"Return Home and Tell How Much God Has Done for You” | Luke 8:26–39

Show Notes

Episode 729: 
In this episode, we dive into a fascinating story from the Gospel of Luke, specifically Luke 8:26-39, where Jesus encounters a man possessed by demons in the region of Gerasenes. We discuss the significance of the man's healing and the immediate recognition of Jesus' authority by the demons. We reflect on the cultural context of the story, noting that this miracle took place in a Gentile region, highlighting Jesus' mission to reach all people, not just the Jews.

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You're listening to the Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun, in practical ways. Jeff, eventually we're going to get a new role in. You think, so, yeah, I hope. So that is so unbelievably old. It is old that we used to do. You're like half the man you are in that video. Yeah yeah, yeah, weight was Yeah, you've lost so much weight. But guess what we used to use headphones? Did so on this because we were cool? Yeah back then, that was that lone. How how long has it been since we have not used headphones? More than a year? Oh, way more than a half I was. I would say closer to two years. Okay, yeah, probably a long time. That's how long that rollins? Trying to make a new roll in? I think so yeah, okay, yeah, well we'll get to it eventually, we'll get around to it. Okay. But but but everybody who listens regularly, if we change the audio of that, they're going to be like, it's not the same. They won't even know what they they don't even know what to do with Connor. He did a great job on that, great job. So all right, well man, we've got a cool uh what do you call these things that we do at the beginning segments, segments? We've got a cool segment. Yes, we do, before we dive into the quote that Jesus said, return home and tell how much God has done for you. I'm not sure that that is necessarily one that we quote all the time all the time, but it certainly is a attached to a famous story. Yes, we're gonna go ahead and fill in the blank today. So it says this desiree says, let's try this again, but this time Jeff will start a sentence, then Chris will have to complete it in an unexpected way. Okay, so we'll see if it goes better this time. Last time it was pretty good. Okay, So that goes to make So I'm going to start a sentence, yes, that you have to finish. Yes, maybe setting up some kind of story concept. Yeah, just well it says unexpected, which means I could do whatever I want. Okay, Well I'm going to be unexpected. Okakay. So there I was standing in the lobby with a chicken under my arm when the janitor came up and said. Do not slice its neck because I don't feel like cleaning up another bucket of blood today. Wow, that went dark. Well, it's only chicken killing. It's not human, it's only it's girls. We are not advocating that you go out and. Slice your chicken. Hey, listen, anybody who goes up in a farm. That's true, cut chicken. That's true. That's true. WHOA Okay, that is not what I was expecting to come out of. Well that you said, it says unexpected. I thought you were going to say something about don't squeeze it because I don't want to clean the mess, or something like that. No, I said, spilts blood. More eggs. You know, there's all kinds of things that could have happened there besides well, guess whying it. Guess what you watch too many movies. No, I I have. Actually believe it or not. This is this is a true statement. I've actually wrestled with the idea because I'm not a hunter. Right, so, if you like I would, I would never go hunting. I just I never could do it. But I've held chickens before, and I've heard stories about chickens, probably more so than any other animal, about how to prepare chicken. You and so and so I just think you can do that one. Visually, No, of course I cannot, But visually I picture it every time I think of a chicken. So me holding a chicken, that's all I think about it. That's how you think about it. Because people say, this is what you do, this is what you do, and I'm like, I'm like, I could never do that, right, I'm glad other people do. Yeah, but when I was growing up, we butchered one hundred chickens in two days. Right, exactly exactly. I take it back, it was ninety nine because one of them had died, but yeah, we had ninety nine. That's crazy since that we butchered in two days. So isn't that the ones. Where it's just the thing man, where you were wanting male and female? They were all females. Well, we wanted we wanted hens, and somehow my dad got ninety nine roosters because we wanted to I wanted to sell eggs. Yeah, so we had to fat them up in the butcher. That's so good, go ahead. So that's another sentence. Well that was my only sentence. Oh no, we're supposed to do a few. Oh, we're supposed to do a few. Yeah, say what, let's just do one more. Okay, let's just do one more yep, Okay, go. When the officer walked up to the to my window, I said, would. You like to go on a date? What? I don't know. I just saw a TikTok you just proposed, well, not