See the kindness Jesus has for you.

 

Sermon for Pentecost 2, June 22, 2025

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.  Amen.

Luke 8:26-39  ²⁶They sailed down to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across from Galilee.  ²⁷When Jesus stepped ashore, a man from the town met him.  He was possessed by demons and for a long time had not worn any clothes.  He did not live in a house but in the tombs.  ²⁸When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before him, and said with a loud voice, “What do I have to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?  I beg you, don’t torment me!”  ²⁹For Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.  In fact, the unclean spirit had seized him many times.  He was kept under guard, and although he was bound with chains and shackles, he would break the restraints and was driven by the demon into deserted places.  ³⁰Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”  He said, “Legion,” because many demons had gone into him.  ³¹They were begging Jesus that he would not order them to go into the abyss.  ³²A herd of many pigs was feeding there on the mountain.  The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission.  ³³The demons went out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.  ³⁴When those who were feeding the pigs saw what happened, they ran away and reported it in the town and in the countryside.  ³⁵People went out to see what had happened.  They came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet.  He was clothed and in his right mind, and the people were afraid.  ³⁶Those who saw it told them how the demon-possessed man was saved.  ³⁷The whole crowd of people from the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were gripped with great fear.  As Jesus got into the boat and started back, ³⁸the man from whom the demons had gone out begged to be with him.  But Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹“Return to your home and tell how much God has done for you.”  Then he went through the whole town proclaiming what Jesus had done for him. (EHV)

See the kindness Jesus has for you.

Dear fellow redeemed,

            As we consider the text before us, I believe we see both real history and present reality.  We see what Jesus did for others as He walked this earth, and we See the kindness Jesus has for you.

While Jesus travelled around the countryside, proclaiming the Good News of His coming to earth to deliver mankind from the devil’s control, He came to the east side of the Sea of Galilee, and there, He met a man who had been possessed by numerous demons.  That poor man’s life had been literally a living hell.  We can only imagine the tortures the devil’s hoards had laid upon him.  All relationships with family, friends, and neighbors had been destroyed.  It is likely that he was both feared and hated for the wretched things he had done under the demons’ control and the circumstances in which he was forced to live. 

Now, while we generally assume that demon possession is a thing of the past, does it not spark a question in our minds when we see previously rational people suddenly commit horrible crimes?  Is there a possibility that Satan has taken control when faith in Christ has grown weak or been replaced by some other ideology, leading to a denial of reality, or the desire for misguided justice for imagined offenses?  I doubt we can answer those questions with certainty, but we know that the man in our text was possessed by multitudes of Satan’s worst, and no other help could be found for him or to protect those who had suffered along with him.  Furthermore, this example shows that the demons actively intend only our destruction and death.

On the other hand, you and I can be comforted because we see how Jesus released this afflicted man from his spiritual prison.  In reality, Jesus has also done that for you and me.  You see, though the world often assumes that we are born in a neutral state and sin is something learned, the Bible makes it clear that we enter this life immersed in the devil’s bondage because of the sin infection we inherit from our parents.  Without God’s intervention in our lives here on earth, that bondage would remain permanent even unto eternity.  However, God didn’t leave us in that condition. 

We truly see God’s kindness and love for us in that He sent His Son, Jesus, to rectify the condition we were born in.  Jesus was in Judea and Galilee to fulfill promises made by God throughout previous history.  Even by making this journey, Jesus was showing us what He is willing to do to save sinners like you and me.  Time and again, we read in the Bible of how Jesus went out of His way to be in position to help some afflicted individual.  Again, we see His kindness in our lives in that God brought us into the world through parents who loved us enough to see that we learned of God’s love and Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins.  We were born in a place where the Gospel can be proclaimed and we can be taught the basics of God’s Word, a place where we can worship freely the One who loved us enough to live holiness for us and sacrifice Himself to redeem us from our slavery in Satan’s rebellion.

