Jesus versus demons
This week is on Luke 8:27-33:
These verses are a kind of reality check for exorcism scenes you see in movies. They're interesting because they show more about Jesus, especially in the face of the suffering and affliction of others. He encounters a man who is afflicted by demons. Not missing a chance to try to steal attention away from God, the demons create a public spectacle. Jesus isn't worried about it.
The interesting thing is that when he tells the demons to leave, they argue with him. They beg and plead with him not to torture them. That's an interesting request, because Jesus' authority isn't built on shame and humiliation. That's Satan's kingdom. Having lived in Satan's kingdom for so long, the demons assumed the kingdom of God was the same way. Nope. But Jesus still isn't worried about it.
The demons ask permission to choose where to go when they're sent out of the possessed man, and Jesus allows it. "omg he's making concessions to Satan!" Nope. It doesn't matter where they go. He loves the man and wants him to be free. Who cares about pigs? The Jews weren't supposed to be raising them anyway. They're irrelevant, as is public opinion.
Satan is about control. He has to be seen calling the shots, doling out punishments, being admired and worshiped by all. Satan worries about what the public might think. Satan gets enraged if people don't do things according to his model of how they should be. Not Jesus. Jesus will always be the winning team. Who cares if people are upset because they lost their pig revenues? Who cares how the man is set free? Jesus wins and the man is free!
People like to make a big spectacle out of exorcisms. They've got the cross held against the person's forehead, or holy oil, or a Bible. They're yelling and having some long conversation with the lying demon. Jesus isn't doing any of that. His authority is raw and uncontested. He doesn't need props. He's not in a hurry. He doesn't lose tithe dollars if people don't see him winning. His act of mercy is no different from him helping a guy out of a ditch, healing a wound, forgiving a sin, paying a bill, or any of the other acts of grace Jesus does for people. It's love, not a performance.
People also like to condemn people who have demons. They treat demonized people as though they had a kind of spiritual syphilis, the implication being that the person must have been dirty and morally compromised to get demonized. "So and so has demons, haha." They don't take Jesus' perspective, which sees the victim's suffering, not what they may or may not have done to get there. Jesus doesn't condemn the man, or shame him in front of the crowd. He simply sets him free.
And what a victory it was! The man got to enjoy a normal lifestyle, finally, after years of isolation, shame, and suffering. He got instant life skills and a place in his community. The whole point of things like exorcisms is to express God's love for people using the power delegated to us. If it's fame-focused, or power-focused, or thrill-focused, and not love-focused, it's not advancing God's kingdom as much as it is our own. The goal isn't to fight the forces of darkness like some Dungeons and Dragons character, but to advance God's kingdom through the same love he showed to us.
When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.
Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.
A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission. When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
These verses are a kind of reality check for exorcism scenes you see in movies. They're interesting because they show more about Jesus, especially in the face of the suffering and affliction of others. He encounters a man who is afflicted by demons. Not missing a chance to try to steal attention away from God, the demons create a public spectacle. Jesus isn't worried about it.
The interesting thing is that when he tells the demons to leave, they argue with him. They beg and plead with him not to torture them. That's an interesting request, because Jesus' authority isn't built on shame and humiliation. That's Satan's kingdom. Having lived in Satan's kingdom for so long, the demons assumed the kingdom of God was the same way. Nope. But Jesus still isn't worried about it.
The demons ask permission to choose where to go when they're sent out of the possessed man, and Jesus allows it. "omg he's making concessions to Satan!" Nope. It doesn't matter where they go. He loves the man and wants him to be free. Who cares about pigs? The Jews weren't supposed to be raising them anyway. They're irrelevant, as is public opinion.
Satan is about control. He has to be seen calling the shots, doling out punishments, being admired and worshiped by all. Satan worries about what the public might think. Satan gets enraged if people don't do things according to his model of how they should be. Not Jesus. Jesus will always be the winning team. Who cares if people are upset because they lost their pig revenues? Who cares how the man is set free? Jesus wins and the man is free!
People like to make a big spectacle out of exorcisms. They've got the cross held against the person's forehead, or holy oil, or a Bible. They're yelling and having some long conversation with the lying demon. Jesus isn't doing any of that. His authority is raw and uncontested. He doesn't need props. He's not in a hurry. He doesn't lose tithe dollars if people don't see him winning. His act of mercy is no different from him helping a guy out of a ditch, healing a wound, forgiving a sin, paying a bill, or any of the other acts of grace Jesus does for people. It's love, not a performance.
People also like to condemn people who have demons. They treat demonized people as though they had a kind of spiritual syphilis, the implication being that the person must have been dirty and morally compromised to get demonized. "So and so has demons, haha." They don't take Jesus' perspective, which sees the victim's suffering, not what they may or may not have done to get there. Jesus doesn't condemn the man, or shame him in front of the crowd. He simply sets him free.
And what a victory it was! The man got to enjoy a normal lifestyle, finally, after years of isolation, shame, and suffering. He got instant life skills and a place in his community. The whole point of things like exorcisms is to express God's love for people using the power delegated to us. If it's fame-focused, or power-focused, or thrill-focused, and not love-focused, it's not advancing God's kingdom as much as it is our own. The goal isn't to fight the forces of darkness like some Dungeons and Dragons character, but to advance God's kingdom through the same love he showed to us.
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