Daily Devotions
Luke
Luke 8 : 26-39 (Matthew 8:28-34 ; Mark 5:1-20) "NOT BY ACCIDENT"
Day 100 – Luke 8
Text: Luke 8 : 26-39 (Matthew 8:28-34 ; Mark 5:1-20)
NOT BY ACCIDENT
It was not by accident, that Jesus left a busy ministry in Capernaum to go down south to the city of Nain. It was not by coincidence that He met a funeral procession and there He raised a young man and returned him to his mother (Luke 7:11-16).
This trip to Gadara was not “by accident” either. The Disciples had not yet learned how the Spirit of God was working in the Life of Jesus. In time to come, they too would experience how the Spirit of the Lord would work in their lives, guiding them unerringly.
Right from the start, Luke introduced the Person of the Holy Spirit and His involvement in the life of Jesus. It was the Spirit of God who overshadowed Jesus and His mother Mary, even before He was born. It was the Spirit of God who led Him to be baptized. It was the Spirit of God again who led Jesus into the wilderness to be tested by the Devil (Luke 4).
Filled with the power of the Spirit, Jesus began His ministry. It was Jesus Himself who testified that the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him. The Spirit of God came upon Him so that He would preach the Gospel to the poor, so that He could heal the broken hearted, and so that He could set prisoners free from the bondage of sin and Satan (Luke 4:18-19).
MORE LESSONS FOR THE DISCIPLES TO LEARN
It was not by accident that Jesus traveled as He did. There were a number of important lessons that He wanted His Disciples to learn:-
1. He wanted them to know that the “mission field” is far wider than just Capernaum
2. He wanted them to know that just about everywhere they would go – they would see certain common things; one of them would be that they would face demonic opposition.
3. The Disciples must see demonic powers in their worst forms. They must realize that their FAITH in God would be called upon to help them in their ministry.
4. For the moment, they must keep learning deep lessons that Jesus needed them to master! They had to be further exposed and taught in actual ministry!
THE DESPERATE NEED OF ONE MAN
Luke had a special way of showing aspects of Jesus that help us to appreciate and love our Saviour even more dearly. In the midst of a busy ministry, Jesus would sometimes leave to minister to one individual. Thus He left Capernaum and went to Nain to help the widow who had lost her son.
In the Book of Acts, we read of how Philip the Evangelist was told by the Spirit of God to leave a successful ministry in Samaria, to minister to ONE man, an Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8).
We read of how Jesus left a highly successful ministry in Galilee so that He could come over to Gadara, and help a man who had been possessed by a multitude of demons. There were so many in the man, that he was called “Legion” (Luke 8:30. A full legion in the Roman army can number up to 6000 soldiers)!
The Disciples would one day learn how to respond to the special leading of the Spirit of God in their future life and ministry (see Book of Acts).
POWERFUL- BUT TOTALLY SUBJECT TO JESUS
What mighty object lessons Jesus taught His Disciples that day. First, they learned that their Teacher was Master “over the wind and the raging of the water” (Luke 8:24).
Now they were going to learn first hand, another important truth concerning their Master. Demons, no matter how powerful, and no matter how many, were totally subject to Jesus! “Who is this man… that a legion of demons submit to Him meekly?”
FOCUS- NOT ON DEMONS BUT ON THE DEMONISED MAN
Sometimes, we pick up the wrong lessons, when we read the Gospel accounts of how Jesus helped those who were possessed by demons.
1. We could end up being fearful of demons
2. We could be impressed by the power of demons
3. We could end up trying to figure how Jesus cast out demons; hoping that we could do the same thing.
The focus, as far as Luke was concerned, was how Jesus cared for the man in question. The poor, afflicted man, a resident of the city of Gadara, had been demonized “for a long time” (Luke 8:27). His plight was sad indeed. We read a sad description of this Gadarene,
“He wore no clothes,
Nor did he live in a house
But in the tombs.”
Luke 8:27
Not knowing what to do with this man, the city authorities did what they thought was best, to safeguard the people who lived in the region.
“He was kept under guard,
Bound with chains and shackles;
And he broke the bonds
And was driven by the demons into the wilderness.”
Luke 8:29
“SITTING AT THE FEET OF JESUS” Luke 8:35
An amazing feat had been done. He who could not be controlled, because he was violently inclined was now sitting quietly at the feet of Jesus, learning from the Master! He who was demonized, was now “clothed and in his right mind” (Luke 8:35).
The Disciples must have been amazed once again. They had seen Jesus cast out demons before, but nothing they had seen could be compared with this incident!
“Who is this… whom demons fear, and obey?” An important and relevant question! One that deserves an answer! What is your answer? Who is Jesus to you?