The Gospel of Nobodies – The Demon Possessed*
Sycamore Creek Church
February 28/29, 2016
Tom Arthur
Peace friends! Today we continue a series looking at the people that Jesus paid attention to in the book of Luke. Luke’s Gospel paints a picture of Jesus’ concern for the nobodies, those pushed to the edge of society. Luke opens his story talking to his literary patron saying:
I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed.
~Luke 1:3-4 NRSV
Luke’s literary patron, Theophilus, was addressed as the “Most Excellent.” This suggests that Theophilus was “somebody” in his day. He probably had some money, means, and influence. Luke wrote the story of Jesus’ life so that the “nobodies” of Theophilus’ day knew they were “somebodies” and that the “somebodies” needed to use their resources to care for the “nobodies” so that the “nobodies” knew that they were “somebody” to God. Because in Jesus Christ there is neither nobody nor somebody. Today we’re looking at the “nobodies” who were demon possessed.
Demon possession is a little odd for us moderns. But in biblical times it was the catchall diagnosis for anything that was unknown. It reminds me a little of my diagnosis earlier in life of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. After lots of tests the doctors told me, “It’s not ulcers, not stomach cancer, and not Crohn’s. It’s IBS.” “What’s IBS?” I asked. “We don’t really know. It’s just not one of the really bad ones.”
In Jesus’ day, “demons” were mischievous, irritating, or unexplained illnesses. Jesus didn’t say, “Your brain has a cerebral cortex and there are neurons and serotonin and dopamine…” But when we read about the cases of demon possession today most of us think it sounds a lot like mental illnesses: depression, anxiety, multiple personality disorder, or schizophrenia. In Jesus’ day priests or doctors would be called upon to cast out these demons. The book of Tobit (a book written a little before the time of Jesus) describes a process for casting out a demon: take a dead stinky fish and pull out the heart and burn it. The horrible smell will drive out the demons. If you knew the name of the demon had the power of the demon and could cast it out.
Today most of us want to know, are demons real or are they a “personification” of our darker psyche? Are these real spiritual entities or maladies or mental illnesses? Yes. All of the above. The demonic can be a real person or entity, but what might look like a demon can also be the “dark side of our psyche.” Today we explore a story of Jesus encountering a demon possessed man. Let’s see what Jesus does.
One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.”
~Luke 8:22 NRSV
As Jesus and his followers are crossing the lake, a storm comes up. Jesus is asleep. He’s exhausted from everything he’s been doing. How else could you sleep through a storm? The disciples wake him up, and Jesus calms the storm. This all happens on the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee is a fresh water sea that is about sixty-four square miles. Compare that to Lake Lansing which is about three-quarters of a square mile. The Jews tended to live on the west side of the lake while the Gentiles (non-Jews) live on the east side of the lake. Jesus travels by boat for four hours across the lake in a storm. He crosses over the dividing line between Jews and Gentiles. The disciples had to be wondering, “Why are we going to the wrong side of the lake? What’s over here that’s so important?” Luke wants you to understand what matters to Jesus, because Jesus came to teach us what matters to God. Luke wants you to know what God thinks is important to you. Jesus is going to travel four hours by storm to the other side of the Sea because the Gentiles matter to God.
As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs.
~Luke 8:27 NRSV
Jesus navigates the boat to a cemetery. Not only does Jesus go to the unclean Gentiles but he goes to an unclean graveyard. And there’s a man sleeping in tombs! What does he look like? Does he have a beard? He’s naked. He’s got leftover chains wrapped around his wrists. He’s probably dirty and stinky beyond belief. What do his eyes look like? I imagine the scene in The Shining when Jack Nicholson chops through the door and says, “HERE’S JOHNNY!” This man is stark raving mad. He is worse than a nobody. He was not only a gentile, but he was an outcast among the Gentiles. He was the nobody of the nobodies. There is no one else in the area. Jesus travels four hours by boat across ethnic lines in a storm while he is exhausted just for this one man!
When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me”—
~Luke 8:28 NRSV
The demons know something that others don’t. The demons know who Jesus is. Demons have to bow and name Jesus. Remember this. It’s essential. Darkness and evil aren’t equal to light and good. This is no yin and yang, equal forces in an eternal standoff. This isn’t Duke vs. Indiana in the New Era Pin Stripe Bowl with a final score of 44-41. This is the Cotton Bowl: 38 to 0.
Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him.
~Luke 8:30 NRSV
Most of the time demons would not give up their name. But this demon has to give up his name to Jesus. His name is “legion” which means “many.” A Legion is also the elite infantry units of the Roman Empire. Luke is probably writing this in 80AD, fourteen years after four Roman Legions, about 5600 soldiers, invaded the Holy Land, destroyed the temple at Jerusalem, and killed millions of Jews. Naming the demon “Legion” is a commentary on the Roman Empire. It would be the modern equivalent of the demon’s name being “Isis.” By the end of the Bible, the book of Revelation, Rome is a demon. But right now Legion is many demons.
They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss. Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission.
~Luke 8:31-32 NRSV
It’s helpful to understand a little ancient cosmology right now. The ancient world understood that the Earth was a flat plane that floated above water, the abyss. Above the earth was a great dome that held back waters and the great lakes and rivers of the earth were portals in the abyss. The abyss was the deepest pit, a prison for the demons. The deepest part of the abyss was fire, and volcanoes were another doorway into the abyss. What we learn here is that hell or the abyss is so horrible that even the demons don’t want to go there! They beg Jesus to send them elsewhere. Jesus gives them permission.