me personally, a hypothetical person in the car. No. I thought it was yours story. You're supposed to so I start your story. So it's your story, So it's me. I wasn't. I wasn't thinking it was me. Okay, the helen me tell you the reason why. I just saw like a TikTok video or something where a girl got pulled over and she asked the officer out. I literally just saw it like it might have been this morning or yesterday. Okay, well I don't feel like that counted. Well okay, I didn't do it from me. Okay, all right, you. Want to do one more. There I was in the ocean, yep, and I had just stood up on my surfboard when. The Lockness monster came up and took a bite out of my shin. Wow, there it is in the ocean. Yes, that's the reason why they haven't. Spotted him because he's cruising the ocean. All all water sources lead to the ocean. Okay, wow, all water sources except the Dead Sea. That's correct. And that's correct, and all of the other lakes that are below sea level. You know, you know what I was trying to quote, right, No, in Finding Nemo, he said all drains lead to the ocean. Oh okay, yeah, so sorry quoting Nemo. Yes, Finding Nemo, I was actually quoting. I would have thought that a cartoon wouldn't be entirely scientifically correct. I would have never thought. Well, I mean, they weren't trying to be scientific. It was a fish. Was It was a joke? Yeah, it was a joke. I don't remember the name of the fish though, I don't either whoever his name was. Okay, well, here we are now, and speaking of leading to water, I don't know. Is that what we've got? No, I would say, speaking of unexpected endings. Unexpected endings, Oh that's a good one. Yeah, yeah, we're talking about Jesus. Who would have ever thought that the deranged man filled with demons would end up being in his own right mind? Yeah, Or that the pigs would run down the hill into the water. Yes, I mean that's what I was saying. All things run down, all of it is unexpected. Okay. So anyways, that was a terrible, terrible rolling set up for this story. But we are in Luke position. Yeah, yeah, we are in Luke chapter eight and verse twenty six. It says, so they arrived in the region of the Garacenes, across the lake from Galilee. You remember when Jesus had stopped the storm. I do remember. Remember on the other side it was just massive crowds and He's like, hey, we got leave these crowds. Let's go to the other side. In the middle, there's this big storm. He wakes up, says, peace be still. When they get to the other side of the lake. This story happens, Yes, as soon as he gets off the boat. So they arrived in the region of Garriscenes, across the lake from Galilee. As Jesus was climbing out of the boat, a man who was possessed by demons came out to meet him. For a long time, he had been homeless and naked, living in the tombs outside the town. As soon as he saw Jesus, he shrieked, fell down in front of him and then he screamed, why are you interfering with me? Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Please I beg you don't torture me. For Jesus had already commanded the evil spirit to come out of him. This spirit had often taken control of the man. Even when he was placed under guard and put in chains and shackles, he simply broke them and rushed out into the wilderness, completely under the demon's power. Jesus demanded, what is your name? Legion? He replied, for he was filled with many demons. The demons kept begging Jesus not to send them into the bottomless pit. There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hill side nearby, and the demons begged him to let them enter into the pigs. So Jesus gave them permission. So the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drown. When the herdsman saw it, they fled to the nearby town and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran. People rushed out to see what had happened. A crowd soon gathered around Jesus and they saw the man who'd been freed from the demons. He was sitting at Jesus' feet, fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid. Then those who had seen what had happened told the others how the demon possessed man had been healed. And all the people in the region of the Gharriscenes begged Jesus to go away and leave them alone, for a great wave of fear swept over them. So Jesus returned to the boat and left, crossing back to the other side of the lake. The men had been freed from the demons begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him home, saying, no, go back to your family and tell them everything God has done for you. So he went all through the town, proclaiming the good things Jesus had done for him. Oh, well, that corrected my application from the other day. The other day, I said, Jesus told him, don't tell people. Oh remember we were talking, okay about how so many times these don't tell people, and I just lumped this story in it. But he didn't. Jesus told him no, you can't travel with me. I want your Your best witness is going to be at home. Yeah yeah, yeah, right right yeah, and it was the evidence of his healings that was the witness. But he went home and told everybody. Yeah, and didn't. Another version records the same story and says that he actually went to the ten surrounding cities the capitalists. