Author: Bill Hall

Luke 8:33 “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.”

   The demons hoped to bring fear to the hearts of those who lived in that area. That is all they would ever do, deal in fear. That is the currency of the evil one, fear. And Jesus knew what they were going to do. He knew they would destroy those pigs. And He knew it would cause the people living in that area to ask Him to leave. But, He already had a plan. The demonic forces had already forgotten the man they had been forced out of. The devil’s crowd will always underestimate what God can do with a man transformed by Christ.

   Heavenly Father, I love You! You are never worried. You always have everything under control. I will say with all of my heart, You are my God! You alone may decide the fate of Your world. You alone hold the tomorrows in Your hands. Give me Christ and I have all, for You have made Yourself available to me. I can know You, and that is enough for me. You alone have the right to stop my life, and You alone have the power to keep it going. I will live to love You forever! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 8:32 “A large herd of pigs was there, feeding on the hillside. The demons begged Him to permit them to enter the pigs, and He gave them permission.”

   This is really a great picture for us of the way God and the devil interact all of the time. First, demonic forces have no choice but to obey anything and everything that Jesus says. The demons we see here were very much begging, knowing that was their only recourse. Secondly, the devil and his minions, no matter how hopeless may be their situation, will always seek to work evil. And why? This is their nature. They automatically do whatever they think will be the most dishonoring to Almighty God, even if what they attempt fails dismally.
   Third, and finally, keep in mind that God works everything out for His glory. He is not a weak, anemic old man crouched in a throne somewhere trying to keep it all together. He is an ever consuming fire of bright and irresistible power. He is the one who lit stars hundreds of times the size of our sun. He is the one who has made whole galaxies that we have yet to see. He is not worried, scared, nervous, or anything of the kind.

   Heavenly Father, as we celebrate Easter we are reminded today more than any other of Your POWER. All that anyone might ever attempt to do against You all told would amount to little more than a single drop of water attempting to extinguish thousands of acres of blazing forest fires. And even that is inaccurate, for there is no possibility to express any exact comparison. It is pointless to try. We can rest this morning in Christ because Your Son has Triumphed Gloriously making a mockery of the evil one and all of his tricks. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 8:31 “And they begged Him not to banish them to the abyss.”

   This is where we see the true position of the forces of evil in relation to Christ. They grovel and beg upon Him to not do what He could and banish them. But, ultimately this is to be the destiny of these and all other minions of the devil. Theirs is an existence without hope, and their doom is completely certain. They were begging only for a reprieve, though they would have been reluctant to admit that.

   Heavenly Father, thank You for our great Champion. The Lord Jesus has made a mockery of the devil and all his followers. Only Christ may decide the fate of this world. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 8:30 “What is your name?” Jesus asked him. “Legion,” he said– because many demons had entered him.

   Why would Jesus ask this? Why give the demonic world an inch? What was the purpose here? Well, for one thing, the devil and his forces like to be shrouded in darkness. They don’t want to be brought to light. They need to be scary, not factually understood. But, also, Jesus reveals here what He was doing. He wasn’t just casting out a demon. No, He was ordering a hoard of demonic forces to leave this region. And the ‘Legion’ had no choice.

   Heavenly Father, help us always to understand that the problems we have with the powers of darkness are largely due to deception and trickery rather than power and influence. You are truly powerful, the devil is just a snake in the grass as he has always been. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 8:29 “For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was guarded, bound by chains and shackles, he would snap the restraints and be driven by the demon into deserted places.”

   This passage provides an interesting opportunity. Jesus had commanded the demons to depart already. Here we get to see the interchange that follows. This is really a microcosm of the greater conflict. Satan is already defeated. His doom is sure and final. There is not a thing he can do to stop it. And yet, like a bratty child he will be drug away kicking and screaming.
   The verse here describes what the demons had done with this man. The idea here is that Luke is showing that no human power could stand against the demonic influence behind this man. But, Jesus is so much more than any human power could ever be.

   Heavenly Father, we know that You are the winner. We will trust You while the powers of darkness tremble and fade! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 8:28 “When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and said in a loud voice, “What do You have to do with me, Jesus, You Son of the Most High God? I beg You, don’t torment me!”