The demons have a little trick up their sleeve. They think they can out-negotiate Jesus. They think, “We’ll go into the pigs until Jesus leaves, and then we can go back into the man.” Demons like to talk to you. They’re great salesmen. Jesus out negotiates them, but most of the time you can’t. To the alcoholic they say, “One little drink won’t hurt.” To the depressed they say, “Sure there’s hope in the Bible, but not for you.” To the married they say, “You’re away on a business trip and nobody will know what you do with someone else. It will feel good.” Demons promise that something good will happen, but what really happens is death. Death of sobriety. Death of hope. Death of a marriage. But Jesus outsmarts them.
Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
~Luke 8:32-33 NRSV
Jesus isn’t outsmarted by the demons, they go into the swine and then into the sea and into the abyss. Before they could escape the swine they were cast into the abyss.
Some (maybe more) have had experiences with demonic spiritual entities. Most of our experiences are more mundane than that. The demon is the voice that tries to neutralize your impact for God. The demon tries to suck the life out of you, and rob you of joy. The demon enslaves you. The demon fills you with fear and anxiety. The demon tries to convince you to self-destructive behaviors (cutting, eating, taking your life). The demon says there’s no hope and life will always be this bleak. The demon is addiction. The demon tells you to hold on to hate, bitterness, and resentment forever. Those who listen to the demons find pain for a very long time.
Jesus is showing us that his power is more powerful than the demons. The demons are always terrified by Jesus. In your baptism you belong to Jesus. The water of baptism is a kind of protection. Like a moat around a castle, your baptism is a hedge of protection. Not that the water is somehow magical, but what the water symbolizes: you died with Jesus under the water and you raised with Jesus when you came out of the water. When you are baptized we anoint you with oil. That is a symbol of the anointing of the Holy Spirit, God’s presence with you. You belong to God.
I asked my friends on Facebook to share with me experience of being delivered from the demonic. Here’s two stories:
In the past I worried about everything. It was paralyzing at times and only served to get in the way of my relationship with God. Satan would whisper things in my ear that I would then worry about, usually about my kids. [I heard] a sermon a few years ago…about pursuing Christ. Because of this I began to actively pursue Christ and before too long I realized that I [had] became deaf to the things Satan would whisper in my ear. God’s voice became too loud for Satan to get through. Now, if I find my mind heading in the direction of worry I remember that God is the One I seek and am reminded that I choose whose voice I listen to…Therefore, I choose Christ every time.
Last June in a small group meeting, [my small group leader] said something to me in response to a prayer request. He said that I should learn to be at peace with what I can and cannot do. While that may be wise advice, it hit me at a deeper level. I immediately felt a sense of peace that I didn’t have before. I have been able to think about those words periodically to calm myself down. But, more importantly, I have experienced a significant difference in certain destructive thought patterns. I still wrestle with anxiety and depression, but for the past six months I have been able to recognize and reject those destructive thought patterns that can accompany anxiety and depression rather than entertaining those thoughts.
You might be an exorcist for someone this week. You might exorcise someone from fear, anxiety, depression, or worry by what you say and how you act. So here are some next steps for those who feel like they are struggling with the demonic or need deliverance. Is it a demon or is it something else? I don’t know. So here’s what you do:
- Visit a doctor or therapist. Talk to someone who knows how the body and mind work.
- Look up and read stories from the Bible about Jesus encountering demons. Notice that Jesus always prevails. Jesus is stronger than anything demonic.
- Pick your comforting scriptures and mediate on them. The psalms are a great place to begin.
- Perhaps use the prayer of St. Patrick.
St. Patrick was a British teenager captured by Irish pirates at age sixteen. He was enslaved for six years before escaping and getting back to his family in Britain. As a young adult he converted to Christianity and went back to Ireland as a missionary. This prayer is attributed to him, someone who knew the need for deliverance. I have adapted it slightly for us today.
Prayer of St. Patrick
I arise today
Through a mighty strength,
the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength
of Christ’s birth and His baptism,
Through the strength
of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength
of His descent in the depths.
Through the strength
of His resurrection and His ascension,
I arise today Through the strength
of the love of cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection
to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs and matriarchs,
In preaching of the apostles,
In faith of confessors,
In innocence of virgins,
In deeds of the righteous.
I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.
I arise today
Through God’s strength to pilot me;
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s hosts to save me
From snares of the devil,
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who desires me ill,
Afar and near,
Alone or in a multitude.
I summon today all these powers
between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power
that opposes my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against unjust laws of empires,
Against false beliefs,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells and incantations,
Against every knowledge
that corrupts man’s body and soul.
Christ shield me today
Against poison,
against burning,
Against drowning,
against wounding,
So that God’s purposes for me
May be made true.
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down
Christ in the heart of everyone
who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone
who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.
I arise today Through a mighty strength,
the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.
Amen.
Jesus is infinitely more powerful than any power that would come against you.
So how does the story end?
Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned.
~Luke 8:37 NRSV
Did he get some clothes, and a haircut? I don’t know. But the town comes and sees the man sitting at Jesus’ feet. This guy who was stark raving mad. What do you imagine they would they say? “Wow! This is awesome! Thank you. Come teach us!” No. They were concerned about the pigs. They ask Jesus to leave. They can’t afford him. These are some of the saddest lines in all of the Bible. The son of God is asked to leave. The demon possessed man asks, “Can I leave with you?” Here’s what Jesus says:
“Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.
~Luke 8:39 NRSV
The first missionary to the Gentiles was a man who was stark naked, stark raving man. You’re not a nobody, you’re a somebody. Notice that Jesus tells him to tell them how much God has done, and he in turn tells them how much Jesus has done. We see God in Jesus. Jesus travel hours in a storm, to the Gentiles, to a man everyone had cast away. If Jesus will do it for him, he’ll do it for you.
Prayer
I arise today with mighty power,
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down.
Amen.
Christ Be Beside Me Song
*This sermon is based on a sermon first preached by Adam Hamilton
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