Two Things We Really Need
Luke 8:26-39 (New International Version)
The Healing of a Demon-possessed Man
26They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes,[a] which is across the lake from Galilee. 27When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. 28When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” 29For Jesus had commanded the evil[b] spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.
30Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. 31And they begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.
32A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into them, and he gave them permission. 33When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
34When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside,35and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 36Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. 37Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.
38The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39“Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.
Footnotes:
aLuke 8:26 Some manuscripts Gadarenes; other manuscripts Gergesenes; also in verse 37
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What do we really need? We live in a world where we can get overloaded with all kinds of information. All kinds of stuff vie for our attention. A myriad of things are being sold to us on a daily basis. Someone might tell us “You need this” but another might say, “No, you need that.” So it’s no wonder that sometimes we get confused.
In an emergency situation, however, when we don’t have the time to think, we seem to know what we really need. We instinctively grab the things that we truly need. And since we only have two hands, we only grab those that we really need. Now, instinct may be seen as inferior compared to reason, but in an emergency situation I’d go with instinct, rather than reason, in a heartbeat. Here’s why:
Suppose the boat you were riding in has just sunk. Along with other passengers you struggle to keep yourself afloat. You’re holding onto a piece of luggage that drifted your way when a ship comes along and her crew throws down a rope to you. Now, would you spend time debating whether or not to stay with the suitcase that has kept you afloat? Of course not! Instinctively, you’d let go of the suitcase and grab the rope! The suitcase may contain a million dollar, but do you care? No! All you care about is getting yourself rescued.
Today I’m going to talk about the two things that we really need in life. The first is clearly a need. The second may not be a felt need but I’ll show you later why it’s a real need.
We need Jesus
The first thing we need is Jesus. Now that may sound unsophisticated, but that’s what, or who, we need. It may sound narrow, but I don’t apologize for the “narrowness.” I believe we all need Jesus. A humble rope may not look much, but in a time of emergency, it’s worth more than a million bucks! Some people may not see the uniqueness of Jesus but those of us whose lives have been rescued by him know the difference.
I understand why people don’t see Jesus as who he really is. The reason is because people are like this demon-possessed man in our Gospel story. This man is controlled not just by a demon but by “many demons,” that’s why the name Legion. A legion is “the major unit of the Roman army consisting of 3,000 to 6,000 infantry troops and 100 to 200 cavalry troops” (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/legion). I wonder why hell has sent this many demons to this guy. Regardless of the reason, one thing is clear: he is now living in a very dark and very evil world. He is literally living in hell! And from the looks of it, he seems to be a hopeless case. He’s been isolated, naked, and, since he lives in tombs, we might as well consider him as dead. And it looks like that’s how he’s been treated by his family and town mates—dead! They have given up on him, they have nothing to do with him, and nobody seems to really care.
Do you feel that way? If you do, then you need to be rescued. You need Jesus. Some people who really need Jesus don’t see why they need Jesus and it’s really not all their fault. The reason is because like this man in our story they, too, have been controlled by some evil power, “the power of darkness.” When a person is in darkness, that person cannot see. So I don’t expect people in darkness to see Jesus clearly as he is. And so they don’t see the need for Jesus. Does this describe you? If it does, I don’t blame you. And I don’t blame you if you don’t realize the gravity of your sad and oppressed condition.
But here’s the good news: Jesus cares and as he came to the rescue of that demon possessed man he has come to rescue you. You may be living in darkness and could not see, but because Jesus is light you can now have a good look at your real condition. If you do, then like the demon possessed man you may see that the sight is not pretty: now you see that you’re naked in the sight of the Lord and you cannot hide anything from him, and now you realize that you do not live among the living but among the dead! So if that’s what you see, what would you do? Remain in the land of the dead, or be with Jesus and be in the land of the living? The latter is obviously the smart choice.
The demon possessed man takes that smart choice and his life is changed for the better! His story becomes breaking news in his town. The same people that isolated him and considered him dead now see him as a brand new person. They found him “sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind.” What a beautiful picture of a man. He is sitting at Jesus’ feet and learning from him who is light and life. He is dressed and no longer naked both in a literal and spiritual sense. He is no longer that naked and dirty man people need to avoid at all cost. Now he’s a beautiful decent man. But more than that, this man’s sins have been forgiven and the righteousness of Jesus now beautifully covers him! Is this what you want to happen to you? If it is, then you need Jesus. Let Jesus rescue you!