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah yeah yeah. So actually maybe the other one includes something else too, but yes, he says, yeah, don't go with me, but go tell everybody, to go, tell everybody, and yeah, he went out around and he didn't just Jesus didn't say go to the ten cities. Jesus just said stay here. And then it says that he went to the capitalists. Am I saying that right? Yes? Yes, And it's the ten cities, Yeah, the ten cities surrounding cities City yep, Deca, yep, and uh yes, yes, thank you. I was reading I was reading a Roman numeral just yesterday, and I was trying to figure out all the all the meanings of it, and I couldn't do it. It was like m c l V one one and I was like, well, I know what V means, I know what one one means and m's a thousand. What's what's L? L is fifty? Oh? Is it? Okay? Yeah, darn it. I wish I could go back now and see the number is. Isn't it rom L is fifty. I don't know what L is. I know C is one hundred, so L has to be fifty, You're right, and then uh and then uh V is five and then one is one. So yep, anyway, anyway, the uh so anyway Jesus, Yeah, yeah, I'm trying to I'm trying to shift my brain. Oh yeah, there it is. I'm trying to shift my brain. So here's what I love about this, this conversation that the demon demons immediately recognize Jesus and when they see him they shriek. So the Book of James says even the demons believe, and they tremble. It also says that if you, if you submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil, he will flee from you. So it tells us that the demons are afraid. The demons recognize Jesus's authority. They literally call him by his title. They say, Jesus, Son of the Most High God, and do not torture me, do not. They're afraid because here these demons possess this man, and they have just wreaked havoc in this man's life. And then Jesus comes along and they're like, oh no, right, and then they say, just, uh, you know, allow us to go into the herd of swine, which, by the way, is a crazy, crazy turn of events, isn't it. Yeah. And now you were in the Sea of Galilee when we when we sailed because I went at a different time than you, but our group when we were there, we sailed to the south near this city, and there was a massive cliff that had a slight slope and a complete drop off. And they said, this is where the pigs most likely would have run down and jumped off the cliff. Did they tell you that too? Yeah, well, we could see it from where we were. We were more to the north, but when we turned around you could see the hill on the cliff side over there. Together it's not a big lake, so. Right right right, and which is pretty amazing. And and so just the going goings on of these demons, uh, they you know, how many demons were inside this man to possess an entire herd of Swan. A legion was the largest unit in the Roman army. This according to the Life Applications of out. I don't know why people don't have steady bibles, it says, well, what do you mean, maybe people do? No, No, I don't. I can't imagine why somebody wouldn't. Oh, there you go, Yeah, that's it. A legion was the largest unit in the Roman army, having between three thousand and six thousand soldiers. What the man was possessed by not one, but many demon. Three thousand and six thousand. I did not know that. I thought legion meant a thousand. Well, let me ask. Maybe the Bible's lying to us. Let's find out what it would be. The scholars writing the study notes, not the actual Bible. But I just preached on this the other week. It must have been three four weeks ago. And when I was imitating, when I was reading the scripture, I said, we. Are legion, This says. A Roman legion, at his peak strength during the late Republican early Empire, typically had about four thousand to six thousand soldiers. Well, there you go. The exact number varied over time and by circumstances. There it is son of a gun, so many more than we think. And so when people talk about Allegian, they often mean the core Roman citizen soldiers, roughly five thousand men. It is a good ballpark. Wow, so you're talking somewhere around five thousand. So have you ever been asked the question over the years, how many angels do you believe there are? Because it does say it doesn't give us a total number in the Bible, correct, But it does say that when Satan rebelled against God, Lucifer, who was the chief angel beautiful by the way in appearance, that that one third of. The angel, the angel stars fell from Yeah, the. Stars fell from heaven, and so they went down to they were cast down to the earth, and they became known as demons. And so whether or not their countenance has changed, whether or not they're still beautiful, we don't really have much insight into that other than you know, uh, that Satan appears to Adam and Eve in the form of a snake or actually a serpent. Right, Well, so the