Jesus, Face to Face with Evil

Key Verse: Luke 8:30

Jesus demanded, “what is your name?”, “Legion”, he replied, for he was filled with many demons…

Additional Reading: Luke 8:26-39

Does a story about someone being filled with demons make you a little uncomfortable? I am guessing it might because many of us will never deal with them in our lifetime, at least in this bold of fashion.

There are so many scriptures that speak of demons that we cannot deny their existence even if we don’t understand all things about them.

In our story today, Jesus comes face to face with evil… evil demons living in a man’s body. Let me give a summary of the lessons we can get from this story.

First, Jesus is in total control then and now of what demons can and cannot do. Jesus demanded the name of this demon. Its name was Legion because there were many demons living in this man. If we have Jesus in our lives, we have nothing to fear with demons. Jesus is always in total control.

Secondly, Jesus seems to be compassionate to these demons when he granted their request not to send them to the bottomless pit. But the truth is, Jesus was not being compassionate, he was being purposeful.

In Luke 8:34, we see that when the herdsmen saw that Jesus sent these demons into a herd of pigs, and that they ran into the lake and drowned, then look at what these herdsmen did: “…they fled to the nearby town and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran…a crowd soon gathered around Jesus”.

Jesus was ever thinking of people who needed to hear the power of God and the saving grace of Jesus. Though these townspeople asked Jesus to leave them because of their fear of His power, they would never forget Jesus. I wonder if these townspeople were far more open to the message of salvation after they had heard that Jesus was raised from the dead compared to others who did not witness what Jesus did that day.

A third lesson is found in Luke 8:38-39. Not surprisingly, this man that Jesus had freed from the demons wanted to go with Jesus. It had to be such a thrill for this man who had lived so long with such evil inside him. Of course, he wouldn’t want to come down from that high.

However, Jesus refused his request: “No, go back to your family, and tell them everything God has done for you”. So, the man went through the town proclaiming the great things Jesus had done for him!

We could stay in our church and be with our church friends for the rest of our lives. However, Jesus wants us to tell our story to those who have yet to know Him. We all can tell how good Jesus was and is to us.

Father, help me to share your goodness with others. In Jesus’s Name, amen.