. 7b). That's all! Just, "Say the word, and my servant will be healed" (v. 7b).

And guess what? Jesus just said the word and the paralysis left the servant and he was healed. We are told, "And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick" (v. 10). Jesus did not lay hands on the servant. He did not even lay His eyes on either the servant or the centurion. He just said the word, as the centurion asked, and the servant was healed.

Have a little faith. Jesus said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you" (Matt. 17:20). When you trust in Jesus by faith, He will watch over you. Amen.

A Right Fishy Story

If you are a fisherman or you have friends who are, you probably heard many an exaggerated fish story. When I was struck by lightning on the boundary waters of northern Minnesota in 1979, we gave the doctor who arrived at our campsite in answer to prayer the fish the boys caught as payment for his "tent call." We told him that he better make up a good fish story as to how he caught them because his people would never believe the truth. But in reality, people see through the tall tales but will believe the miracle story because, as they might say, "No one could invent such a wild story!"

Well, Peter has a great fish story of his own! The story is found in Luke 5:1-11. There we read, "So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat" (vv. 1-3).

I stood where this is believed to have taken place in the land of Israel. It was a natural amphitheater along the shore of the Sea of Galilee (same body of water as Gennesaret), not that Jesus needed one to be heard by thousands. You could stand by the shore, speak in a normal voice, and be clearly heard way up at the top of the hill!

As usual, large crowds followed Jesus everywhere. They came to hear Him preach and teach the word of God, as well as to be healed of their various ailments. For a little breathing room, Jesus asked Peter to "put out a little from the land" (v. 3a). He then "taught the multitudes from the boat" (v. 3b).

Then it happened! When He finished preaching, Jesus said to Peter, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch" (v. 4). Peter was hesitant: "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net" (v. 5). Peter thought it would be a waste of time, but he would do as Jesus asked.

Regardless of what you think about what Jesus asks you to do, remember who He is, that He is the Son of God, the Savior, and do as He commands. Follow the word of His still small voice and you will not go wrong.

When they (Peter and likely his brother Andrew) cast their nets, "they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking" (v. 6). "So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats so that they began to sink" (v. 7). Wow! What a catch! It was beyond anything they had ever dreamt of.

Take note of Peter's response: "When Simon Peter saw it, he fell at Jesus' knees, saying, 'Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!'" (v. 8). They were all "astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon" (vv. 9-10a).

And now the purpose for this miraculous catch of fish: "And Jesus said to Simon, 'Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men'" (v. 10b). They are to become fishers of men! Jesus was calling them to join His disciples that very day and follow Him. If you will follow Jesus faithfully, you will learn to catch men and bring them into the kingdom of God.

"So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him" (v. 11). That word, "forsook," literally means, "left behind." In other words, they left everything behind to follow Jesus. They left their families, their homes, their possessions, their boats, their fishing business, all to serve Jesus as fishers of men.

We need to do the same. Leave everything and follow Jesus faithfully. If He leads you to foreign lands, go. If He leads you to foreign places in this country, go. If He leads you to fish for men right where you are, do it. Be faithful to Jesus and He will be faithful to you. Amen.

An Evening at the Home of Simon Peter

Having healed "Simon's wife's mother" of a "high fever" (Luke 4:38-39), Jesus took time to relax with His disciples while Peter's mother-in-law served dinner. Meanwhile, word spread quickly throughout Capernaum that Jesus was at Peter's home and had healed his mother-in-law. So of course, everyone made haste and "at evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed" (Mark 1:32).

Mark points out that "the whole city was gathered together at the door" (v. 33). That is an indication of just how many people had come. There were so many people that they were pressing against the front door of Peter's home. They were longing to see Jesus and to be healed.

Jesus loves all of His people who love Him, as well as all who are in need of a Savior. So He showed compassion on them, opened the door, and went out among them. He mingled with them and spoke with them as "He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they new Him" (v. 34).

The parallel passage in Luke 8 clarifies that Jesus "laid His hands on every one of them and healed them" (v. 40b). All were healed that evening at Peter's home! "And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, 'You are the Christ, the Son of God!'" (v. 41a). So Jesus, "rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ" (v. 41b).

Again, it was not His time. It was not yet time to reveal either His identity as the Son of God or His purpose to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin and to rise again to give us both an abundant life and an eternal life. But again, this miracle shows how much Jesus loves us; how much He cares for us. He is always there for us.

Jesus will always be there for you. Whatever your need, turn it over to Jesus. He will watch over you and accomplish His will in your life. You are always in good hands with Jesus. Amen.