June
20 2010 Reading: Luke 8.26-39
Theme:
Jesus and Legion...........
Walter Brueggeman, a famous expert on
the Old Testament,
tells us that the story of
the people of
is always one of
movement, of always coming to a
never-ending series of frontiers.
They cross the frontier of
they cross the frontier of
the promised land, and come to live there,
When King Solomon died suddenly a new
frontier appeared between
Then the armies of the great empire of
and took the people of
Right through the history of
the crossing of
frontiers, stepping over boundaries, from the known into the unknown. In fact that’s what we have here in Luke’s
gospel chapter 8. These simple words in verse 26 say: That Jesus and the disciples sailed
to the region of Gerasa, across the sea of Galilee. In sailing across the sea
of Galilee, Jesus and the disciples were now out of
To go to Gerasa was cross a frontier.
But, when Jesus and the disciples
arrive there in the boat, there is a second frontier..... When Jesus and the
disciples stepped ashore in this strange country, verse 27 they were met by a
demon-possessed man from the town. This man, in this strange country, is one
who lives even beyond the normal life of Gerasa. Where he lives and how he
lives is beyond the boundaries of normal daily life. For years, he has not worn
clothes or lived in a house, his home is a graveyard,
in among the tombs. This man lives beyond the boundaries of normal life. More
than this: this man whose name is Legion, this poor, desperate man is, the gospel
tells us, demon possessed. An evil spirit seizes him, and he needs to be
restrained, he breaks any chains put round him, however, and the evil spirit
sweeps him away into lonely and solitary places far beyond human life, and
friendship and family.
Now, while all this may seem very strange
to us, actually, the gospel of Luke has wonderful things to reveal here about
our Lord Jesus Christ.
Luke’s Gospel often speaks of
men and women called by Jesus. All the way through the gospels – we see Jesus
in the company of those who never bother with the law, those beyond the
boundaries of everyday religious life - think of Zacchaeus, the woman at the
well, Mary Magdalene.
If we ask, as many did then, why Jesus associates with such people
the answer is that in His love and compassion, he has come looking
for those far beyond the boundaries, for the outcast, for those far from
God..............
Sent by the Father in heaven, Jesus has come looking for the lost
sheep, wandered far..........scattered over the face of the earth.........
So,here Jesus, crossing the
sea of Galilee, crossing the frontier and into Gerasa, has come to meet this
man, Legion by name, who lives in that land, in that lonely cemetery.....
Why ?
Because, says Jesus, I have come, says
Jesus, to seek and to save...... the lost.
Jesus says I am the good Shepherd……………. who goes out and calls in the sheep, leads them
back from the pastures round about, before the night comes on. They are brought
back through the gate into the fold. Safely, within the fold, they are cared
for, the injured are tended……….by the good shepherd, This
is what Jesus says of Himself……… I
am the good Shepherd…………… and
this is what He says ........ I have
come, says Jesus, to seek and to save...... the lost
God’s grace and loving faithfulness have arrived in Jesus...... breaking
through to reach the poor, the captive, the blind, the oppressed............
............. that’s why Jesus has come right to where Legion lives, in the
back of beyond, out near the deserted graveyard which is Legion’s home
Surely, of all the men and women we read of in the gospel, the life of this man Legion must be the most extreme of all. Not only does he live in far off, pagan Gerasa,
and far off from everyday human life, he is not even at home in himself so tormented is he by this evil spirit, these demons.
But as we have said so often, Luke’s
gospel tells us again and again in so many different ways, that our Lord Jesus
Christ, as He says Himself, has come to came
to seek and to save the lost.........
And it is for this reason that the Lord has come the long journey across
the sea of Galilee, into this far off territory - He
has come to meet this man, this far off man, whose name is Legion. What we see
here, is the grace, and the compassion, and love of the Lord Jesus
Christ............
The message of the gospel is that we
were, we are, all just as far off as Legion,
from the living God, as
Paul says:
everyone has sinned and is far away from God’s presence....
But the Gospel declares that the God of grace and love, the Father, has sent His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to us, for us, far away as we are. He comes seeking us, though we were far from the Father’s house, far from His presence.
Paul puts it very simply: He saved us, not because of the good things we have done but out of His sheer grace and love
That’s what we see at the Cross:
At the Cross, our sin, guilt, and condemnation that should have been ours was cleared away once and for all at the Cross. The sin and the guilt that holds us back, that keeps us far from God, was taken away once and for all, laid on the shoulders of the Lord Jesus. So, we, who, like Legion, were once far away, are brought into the presence of the Holy God saved, redeemed. In Jesus is all our joy, our peace, and our healing.
Look at Legion now,
At the Word of Jesus, he is healed. And then when the crowd come here is Legion clothed, sitting with the Lord Jesus, and in his right mind, restored as a human being.
In fact, greater than this: Luke’s gospel tells us that Legion is not
simply restored to human life, healed and that’s that. We are told that Jesus calls him, empowers
him, sends him - to spread the good news in his own
land Jesus tells Legion to go into the town and to tell all the folks there all
that God has done for him..... as we come to the end
of the story of Legion’s life as we find it in Luke’s gospel,
the man once demon
possessed, driven he knew not where,
is, now a glad, faithful
follower,
a joyful disciple of Jesus
Christ !
What happened in Gerasa, that foreign land, is a sign of what has happened, and what is to come, of the crossing of all the boundaries and frontiers of the world..............
by the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
as, through the power and authority of Jesus Christ,
men and women, ourselves included, find healing, wholeness and life in
Him.........
as men and women ourselves included are restored to full, abundant human life
in Him,
as men and women, ourselves included,
tell others, as Legion did so long ago,
of all that God has done for us, in Jesus.