question how many how many angels are there and how many demons are there? Yeah? Well, I mean this insight here if it's if their name is Legion, there's a good chance there's thousands in one man. Yeah, which means which means there's probably a surplus of other demons elsewhere. Right. Oh yeah, surely this guy didn't have all the demons, correct, How important is he? Because you know, angels and demons can't be everywhere at one time. Only God can be, which means then the devil has limited resources and he has to marshal his resource. It's why the Bible talks a lot in military terms when it talks about angels and demons, right, It's because the devil has to marshal his troops. He has to use his troops. There's spiritual warfare going on, and so he has to make sure that his troops are on the front lines of spiritual warfare. So the idea that this guy that the devil would just willy nilly, just go, hey, let's send five thousand into that guy, right, unless there's maybe millions of angels well and millions of demons. I have read in commentaries before that would suggest that there's millions. Yeah, I would think so, yeah, I would I would think that. Yeah, you know, you think about you know, the you know, I think I literally described I think it was yesterday. I was at lunch with one of our people at our staff, and I told them the story about how I was riding motorcycle and I went down at fifty five miles an hour and came up without a scratch, and so, you know, the ambulance came. I only had a half a helmet on. It was all tore up. It was literally just all scratched up. And I didn't have a single scratch on my entire body except for I had these leather gloves on and they had the knuckles were exposed, and this knuckle had a tiny little scratch on it where there was a little bit of blood. And I went down a fifty five on asphalt and I rolled like a piece of sausage for like forty yards. Which, by the way, that's an incredibly descriptive I know, piece of sausage. Yes, fabulous for me. Thank you. You enjoyed that. Yeah. Well, the people behind me who actually saw me fall said I was flailing. I was flailing. I just like kept on rolling over and over and over. And the ambulance comes and the guy who's you know, literally you know, shining the light in my eyes says, I've been an ambulance driver for thirteen years. He said, I'm a motorcycle owner myself. He said, how fast did you say you were going when you went down? I said fifty five miles an hour? And he said, I have never, never, ever, ever seen anybody who's went down at fifty five. He goes, I'm literally going to give you permission to get back on your bike and ride. He goes, you are completely fine, And so I don't know about you, but I'm like, that's divine. Yeah, So I mean you could try to explain it away another way. Bob says that we have angels that look over us and guard us God's people, that kind of thing. Yeah. Well, so I'm thinking, hey, if if I have an angel, right, and I've had an angel experience before, by the way, which is a whole other sermon altogether, I don't have time to tell that, but I believe it was an angel. Hebrew says, we attend angels unaware, right, and so I believe I've experienced that. That means there has to be a plethora of angels, Oh sure, at God's disposal. And then on top of that, you want to know how powerful the angels are in the Old Testament, there's one story one angel defeats seventy five thousand people one one angel. Right, So as you're trying to work out how powerful is the angel, God has a sign to taking care of you. Well, there you go, right, right, even if it happens to be the guy who's trying to earn his wings on. Oh stop, it's a wonderful life. Yeah, was Clarence Clarence yea, even if you got Clarence right, he's a pretty tough one, That's what I'm trying to say, compared to us. So then that's also because. By the way, Jimmy Stewart said, uh, figures you'd be the kind of angel I get, that's what he says. That's what he says to Clarence. That's so good. But anyways, that's not how angels happened. They're a distinct creation of nobody that comes an angel. That's right, And by the way, that's important. I would say, I honestly truly believe this. I believe the majority of our listeners, probably up to seventy five percent of every single Christian listening to this, probably don't differentiate the fact that angels are not humans they get wings because because it's become such a great part of our culture, largely in part yeah, yeah, what did I say, a great part. Yeah, it's a significant part of our culture, largely because of that movie. That movie has become world renow. Sure, and and so you see all the time people with cartoons, you know, cartoon people die and all of a sudden they have wings and they get Halo's and you know, you see comic book, you know, cartoons written about this, and every funeral that I go to, I bet you, goodness gracious, almost half of them refer to the person deceased as getting their wings and becoming angels. Oh right, I mean, I know, you know, my angel with me. Now, there's a lot