Sunday, August 4, 2013

"Deliverance and Fear"

or: "Where Are We Going?"

Luke 8:26-39: Jesus saves a man afflicted by demons

• Pull out your scriptures…
Last week Jesus, Master over Storm. 
Jesus is worthy of praise. I want him in my boat.
This week, Master over Demons.

• In the boat last week, Where are we going?
Through the storm and into beyond. Beyond the Sea of Galilee (SoG).
Into the Gerasenes’ land.

Sounds straight-forward enough.

Until you realize that the town of Gerasa (of the Gerasenes) was 30 miles SE of the SoG. That’s from here to Carlisle, or the other side of Lancaster, or maybe Pottsville. And the SoG is only 5 miles wide (that’s from here to the HMC).

Hm. Well, in Matthew this story takes place in the region of the Gadarenes…And what do you know, there’s a city of Gadara, only 5 miles SE of the SoG.

But in verse 33 the herd of pigs rushes off a cliff into the lake, so we can’t be five miles away… (also verse 27, as soon as they got out of the boat…)

Maybe where we are isn’t really necessary, except that we’ve gone into an area outside of Galilee… we’re outside where Jews live.

• So Where are we going? We’re going into unclean territory. It’s beyond the region of the Jews. If you have a nut allergy and need to be in nut-free zones, well, you may be entering into a territory that is unknown at best and fatally hazardous at worst. If you’re Jewish and you need to be in controlled environments where you know you can be clean, well, you’re leaving that. 
In fact, not only are we going into Gentile territory, we’re going into a cemetery. More uncleanness, you can’t be exposed to dead bodies… 
And to add insult to injury, we’re not just in a Gentile cemetery, there are PIGS here. Major no-no for Jews. Luke is setting up all kinds of warning flags here: Jews don’t belong! Unclean!

• But ya know, it’s okay, because we’re with the Master. We’re with Jesus, Immanuel, God-With-Us, and we read last week how if you’re going through a storm but you’re with Jesus, it’s okay. Jesus accompanies us through fearful situations. Jesus is Master over Storms, and Jesus can handle uncleanness.

The man possessed by demons approaches Jesus immediately and Jesus frees the man – in a way, the demons had offered the man a false freedom, the appearance of freedom: because of the violent strength of the demons, people had bound the man with chains, but the demons overpowered the chains, “freeing” the man.

Jesus, however, offers real freedom, true freedom. Not only is the man free from demon possession, he’s now able to participate in society again. In fact, look at the end of verse 36. Common English Bible says “the man who had been delivered.” NIV says “cured,” NRSV says “healed.” The word in Greek is sozo, and it’s the same word at the end of Romans 10:9… (anybody? If you confess with your lips that J is L and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead… you will be saved.” Sozo.

So this is a story of salvation. This demon-possessed man who lived among tombs and pigs is saved by Jesus. He doesn’t earn his salvation, he receives it, and it is between him and Jesus.

And what’s the man’s response to the salvation Jesus gave him? We see him seated at Jesus’ feet, learning from him, desiring to follow Jesus. And now this new disciple becomes apostle, because Jesus sends him to his home town to tell how God had saved him.

• So Where are we again? In a foreign cemetery, having just witnessed a man being saved, and everyone from the whole region comes to see – here’s a chance to witness! Here’s a chance to tell others about Jesus – the whole region has to see, and the whole region asks Jesus to leave.

They’re afraid. Afraid of this never-before-seen display of power that both healed (saved) a man and then overcame a herd of swine. The drama catches the attention of the whole town. They can’t understand it, they can’t fathom it, they can scarcely comprehend it. They’re afraid of the power of Jesus – who knows what Jesus’ power could do? – and they ask him to leave.

And so Jesus leaves. But he leaves a witness. The people already know what has happened (everyone is there), but Jesus commissions a witness. 
Tell the story of what God has done for you. Keep telling it. 
Jesus would work in the beyond, 
discipleship happens, 
and we see Jesus’ commission to share your story with folks where you are, regardless of storms or demons or fear.

• So where are we going?  We’re going with Jesus, literally, when we celebrate Communion…


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