September 26th, 2012
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Spaced or Placed?

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

Loving Heavenly Father, I am grateful for having been included in Your love and I resolve to love others in return.

Read Luke 8:26-39

[26] They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. [27] When 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. [28] When 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!” [29] For Jesus had commanded the impure 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. [30] Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. [31] And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss. [32] A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission. [33] When 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. [34] When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, [35] and 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. [36] Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. [37] Then 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. [38] The 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.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

Meditate

“When we put on Christ, we take ourselves out of the realm of the flesh where we are vulnerable to attack. To the extent we put on Christ, the evil one cannot touch us (1 John 5:18)” (Neil Anderson).

Think Further

Today the unfolding modus operandi of Jesus’ Nazareth manifesto continues in the territory of the Decapolis as Luke shows Jesus fulfilling Zechariah’s foreseen “rising sun” and Isaiah’s promised Jubilee (1:78,79; 4:21). At Nazareth, Jesus’ sermon had described openness to God’s message by Gentiles rather than Israelites. Now, Jesus’ true identity, hidden to the Galileans, is shouted out on foreign soil by Gentile lips (28b). Luke intentionally uses dramatic irony when narrating the spiritual legion’s obsequious confrontation (28) to highlight Jesus’ divine authority and contrast the disciples’ surprising incomprehension back on the lake (25b). Jesus’ decisive victory over the evil force that imprisoned this strong man (33) and his restoration to him of dignity, humanity, self-possession and social standing (35,39) are part of Luke’s grander eschatological theme, anticipating Christ’s ultimate supremacy (11:19-23; Acts 7:55,56) and the long-promised healing for everything in creation (Acts 3:21). 

Thathu, a theological student I teach, recently received the farm owner’s blessing to pastor a church in a disused outbuilding there He’ll minister to many spiritually hungry laborers who had come to believe in Jesus. Affluent postmodern people are often unaware of demonic elements ensnaring them through addictive Internet use and cyber-living, frenetic busyness, excessive eating or compulsive shopping. The Gerasenes’ new-found disciplines of solitude, and Jesus’ requirement of going home after years of spiritual vagrancy (39), are qualities foreign to many in an increasingly spaced-out, globalized and technology-driven culture.

Apply

Jesus implies that unplugged downtime with him in creation or at home is essential for witness in public life. Plan today to make more time with Jesus regularly.

Closing prayer

Lord, I know the Christian life is not a playground, but a battleground. I rejoice for the victory I have in Christ and pray for vigilance in my daily life.

Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.

© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.

Encounter with God is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.

View all readings

Get ENCOUNTER:

in your email:

in Print:

Become a Member | Visit our store