of songs that talk about that. Yes, that's what people think, but it's not true. It's not angels. Angelic beings were distinctly created by God as a distinct creation different from humanity, that's right. And so people don't become angels, that's right. We are a spirit, we're a soul in the spirit, and in Christ, then you are alive. In Christ. The Bible says he gives us a new body. Right, Yeah, so my son and I and my wife. We were going to a wedding. I just did my nephew's wedding in Ohio last weekend, and we came across this old antique store in this small town township, and my wife loved it, of course, and they were playing k love and Christian music and they said God bless you and all these things in My wife was like, I want to own this store anyway. So we're in there and they had one of those old adding machines they kind of go toiing chi ching like this, and Stephen grabbed it and he goes chi ching and he goes, hey, look fellas, I'm giving out wings because that's that's what that's what Nick did behind the barn. So we should get into the story of this guy then. So this guy is absolutely tortured by his circumstances. I don't know what led to his possession, right, we don't know, but it's very significant his past. You can only imagine what would lead to being possessed by thousands of demons is incomprehensible. It's not just something. I don't believe that you just suddenly are possessed by demons. It's something that you have to kind of allow or open up in your life, right, whatever. Some people pursue or mess around with the mystic arts or you know, Luigi boards, you know. Voodoo begin is the beginning of the process, I think for people when they begin to open up themselves to this evil spiritual realm thing. Whatever happened. Anyways, he's howling at the moon and running naked and they can't change him. And he's living in. The tombs, in the graveyard, in the tomb. And it's just something happens in the graveyard. When Jesus shows up, he casts out these demons. And then the next phrase is that he was sitting there clothed in his right mind. When the people show up mad because the pigs are dead, right, right, they're terrified to this guy. They won't let him live in the city, right, they're in the village. They've tried to chain him up. But then the economy gets affected and that's more important than people, right, And they're mad at Jesus about the fact that the economy gets screwed up, and they're more concerned about their money than they are about this man. But he's sitting there and he's in his right mind. Now we know that this is a gentile town. This isn't a Jewish town because they're raising pigs. So it's interesting to me Jesus was doing miracles for non Jews just like he was doing for the Jews right in the situation. And that's a very significant moment. So yeah, and I also love the fact that Jesus tells the man. You know, the man has an idea, and he says, let me go with you, and Jesus says, no, I have a better plan for you. I have a different plan for you. Right. And oftentimes, you know, we we we ask God for certain things and we say God, I want this. Uh. And by the way, a lot of our requests are noble. They're good intention right. I mean, who wouldn't want to get on the boat and go with Jesus? Sure? Right, Hey, it could be your witness. I'm going to go into full time ministry with you, Jesus. Yes, And he says, no, your greatest ministry is with your family, right yeah. With your friends, where you have the reputation, where you have influence. Go tell people and tell them who you used to be because people have heard of him, right and and and so yeah, he has an idea and Jesus has a different idea. And I think that sometimes in our lives we do the same thing. We say, well, God, I want to do this, or I want to become this, or I want to you know, take this step in my life. And sometimes God whispers us, you know, to us, or you know, closes the door and opens another window kind of a thing where it's it's like, you know, God has a different idea, and it's still you know, a great idea. In fact, it's a better idea because it's God's idea. And so sometimes we have to accept the fact that God has a different course for us than we want for ourselves. Right right, Yeah, powerful there. Are people who come and say, I want to be a preacher like you, but they don't have they don't have the gift of teaching. Yeah, But to be clear, almost always then the other course God has is all about impact too, that's right, even though he couldn't see it. So go back to your family and tell them everything God has done for you. It's not like just go back home, get your job and you know, live your life. It's go back now and leverage what I've done. God's not going to waste the hurt in your life. He's not going to waste your story. Your story is God's story in your life. So now go back and tell people what Jesus has done for you. That's what he's saying. That's right, it's powerful. That's really good. Okay. Well, hey, that's all of our time, so we will see you next time, hopefully on the Bible. Guys,