A Man Healed And Restored

What Jesus Does When We Encounter Him:

A Man Healed and Restored

Reading: Luke 8: 26-39

The account in our Bible reading this morning ls also recorded in Matt 8: 28-34 and in Mark 5: 1-20. Mark says that the man who terrorised others was also physically abusing himself. Matthew adds there were actually two men who were demon possessed, both so violent that no one dared to pass that way.

This encounter with Jesus was and is challenging in many respects. It was challenging to the people of the region who, as a result of what happened, were so overcome with fear that they asked Jesus to leave straight away. It must certainly have been challenging to the farmers who lost their pigs in the lake – about 5000 according to Mark. It was even challenging to the man concerned, whom we are told begged to be able to leave that place with Jesus, but was told instead to stay, go home, and share his story with his neighbours. It is challenging to the opinionated of our increasingly secular society, who scoff at the possibility of the supernatural, and of demonic activity in particular. And I suspect it is challenging to most of us, raising the question of what we would do if faced with a similar situation. It is easy for us to adopt a cosy but false theological position, which holds that this occurred years ago, and was relevant specifically to Jesus’ ministry, but that nowadays things are different, and such things are not part of our experience or ministry.

But one truth shines through clearly, in spite of our questions and uncertainties. This man in such extreme distress and loneliness, abusing both himself and others, violent and uncontrollable, ended up sitting willingly at the feet of Jesus, fully clothed and in his right mind. And there are many today who daily struggle to cope with disorders of one kind or another, who likewise could be set free by the healing power of Jesus.

The Scripture is clear that the immediate reason for this man’s distress was demonic activity, controlling his mind and behaviour. Suggestions that in practice he was merely suffering from a serious mental disorder don’t stand up to close scrutiny. Jesus had a conversation with these demons; he ordered them to leave the man; he allowed them to enter a large herd of pigs; and the pigs then became deranged and drowned in the lake. These facts are recorded faithfully by all three Synoptic Gospel writers.

Jesus’ words and actions clearly confirmed that possession by evil spirits was the immediate cause of the man’s distress. We are given no hint as to how he ended up in this state. Actually in focussing on the cause we might be in danger of falling into the same trap as the disciples, who when confronted with a blind man asked Jesus whether the sins of the man or his parents had caused the blindness. That’s not the issue, said Jesus. The key question is, how can God be glorified through this?

Nevertheless it is appropriate to ask how it could be that the power of the evil one could so overwhelm a person. And in particular, could this happen to you or me. The first thing to note is that demons, or fallen angels, do not have the power to seize control of anyone they choose. Peter advises us that our “enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5: 8,9). He says we can and must resist him, standing firm in the faith. If we resist him the devil cannot have his way. Paul tells us similarly not to give the devil a foothold by opening ourselves up to evil thoughts and behaviour (Eph 4: 27). Without a foothold the devil cannot break in. That the evil one is seeking to destroy any and every one of us is plain. That he cannot do so without first enticing us to follow him into paths of evil is also clear.

The second thing to note is that those who put their faith in Jesus are protected by God’s power. We pray “deliver us from evil” and this is precisely what He does. Peter says that we “are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet 1: 5). Jesus said that no one will snatch his sheep from his hand, nor indeed from his Father’s hand. As we listen to his voice and follow him we are kept safe and secure (John 10: 27-29).

Most of us do not frequently, if ever, encounter situations of the kind described in our reading. I suspect that this is because most in our society, even if they do not follow Christ, still resist evil and seek to live righteously. The enemy is not given the free reign he would like. Nevertheless those opportunities he does have he seizes, so often with devastating effect, as our news media sadly records day after day.

As I briefly mentioned before, a minority of people do suffer from personality disorders. Some, such as Dissociative Identity Disorder, may result in them manifesting different identities or personality states. In many of these cases there is also an accompanying history of severe childhood trauma. The medical profession continues to seek to understand such conditions and provide effective care and treatment, and we need to support them in this and pray for them regularly. In the past sometimes considerable harm has been done by those who, without understanding, have labelled such conditions as demon possession.

And this then raises the question, how do we gain understanding, and how do we tell the difference? For someone who needs our prayer and support, how do we know what the true problem is, and what is needed to help them through it?

To answer this we need to first consider the question, how did Jesus know?

Well, some may answer, Jesus was God, wasn’t he. Surely he knew all things. But that answer reveals a deep misunderstanding of the meaning of the incarnation. John tells us that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). And then he said “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1: 14). In the words of the familiar Christmas carol, “Clothed in flesh the Godhead see, hail the incarnate deity.”

What did it mean, then, for God to be clothed in flesh? Paul tells us in Phil 2: 5-8 that Jesus did not cling on to equality with God, but adopted the nature of a servant and became obedient, even to the point of death. God is sovereign and almighty; He does not obey anyone. But Jesus voluntarily took on the form of an obedient servant. The Bible tells us that God neither slumbers nor sleeps (Ps 121:4); but Jesus needed to sleep (Matt 8:23). The Bible tells us that there is nothing too hard for God (Jer 32: 17); but Jesus couldn’t carry his own cross. The Bible says God knows all things (Ps 147:5); but Jesus said he himself did not know the day or hour when this age will end (Matt 24: 36). He did not cling on to equality with God but took on a different nature – the nature of a servant.

There is a mystery in the incarnation that I doubt whether any of us will fully understand in this life. Heb 2:17 says that he had to be made like us, fully human in every way. And in that place of being fully human in every way he lived on earth, carried out his ministry, and submitted himself finally to death on the cross for us.

This is what he said was the fundamental principal behind all he said and did.

“Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” (John 5:19)

“For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken.” (John 12: 49)

So here is the answer to our question, how did Jesus know what was wrong with this distressed man in our reading? He saw what his Father wanted to do; he heard what his Father was saying; he spoke the words of deliverance that the Father taught him. Nothing more; nothing less.

And what about our first question; for someone who needs our prayer and support, how do we know what the problem really is, and what is needed to help them through it? And the answer is, the same way that Jesus did.

He said, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you; and with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (John 20: 21-22).

When praying to his Father just before his passion Jesus said, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17: 20-21)

That essential oneness that Jesus had with his Father, which guided and sustained him throughout his ministry, is what he asked his Father to give to us who have believed because of the message of those first disciples. Serving and praying together, experiencing oneness with the Father and the Son, hearing what God is saying, seeing what He wants to do, and speaking out the words of deliverance He commands.

When our former Rector Ian Ferguson set up our church’s Prayer Ministry team it was these principles in particular that he sought to follow. As Jesus said he could do nothing by himself, so we understand we can do nothing by ourselves. As Jesus did not speak his own words, but those the Father gave him, so when we pray for others we don’t bring our own wisdom, understanding or advice, but listen for what God is saying. As Jesus did only what he saw the Father doing, so we seek to understand what God wants to do and then pray together for this to happen. Prayer ministry on a Sunday morning is just one small way that we seek together to fulfil Jesus’ instruction when he said, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And over the years God has blessed many through this ministry. I would encourage us all, not just to seek prayer ministry as often as needed, but also to consider joining this team of those who all say, “We can do nothing by ourselves, but it is such a privilege to share in what God is doing.”

I want to finish this talk by showing you a video prepared by our Prayer Ministry team. If you are not familiar with this ministry, or have not received prayer ministry before, it should help you understand it better.