We need to share Jesus
Those of us who have already been rescued by Jesus know what a wonderful life we have in him. But we need to realize that Jesus rescued us not just for us. We are not to spend this wonderful life with Jesus only to ourselves. The ex-demon –possessed man’s desire to “go with” Jesus appears to be a laudable thing. Today we would applaud such a man or any person for that matter. But the message to us today is this: to follow Jesus does not always mean doing the “usual” things that the disciples are asked to do. Jesus called Peter and the rest of the disciples to follow him as he went from place to place preaching good news. But his call for this particular man was not to go with him as an itinerant evangelist but to “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” It seems to me that most of us are in that category of the call. Not all are called to be preachers of the good news, but all are told to tell about what God has done for them!
Now why does Jesus send this man to his own home and hometown? The reason is because his role has changed from one who is being rescued to one who has become part of the rescue team, although he is not to go with Jesus and the disciples in a literal sense. His family and town mates may not be in a situation as bad as the one he was in, but they, too, need Jesus. Jesus sends him to them because he is the perfect guy for the job! Could there be a more powerful testimony than his? Could there be a more convincing testimony than from one that had the worst case? No. This man is the perfect guy for this special mission in his home town. We often use the verse in which Jesus says, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown” (Luke 4:24b; cf. Mark 6:4: “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor”). We use it as an excuse for not witnessing to our relatives or town mates. But Jesus has not called all of us to be prophets. Like this man, Jesus may be telling us to simply tell how much God has done for us!
So now that we are safe in the arms of Jesus, that doesn’t mean we can sit idly by while people are still out there in the stormy sea of life. They need to be rescued. Our role has changed from one that is being rescued to one who is part of the rescue team. Now that Jesus is in our life we bear the light. In truth, we ourselves have become light. Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14). As light of the world, the only way by which we can fulfill our purpose in the world is to be out there and function as light. And when we do, those who are in darkness may see their true condition—naked and living among the dead. And when they see their real condition, they, too, may put their faith in Jesus and allow him to rescue them. We should not hide our light and do nothing. Some won’t receive Jesus. Some may be like those in the story who, because they are “overcome with fear,” have “asked Jesus to leave them.” But as “light of the world” we are to be living witnesses so that people might see Jesus through us. As Jesus also said, “No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house” (Matthew 5:15).
If we want to live fulfilled lives, then we must fulfill our rescue mission in the world. That means those of us who have been rescued by Jesus now need to be part of the team that help rescue others. We are not to keep Jesus to ourselves; we need to share Jesus! We may not realize it but some people are in an emergency situation. Consider this story that may illustrate the situation some people may be in today:
Leslie Bills’ Pennington Bend home caught fire while being enveloped by rising floodwater. “We were just an island. We were totally surrounded by water. So, here I am just calling 911 (asking), ‘What do we do?’ And they’re saying, ‘Stay on the line. Don’t jump into the river because of the undertow. Your house might blow up,’” said Bills. “About that time, we started seeing more smoke. (The 911 operator said), ‘Get blankets, put them into the water, get them wet, put them over you so you won’t burn. Be prepared for an explosion.’ Now, I’m thinking, ‘Do I want to burn, or do I want to drown?’”
Then, a locksmith named Bill Krauser came to her rescue on a Jet Ski. “I look up and there’s an angel on a Jet Ski. God sent me an angel on a Jet Ski. I yelled at him, ‘Can you please check and see what’s coming out of that garage?’ He went and looked in and saw the fire had taken over and was getting ready to attack the cars. He said, ‘We have to get out of here.’ He said, ‘Jump on the Jet Ski,’” said Bills. “So, he jumps on his Jet Ski. I grab the dog, Juice, (and) get on the Jet Ski with him. We got 20 yards away, and ‘kaboom’ — the house blew up. This man saved my life.”
(Video link to Leslie Bills’ story: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid30317508001?bctid=83713499001)
Some people may be in a situation similar to this, perhaps not physically but psychologically and spiritually. If we do not rescue them they may be swallowed up by some hellish fire or deathly flood waters of life. And they may lose their life to the power of darkness forever. So what do we need to do? Share Jesus with them and rescue them! When we do, we fulfill our mission. And to us who believe, a fulfilled mission means a fulfilled life!
"In the world, but not of the world."