   The forces of darkness are not well understood. On one hand that is a good thing. Delving too deeply into demonology is not only dangerous, but useless. However, on the other hand, evil is not understood as well as it should be by most because good is not understood as well as it should be by most. A proper understanding of the good, will aid in perception about evil.
   This is not widely accepted, but it is true. You don’t have to be a master of evil to really know evil. In fact, those who might call themselves lords of the darkness really have no idea what they are playing with. Scripture makes it clear that those who really understand the operations of the dark ones are those who are well acquainted with the light. Those who belong to Christ and cling close to Him have much more perception concerning evil than anyone else.
   The demonic forces here did what most would not expect them to do. They proclaimed that Jesus was the Son of the Most High. Why? Why would they do this? Wouldn’t that be counterproductive? Yes and no. I say yes because they really had no choice but to submit to the Lord Jesus. So in that since they had no hope of doing anything beneficial to their cause. But no because this was still consistent with their mission. If they recognized Him though on the surface it would seem to bring glory to Him, it actually brought glory to them.
   How so? The answer is a very important concept to grasp. God cannot truly be glorified by anyone without His involvement. For instance, if a person who is antagonistic to God praises Him that does not directly bring Him glory. Now, indirectly, everything brings Him glory one way or the other. That is because He is so powerful that He can work out even the bad to turn out for the good. But, the proper way to bring Him praise and glory is to do it in accordance with His will. Thus, this demonic personality did not glorify Jesus, at least not willingly.
   What about the boon the demons ask about torment? What was their purpose? Were they just afraid? So, once again we have to understand what is going on here. The forces of darkness are ALWAYS afraid. Don’t forget that. They exist in absolute dread of The One Who Is, our God, the True and Living One. The devil himself has never yet for one moment stopped being absolutely scared half out of his mind. He is insane with fear. Everything he does is motivated by it. And, he cannot, nor will he ever, stop.
   These dark ones asked Jesus not to torment them for two reasons. First, they knew He could do much more that torment them! They were not completely sure of His intentions, but they knew His capabilities. The devil himself, I am convinced, did not fully grasp the magnitude of what Christ was about to accomplish. And why, because he couldn’t actually conceive of anything that loving or beautiful. Second, the demons hoped to cast a bad light upon Christ. To give the picture of Jesus vexing this personality implied a limitation in Christ. He needs not to test or try the forces of darkness. He needs only to command and they must obey. Much like their master, they were subtly tempting Christ. But, He wasn’t about to fall for it.
   Always remember one very important thing. The devil is a showman. And all of his minions are as well. Their most diabolical schemes will never follow the line of our expectations. This is why we need to ready the panoply of God and stand firm in resistance.

   Heavenly Father, You are so powerful that all that this world and its worst cannot even be compared with Your little finger! You are so great and wise and good, that the most studied in the arts of evil are completely caught off guard by things that the least of Your children understand readily. You are the Great and Mighty God of the Universe! You alone are able to understand the deep things of this creation of Yours. Only You can truly conceive of anything outside of it. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 8:27 “When He got out on land, a demon-possessed man from the town met Him. For a long time he had worn no clothes and did not stay in a house but in the tombs.”

   It is unclear why this man came to meet Jesus. Did the demonic forces in him really wish to see Jesus? Or was the man somehow in control and wanted to see Him in hopes that he would be freed? The former is more likely. The devil and his minions do not always act as we might expect. They are sly, and spend all their time thinking of evil.
   If the demons stayed away, some might think they were afraid of Jesus. If the demons met Him and He didn’t drive them out, they would be seen as stronger. Of course there was always the chance that He would prevail. But this possibility didn’t give them pause. Why? Because it never keeps the devil from doing things either. In his way of thinking, it is a risk. But, he will not run from the attempt.
   As we will see, though these demonic forces felt it best to engage their enemy, that didn’t mean they weren’t scared. And it didn’t mean that they really thought they would prevail either. They came simply because that is consistent with the way of the wicked. They are, one way or another, drawn to their own doom.
   Indeed, this was especially true of this particular group. They were in the propaganda business. This nude dude in the tombs had quite a reputation in the area, and had something of a following from the standpoint of the sale of fear. That is the business of the devil, fear and death.

   Heavenly Father, thank You for life! Thank You for love! Thank You for a sound mind! You alone can give us clarity in this world. Everywhere else we find confusion, fear, deceit, indecency, and corruption. Help us to cast out the deeds and thoughts of darkness and embrace Your light. You are the One Who knows everything. You understand things that the powers of this world can’t even dream of in their wildest imagination. You are All Powerful! Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 8:26 ” Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee.”

   As we see in the passage following, Jesus had a very specific ministry to this group of people. Indeed the Gadarenes serve as an example of how the whole world is with Christ. He comes to their area and does something that absolutely nobody else can do. And then He is pushed away. People are not sure what to do with Him, and so they let fear override and push Him out.

   Heavenly Father, help us not to serve fear, but love and truth. Give us a mind and heart full of Your Spirit! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 8:25 “But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”

   The translation here is intriguing. Jesus simply asks where their faith has gotten to. Its almost like saying, where is your anchor, or where is your life-jacket, or where is your boat? He says it like it is one of the things they would have automatically brought along with them. He says it like it should be a forgone conclusion.
   But so often it is not. In fact faith tends to be our last consideration, rather than our first. We will think we are very prepared for an adventure without having yet prepared our faith at all. We will journey onward without prayer, without a focus on Christ, without making trust in the Lord our foundation at the outset.
   The disciples were surely amazed. And they understood that this miracle had a special significance. People just didn’t command the weather like that. Even Elijah had to pray fervently to accomplish the drought in the time of his ministry. Joshua asked for the sun to be stilled. But these are examples of men asking God to do these signs. Jesus simply directly commanded the weather as if it was the most natural thing in all the world that it would instantly obey Him. And indeed, it is.

   Heavenly Father, Jesus is Lord of all! Thank You for Him! He is the answer to every question I have. You have shown us Yourself in Him. All praise be to You forever and ever! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 8:24 “And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm.”

   The disciples felt Jesus needed to know what was going on. They didn’t want Him to sleep right up to the moment of greatest peril. I wonder if any of them had a fleeting thought ‘if He is Who He says He is, why doesn’t He wake up’ since He would know what was going on?
   But, as they soon discovered, He knew exactly what was going on. Indeed, they couldn’t have sunk without Him waking. He would be sure to solve the problem in any case. But, their eagerness to wake Him showed the strength of their faith, which was fairly weak.

   Heavenly Father, You are worthy of our most confident trust. Yet so often we trust You with our words, but miss the mark with our actions. We think we need to manage everything instead of letting You handle it. You are the One Who knows everything, we can depend upon that! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.