Jesus’ confrontation with the demon-possessed man also shows us a bit of the future.  By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Scriptures tell us that “God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11)  Though they severely tortured and abused that helpless man, those demons recognized Jesus, and even while rejecting His authority, they could not stop themselves from falling before Him in honor of His holy presence.  Even the demons had to confess the truth as they pleaded with Jesus, “What do I have to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?  I beg you, don’t torment me!”  Those devils already knew their everlasting destination.  Hell was prepared for Satan and his angels.  They know what end is in store for them, because God’s authority and judgment will not be denied by angel, demon, nor any man.

The person, who rejects Jesus or refuses to trust in Him for forgiveness and salvation, should take heed of this warning.  At the end of days, there will be no relief and no solace for God’s enemies, and those who reject Him here on earth will spend eternity knowing that Jesus gave His life to save them, too, but because of their unbelief they will not receive any inheritance of joy or peace. 

Yet, Jesus didn’t enter the world as a Babe in the manger to bring judgment on the world, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:17) 

Sometimes, people are coerced into fearing Jesus because He will return to judge the world.  However, that is the devil’s lying strategy to get people away from the Savior who loves them.  We see Christ’s love for souls displayed in our text.  Jesus didn’t turn this demon-possessed man away because of his sin, nor because of his depraved and wretched condition.  Only the demons were driven away.

Now, it might also strike you as somewhat odd that Jesus reacted to the crowds who feared Him by honoring their plea that He go away.  Here, we see that people who don’t yet know Jesus naturally fear His divine power and judgment.  However, even as Jesus gave them time apart from Him, He didn’t abandon them to the devil’s schemes.  Notice the healed man’s plea.  After the demons were driven away, and the man was restored to life—body and soul, he naturally wanted to be with Jesus for the rest of his life (and into eternity as well).  Still, in Jesus’ command for the man to return to his house and proclaim what Jesus had done for him, we See the kindness Jesus has for you.

Many a Christian believes, in fact, most Christian believers feel a bit like St. Paul when he writes, “I am pulled in two directions, because I have the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.  But, it is more necessary for your sake that I remain in the flesh.” (Philippians 1:23-24)  That restored man wanted to remain with Jesus forever, but because his friends and neighbors needed to learn about the healing he had received and the forgiveness and salvation Jesus offers to all people, what they truly needed was not for Jesus to depart, nor for the healed man to leave with Jesus, but that they hear the Good News of what Jesus did to rescue that man and many others from everlasting torture in the devil’s eternal prison.

You and I also have a purpose in this life.  God allows us to remain in this world, and in fact, for the world to continue to exist, so that His Word may be proclaimed to sinners, both those merely misled in all sorts of falsity, and to those who are truly defiant against God, because “God our Savior, … wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (Timothy 2:3-4)

Now, just as Jesus delivered that poor man from the devil’s tortures, so through the baptism Jesus instituted, you and I were rescued from eternal condemnation and death.  Through the Good News of all Jesus has done to save sinners and return them into God’s everlasting care, we were dressed in righteousness and peace.  By the power of the Gospel, the demons are driven away and will be kept away until that final day Jesus returns to gather the elect from every nation and deliver them into His mansions of glory, but on that same day, He will deliver into permanent exile all those who follow the devil’s schemes. 

Dear friends, like that man healed from demon-possession, God leaves us in this world, for a time, so that we can tell others of the love He has shown us.  He doesn’t tell us that to be His witnesses we must know everything about Him.  Instead, we can simply “tell how much God has done for you.”  This is all Jesus asks of those whom He heals.  Sometime later, Jesus returned to that region and the people, who here begged Him to leave, brought all their sick and hurting to Him for healing and life.  Thus, we see that like that man healed of demon possession, it is through our testimony of Jesus’ love and care for sinners that we will lead many other endangered souls to See the kindness Jesus has for you, for me, and for them.  Amen.

The Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.  Amen.